The Belgian Blue – Sorry, Chicago

Known as “The Belgian Blue”, Pádraig MacMahon, Ian Strahn, Moritz Kolmbauer, Ferdinand Rauchmann and Johannes Holzer have earned themselves the attention of Vienna’s underground scene. On September 25th their second EP “For Wards Weight” is released. Answering fans’ persistent question of when there’d finally be a record to buy, it arrives as a double release alongside their debut EP”Summersweeps” (released May 2025) as the B-side, on vinyl and CD.

It sounds a bit like the Austrian Dream: five young musicians drawn from Ireland, the US and rural Austria to the capital, Vienna. They find each other there during the pandemic, starting out as street musicians and working their way through Vienna’s bars and pubs – gaining a handful more listeners with every gig.

“The key element of our sound is leaving a lot of room for imperfection and for the unexpected. The music we create together reflects who we are in that moment,” says lead guitarist Ian Strahn about the decision to record the new EP live. That has its upsides and its flaws too – sometimes those flaws end up being what they like most about a take. The Belgian Blue recorded almost every song on “For Wards Weight” live in one room in a single take, with only final polishing done in the studio afterward.