Over 75 artists are gracing the Jazz Middelheim lineup this year, but most eyes—and ears—will be fixed on Stéphane Galland. The revered Belgian drummer, composer, and boundary-breaker has been named Artist in Residence for this special comeback edition. This distinction spotlights his unparalleled ability to weave rhythm into a universally understood musical tapestry. Over four days, Galland will command the festival with four distinct performances, each a portal into his established yet ever-evolving artistry. From the hypnotic minimalism of KANDA to the generational fireworks of The Gallands, the ecstatic electro-trance jazz of Songshan with Jeroen Van Herzeele and the polyrhythmic tempest of The Rhythm Hunters, this residency isn’t just a regular booking - it’s a masterclass in reinvention.

But who is this man exactly? Galland’s story begins not on stage but in a nursery. He received his first drum set at three years old, igniting a lifelong obsession with rhythm. Born in 1969 into a musical family in Belgium, his trajectory was anything but ordinary. By nine, he was studying classical percussion at the Huy Conservatory; by eleven, he’d embarked on jazz explorations with childhood friend Eric Legnini, a pianist who would later become a luminary in his own right. By thirteen, Galland was sharing stages with Belgium’s jazz elite, his precocious talent hinting at the visionary he’d become.

But Galland’s genius lies not in technical prowess alone. His insatiable curiosity - a desire to dissolve borders between genres, cultures, and eras - defines him. For Galland, rhythm is a universal tongue that flourishes through diversity: the more one absorbs the cadences of distant traditions, the richer their own rhythmic vocabulary grows.

In 1992, Galland co-founded AKA MOON, a trio that would become his main laboratory for three decades. Alongside saxophonist Fabrizio Cassol and bassist Michel Hatzigeorgiou, he redefined jazz as a global conversation. Their 25+ (!!!) albums are sonic passports, blending West African griot traditions, South Indian Carnatic rhythms, Balkan folk melodies, and avant-garde experimentation.

AKA MOON’s collaborations read like a United Nations of music: Malian icon Oumou Sangare’s soul-stirring vocals, Senegalese drum legend Doudou N’diaye Rose’s thunderous sabar ensembles, and South Indian mridangam virtuoso Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman’s mathematical precision. Galland’s polyrhythmic fluency—the ability to layer multiple time signatures into a cohesive pulse—became the band’s backbone.

But as expected, Galland’s collaborative spirit would extend far beyond AKA MOON. He’s shared stages with jazz titans like Joe Zawinul and Toots Thielemans, melded traditions with Turkish percussion pioneer Misirli Ahmet, fueled the futurism of Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan and spent over 8 years collaborating with the Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf. In 2011, he launched LOBI, an ensemble uniting musicians from Guadeloupe, Armenia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Spain - a metaphor for music’s power to connect disparate worlds.

His 2017 solo project, The Mystery of KEM, marked a pivotal moment in his artistic research—an immersive exploration of rhythm as a living, evolving language. Here, Galland wove together his deep study of global rhythmic traditions with his own innovations, creating a new percussive vocabulary. The project also became a bridge between generations, as he both documented his discoveries and mentored younger musicians. Adding yet another layer of cross-cultural dialogue, he invited Carnatic flute virtuoso Ravichandra Kulur into the mix, blending South Indian melodic fluidity with his own rhythmic experiments. “I just love experimenting with new approaches of rhythm and work at them until they integrate my ‘system’, that they enrich my own natural vocabulary, and help me create music that has many influences in it, without trying to imitate or trying to sound like any specific tradition.”

Galland’s curiosity isn’t confined to performance. As a professor at the Royal Conservatories of Brussels and Antwerp, he mentors young artists, guiding them to absorb even the most intricate rhythms—not as technical challenges, but as second nature. His teaching philosophy revolves around transformation: what begins as a complex pattern must dissolve into instinct, becoming as personal as a heartbeat. "Don’t just play rhythms," he insists. "Let them inhabit you. Until the unfamiliar feels inevitable."

His PhD research - Contemporary Jazz Rhythms: A Dialogue Between Tradition and Innovation - examines how rhythm can transcend cultural binaries. "Education isn't just about sharing concepts," he explains. "It's about equipping musicians with the tools to explore rhythm deeply—training their ears, bodies, and intuition until new patterns feel instinctive. Whether in conservatory workshops or band rehearsals, I focus on this immersion: we repeat, we deconstruct, we play until complex rhythms become second nature. Only then can true creativity flow”. This ethos fuels his recent ventures. The Rhythm Hunters, a collective exploring global folk traditions through a jazz lens, and an electronic-acoustic trio blurring analogue and digital, reveal an artist refusing complacency. “Every project is a new mystery to unveil, and a new challenge to overcome."

This relentless innovation crystallizes in his Jazz Middelheim residency. Each performance is a standalone universe, showcasing Galland’s genius: a chameleon of rhythm.

Friday: Stéphane Galland: KANDA

Birdland: 18:00-18:45

The residency opens with KANDA, a trio featuring bassist Louise van den Heuvel and flutist Lúcia Pires. Named for a word echoing “love” and “root” across languages, KANDA oscillates between acoustic purity and electronic experimentation. Pires’ flute and Van den Heuvel’s bass anchor the set in organic warmth, while electronic wind instruments (EWI) and effects propel it into cosmic abstraction. Galland’s drums act as both bridge and disruptor, weaving fragile melodies into percussive storms. KANDA is about a common creative process that mixes gender, age, genres, sounds (both acoustic and electronic).

Saturday: Elvin & Stéphane Galland – The Gallands, ft. Selah Sue & DJ Grazzhoppa

Birdland: 22:30-23:30

Day two is about family. Joined by his son Elvin - a keyboard prodigy and talented electronic music producer - Galland unveils The Gallands, a genre-blurring extravaganza. Belgian soul sensation Selah Sue lends her velvet-and-grit vocals, while turntablist DJ Grazzhoppa scratches hip-hop into the mix. The set is a total kaleidoscope: jazz harmonies collide with breakbeats, R&B grooves melt into psychedelic synth-scapes, and father-son telepathy takes centre stage. "Playing with Elvin is like discovering a new musical language," Galland reflects. "He brings his perspective as a prolific producer in pop and hip-hop - worlds different from my own. At first, that distance made us hesitate to collaborate. But now, that contrast is precisely what makes it magical. His production sensibilities push me to play differently, while my rhythmic approach influences his choices. We meet somewhere in between, and that exchange creates something neither of us could make alone."

Sunday: Jeroen Van Herzeele & Stéphane Galland

Birdland: 17:00 - 17:45

The third day offers another unique team-up, this time with the iconic Belgian saxophonist Jeroen Van Herzeele. Inspired by China’s sacred Songshan Mountain, their electro-trance jazz merges Van Herzeele’s serpentine sax, EWI and modular synth lines with Galland’s triggered drums. The live show, augmented by immersive visuals, mirrors the themes that shine through their recent album (to be released on June 6, during Jazz Middelheim): nature’s grandeur, spiritual ascension, and the joy of creation.

Monday: Stéphane Galland & The Rhythm Hunters XTNDD

Concert Hall: 19:50-20:40

On the final day, the residency climaxes with The Rhythm Hunters XTNDD, an expanded ten-piece version of Galland’s globetrotting ensemble previously described. Four new members amplify the polyrhythmic organized chaos. “It’s about exploring rhythm, hunting different versions of it as our lives depended on it. And with a team of 10, we will definitely hunt a lot of rhythms…”. Click here to listen to their self-titled 2024 album.

As Jazz Middelheim’s Artist in Residence, Galland embodies the festival’s spirit: daring, eclectic, and resolutely forward-thinking. His four acts declare that rhythm is not a constraint but a liberation, that tradition and innovation are not foes but lovers, and that music, at its best, dissolves walls and summons collective transcendence.

At 55, Galland shows no signs of decelerating. With Songshan’s release and whispers of a Mystery of KEM sequel, his journey continues to spiral into uncharted realms. Yet, for now, the spotlight shines on Park Den Brandt in June. As we prepare to raise our curtains, one truth echoes clear: Stéphane Galland’s rhythm is a compass, guiding us toward sonic horizons we’ve yet to imagine. The stage is set. The drums are tuned. All that’s left is to listen.