NEW ALBUM | TJE - SCHADE

TJE presents debut album ‘SCHADE’

After becoming talk of the town in Belgium last year, indie outfit TJE aim for nothing less than international breakthrough in 2026, and they have a strong case for it: debut album SCHADE (damage, harm; loss; nightshade), already labeled as one of the most anticipated albums of the year. 

TJE is a trio consisting of Lindy Versyck (vocals), Melvin Slabbinck (guitar, drums) and Klaas Leyssen (bass), each also involved in various other music projects: Versyck often sings with Arsenal and Meltheads, Slabbinck drums for Kaat Van Stralen and Leyssen leads punk rock band The Yummy Mouths. The album is produced by Pieter-Jan Decraene, who as co-writer and vital link in the creative process is a de facto fourth member of the band. Together they fuse their musical backgrounds and influences into a unique sound that is as infectious as it is indefinable. At the interface between intense and vulnerable, TJE sounds both raw and layered, searching for tension between melody and experimentation. Blending pulsating electronica with melancholic avant-pop and electrifying post-rock, the focus lies on atmosphere and emotion. A melting pot that makes sense and results in an energetic and spellbinding live experience.

The story of TJE started in 2023 with EP Idols and took off a few months later winning third place at the influential Rock Rally contest. Taking their first steps abroad, they played a successful performance at the Focus Wales showcase festival, followed by a short UK tour and lighting up the stage at festivals like Best Kept Secret (NL), Lokerse Feesten (BE), Reeperbahn (DE), Fifty Lab (BE) and Left of the Dial (NL). Singles ‘This Is’ and ‘Always Hardening’ (both on the album) found their way to Belgian radio, influential indie stations in France/Netherlands and streaming platforms, and TJE made the Spotify cover of Indie Update. The combination of bass, indietronica and Versyck’s mesmerizing voice, somewhere between a dreamy/threatening Björk and FKA Twigs, clearly goes down well.

It is the same vibe, this balance between tension and emotional layers, that defines SCHADE, kicking off with instrumental ‘Verlangen’ and ‘Easy’, another early single. TJE’s DNA is perhaps best embodied by ‘Supernatural’: an artful interplay between fragile emotion and organic components, switching between folky lo-fi pop, crunchy ambient and immaculate indie art pop, again tied together by Versyck’s ethereal vocals. The more intimate ‘Hollow’ and punchier ‘The Well’ are probably closest to what one would call straightforward indie pop songs, but they too get the characteristic TJE twist. Other highlights include ‘Stillend’ (in Dutch) and the grandiose ‘Sidewalk’, bouncing in all directions for a whacking energy shot.

With just a minimum of gear TJE aim for a big impact, exploring the boundaries of their instruments, in search of dissonance and musical friction. This is perfectly embodied by a debut album that will certainly give color to 2026. SCHADE is out on March 27, with release shows on April 26 at AB Brussels and on May 2 at Rotown/V11 in Rotterdam (NL).