Benelux beats, a Benelux banger and some beautiful Benelux ballads

By Karl Batterbee

Give your on-repeat playlists a spring clean with Discover Benelux. For this issue, we have put three prominent names under the spotlight; each with some new releases to their name, as well as a back catalogue that is worth exploring this spring.

MARIGO BAY

From: Belgium

Sounds like: your best friend calling you up to tell you all her latest gossip

Current tune: the drive-time anthem with the windows rolled down Passenger Seat

2026 is already proving to be a good year to be a Marigo Bay fan, with the singer-songwriter already having released three new singles since January: Passenger Seat, Fiona and You Got What You Wanted. For her latest chapter, Marigo is putting her storytelling skills centre stage. Backed by sparse productions that feature barely more than her soft guitar strummings, she is allowing her self-penned lyrics to really sink in. If you are in need of some fresh new music to lie back and luxuriate to, Marigo Bay has a back catalogue brimming with beauties.

Having spent a lot of her creative journey in the vibrant and eclectic music scene of the United States, Marigo Bay has said that she has always been influenced by the rock star mentality. This is an artist who clearly thrives on the exhilaration of living in the moment when performing live, making each show a unique and unforgettable experience for her audience. And the critics have been quick to shower acclaim onto her shows, too!

In recent years, the singer has gained a new audience thanks to memorable performances on The Voice of Flanders, as well as from the big streaming hit she scored with Coming Down, a collaboration with dance music heavyweights Robin Schulz and Wave Wave.

Claude’s 2026 is set to be his biggest year yet with a headline concert at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live having been a new career highlight for the singer. Photo: Tim Buiting

CLAUDE

From: Netherlands

Sounds like: Stromae covering a Benson Boone hit

Current tune: radio staple in the making, Eb & Vloed

In the age of streaming and increasingly static charts, there are few artists these days who are able to boast the achievement of having a Number 1 hit with their debut single. But Claude did precisely that back in 2022 with his fired-up first offering Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot), which spent six weeks at the singles-chart summit in the Netherlands. The Stromae-inspired floor filler ended up being a lasting launchpad for Claude, as its presence evolved from the clubs to the radio playlists to the stages of the festival circuit the following summer.

Fast-forward to today and Claude’s 2026 is already looking set to be his biggest year yet. At the start of February he played his largest headline concert to date, in Amsterdam’s AFAS Live. And perhaps positioned as a further love letter to his home-crowd fans, his first release of 2026 is Eb & Vloed; his debut release in the Dutch language. It is not just the language that he is switching up either; Eb & Vloed sees the singer move away from the dance music genre that made him famous, and into a more guitar-driven sound. Though no need for his fans to fret; it is certainly no less upbeat! Claude is heralding this a fresh new chapter for him, and it is going to be exciting to watch (and listen to) him further expand his position as one of the most versatile and innovative pop artists in the Netherlands this year.

If you are new to Claude, you will have plenty to dive into. Following his smash-hit debut Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot), he released his first album Parler Français (on which he co-wrote all the songs), that spawned a string of modern classics for the artist, such as Layla, Écoutez-Moi and Je T’aime. And if you do think you might recognise his face from somewhere, that might be because he represented the Netherlands at the 2025 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest last May, with his crowd-pleasing anthem C’est La Vie.

Photo: Tim Buiting

LUZAC

From: Luxembourg

Sounds like: the best after-hours event during Carnival season

Current tune: the party-starting Prison Dorée

Singer, songwriter and producer Luzac has started 2026 with a bang! Or a banger, at the very least. The release of Prison Dorée has seemingly set out to shake off the January blues in music fans, with booming synths relentlessly jolting the listener to attention throughout the song’s three-minute duration. And the shock tactics worked – in the few weeks since its release, it has already become his second-most streamed song to date on Spotify, surpassing the slew of singles he has been steadily releasing since the start of the decade.

Luzac fell in love with singing after watching the High School Musical film at the age of nine (admit it, we have all been there). He went on to spend years writing and composing for other talents before finally launching his solo career in 2021 with the single J’y Arriverai. And with that title translating as ‘I Will Succeed’, it was a strong statement which has served him well ever since. Luzac has collaborated with many Luxembourgish artists throughout the years and is booked and busy as a regular performer on the festival circuit in Luxembourg. The singer also gained a fair bit of international attention in 2025, with what has been his biggest hit to date, Je Danse. Alongside his music career, Luzac works as a special education teacher in psychoeducational support.

If you like what you hear in Prison Dorée, you might also enjoy learning the story behind it. The track was inspired by an initial exchange between the artist and his co-writers, during which Luzac relayed the personal story behind his career pivot into becoming an artist. Despite leading a rich and fulfilling life, surrounded by close friends, a loving family, and a rewarding job, a large part of Luzac longed for something beyond all that… Music. And that is where the idea of the metaphor came from – a bird perched in its cage (Prison Dorée translates as ‘Golden Prison’), dreaming of freedom and being able to sing outside.