GHINZU - W.O.W.A. GHINZU

From the rich tradition of expansive art-rock that has long flowed out of mainland Europe, the much-loved and critically acclaimed Ghinzu today announce their return with their fourth studio album and first in 17 years, W.O.W.A, due for release via Play It Again Sam on 29th May 2026. They also deliver the first single to be lifted from the record, ‘Out of Control’.

From selling more than 100,000 copies of their breakthrough second album Blow across Europe, to sharing stages with the likes of Muse, Placebo and Iggy & The Stooges, and seeing their music featured on the soundtrack of the global hit film 'Taken', Ghinzu have long stood as one of Belgium’s most iconic rock exports.

The record has been a work in progress for some time, with Ghinzu having written almost 90 fully fledged ideas for their new album, before whittling this down to the final tracklisting. “We had all these hard drives everywhere,” recalls Ghinzu frontman John Descamps. “We wanted to gather 10 tracks together to really represent all those years of condensed work.”

The results take Ghinzu back to basics, before blasting them into uncharted territories. Their formative influences - the energy and expression of Queen; the raucous grunge noise of Nirvana and The Melvins – remain, alongside their passion for visual art. Name-checking the painters Gerhard Richter and Francis Bacon as points of inspiration, they stepped back from their perfectionist leanings to embrace music at its most raw and powerful.

Travelling to Los Angeles studio Hillside Manor, Ghinzu worked alongside the hugely experienced figure of Dave Sardy on this record, a crucial individual who became an additional member of the band. “The studio is kind of a gold mine,” reflects John. “There’s an enormous amount of microphones, amplifiers, keyboards, guitars all around you. You’re sitting in the same room where Oasis and The Rolling Stones recorded. You can feel the history.”

The results speak for themselves. When Other Worlds Await is a terrific record, laced with raw pulsions and engineered tensions. The distillation of a decade’s worth of ideas, it finds Ghinzu revelling in creative maturity. “Time is important. It allows you to open your eyes on the different person you’ve become,” John notes. “We question everything a little less. We’re more grounded and don’t over-think it.”

Sessions took place at a multitude of studios. Ghinzu worked in their native Belgium and across the Atlantic in New York; they secluded themselves in the countryside, and worked at studios overlooking the sea. “Our plan was to drift away, creating ‘evolutive songs’ that could change from one week to another, or simply disappear to maybe reappear. Doubts have less room within such space, as there is nothing to finish. What is left are the survivors of that period, the wild ones who got captured.”

From first to last, these are stories built by older musicians, people with experience and maturity. “It’s about telling very specific stories in a way that is universal,” he says. “There’s an almost confrontational aspect with regards to age. We’re developing an intergenerational feel in bringing these stories out of specific narratives and pushing them into different spaces.”

Epic lead single ‘Out Of Control’ erupts like a missile, testimony to the tattered legacy of 90s alt-rock – music of their adolescent emancipation – and their urgent need to start anew. “The idea was to contextualise a straight-forward rock song into something a little more thought-provoking. But it’s also a pretty simple song, at heart.”

It's music rich in character, and completely distinct. “It has to be something we’ve made with our hands,” John says. “The experts we are – as sound engineers, as creative people – it’s about making our own instrument, something that channels the personality of the musician.”

Alongside the announcement of their new album, Ghinzu have revealed details of their W.O.W.A Spring EU & UK tour. The run will see the band bring their electrifying live show to Paris, Brussels, London, Utrecht, Cologne and Luxembourg.

The band formed at the dawn of the Millennium, with John Descamps joined by Mika Hasson on bass, Greg Remy on guitar, Jean Waterlot on guitar / keys, and Antoin Michel on drums. Moulding indie rock forms into their artful vision, Ghinzu found their niche on debut album Electronic Jacuzzi, before earning huge acclaim on 2004 record Blow and breakout moment Mirror Mirror five years later.

Ghinzu’s Discography: Electronic Jacuzzi (2000), Blow (2004), Mirror Mirror (2009)

Tracklist CD:

1. When Other Worlds Await
2. Snow White
3. Out of Control
4. Forever
5. Morning Lights
6. Mathias is Gone
7. Apologies
8. It’s The Law
9. #quietluxury
10. Fool
11. Death Race
12. Master Bluff
13. Breathless

Tracklist LP:

Side A
1. When Other Worlds Await
2. Snow White
3. Out of Control
4. Forever
5. Morning Lights

Side B
1. Apologies
2. It’s The Law
3. Fool
4. Death Race
5. Breathless