If the name Jarri Van der Haegen doesn’t ring a bell, the name of his blog Disco Naïveté most certainly will.  For 6 years already, Disco Naïveté is the go-to place on the web if you want to know which music will be hot and happening in the future. It is remarkable how much this 25 year old accomplished through blogging, while still keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground and remembering that there’s more to life than work.

We met when Jarri organized the first vierkantwerpen meeting and I immediately knew he’d be the perfect candidate for another Sundaze blogpost, so I asked him to share a peek into his life and show me his favorite spots in the city.

On a sunny Saturday, Jarri and I met up for brunch at Caravan, one of his favorite hangouts in the city of Antwerp. Because Caravan is a bit outside of the city center, a visit starts with a lovely bike ride through the city and Park Spoor Noord.  This brunch spot is a typical example of the kind of places that Jarri enjoys the most: laidback and unpretentious.

“I don’t want to go somewhere because it’s hip to do so, I enjoy riding my bike to Linkeroever and sitting on a bench in the sun as much as sipping coffee in a hip bar, maybe even more.” Most often he is attracted by the atmosphere of a certain neighborhood rather than a particular bar or restaurant, so one of his favorite weekend pastimes is exploring a new area in the city.

Overlooking the city from the top of the MAS, Jarri explained how he has been living in Antwerp with his boyfriend Jeroen and cat Juul (see #juulsayshi on instagram!) for 3 years. It’s kind of a coincidence that he ended up in this city: after his studies in Leuven, he was sure that he didn’t want to stay there, but wanted to move to a bigger city such as Antwerp or Ghent. In the end he found a job in Antwerp and moved here.

“I’m not that attached to a certain place: I’ve lived in Peer, Geel, Hasselt and Leuven and I feel at home everywhere. “ He does prefer living in a city though and Antwerp really suits him. “I really enjoy the enormous amount of fun initiatives, the diversity of the neighborhoods, the beautiful architecture. It’s a city with a village feeling, where everything is within biking distance. At the same time it’s the perfect base in Belgium.”

If he’d have children in the future, he’d like to move to the outskirts of the city though, with a little garden but still close to the city and its impulses. “I often miss a garden or a terrace here. On the other hand, the city urges you to get out of your house more often, so not having a space outside has its upsides as well.”  

Getting out of the house is exactly what we did on that sunny Saturday, as we rode our bikes along the Schelde and discovered “TIJD voor HETSTEEN”, the lovely café located in historical landmark Het Steen.

Having a drink outside with a view on the river, instantly made us feel as if we were on a summer holiday.  Later we moved inside, to indulge in a piece of pie in their bright and airy space and talk about how Jarri became so passionate about music.

Despite what you might expect, Jarri’s interest in music began quite late. “I was never really into music, I would listen to whatever was on the radio and didn’t realize that there was much more music out there to be discovered, until I made new friends when I started studying law.” Jarri got curious when his new friends were talking about bands he didn’t know, and soon he spent hours on the internet, discovering new bands on a daily basis. “It was a whole new world that I got to know! I’d listen to anything, from German underground bra-less beat poetry to Lady Gaga and the likes, from indie rock to hip hop, from rap to electronica. Every day I was recommending bands to my new friends, until one of them got tired of it and said: maybe you just have to start a blog, because honestly we can’t keep up with your tips anymore.”

It’s been six years since he started blogging and when we met up for this interview, Jarri was still working as a law intern, balancing a full time internship with his work for Disco Naiveté and a well-filled social life. “Even though it takes up a lot of my spare time, I still don’t consider blogging a job.   When I come home after work, I’ll start cooking while listening to some new songs. Later in the evening, often while watching the news, I might write something on my discoveries of the day. It’s a very different approach and much more enjoyable approach then sitting behind a desk with a list of songs I feel obliged to listen to.” Thus after all this time, Jarri is still enjoying blogging as much as on day one. “I’d still do this with as much passion if only six people were reading it!”

Enjoyable or not, Jarri values his time off a lot and doesn’t want to spend it on merely Disco Naïveté. “I don’t like planning my free time to the limits, but I like to be aware of what’s going on in the city and making spontaneous plans. If you’ll ask me on a Saturday to spend Sunday at the beach, I’ll say yes!”

While we were enjoying the view on Antwerp’s city center from the left bank and took a break from our bike ride around town, Jarri told me about his favorite weekend pastimes. “I love sleeping in, enjoying a slow breakfast and seeing where the day takes us. If the weather is nice we might ride our bikes to Antwerp’s left bank, as we did today, check out a new coffee bar or maybe explore a thrift market. On rainy days my boyfriend and I love watching movies, ordering pizza or trying out new recipes.”   Not all of his weekends are spent in Antwerp though, Jarri and his boyfriend love making city trips and have recently been to Porto, Berlin and Paris.

Despite his busy weekdays, Jarri doesn’t put all the pressure on his weekends. “I also want to enjoy my evenings after work and go to a concert, have a dinner party or go out for drinks. As I’m living close to my job, I can sleep relatively late and do something fun at night. I want to make the most of my free time, so evening activities during the week are as important to me as my weekends. “

Unlike what you might expect from a music blogger, Jarri’s knowledge of musical history is pretty limited, but that doesn’t withhold him from writing about today’s musical landscape. “You can see this as a disadvantage, but I think it just means I have a fresh eye on the matter.”  It seems that the rest of the world agrees, because during the past 6 years, Jarri received a lot of amazing opportunities through Disco Naiveté. So much, that he decided to quit his internship as a lawyer and focus his energy on a career in music.

“Like the blogs Coffeeklatch, Ugly Belgian Houses or Baroness O, I want to turn my interest in music into something that pays off financially as well. However, it’s important to me that Disco Naiveté doesn’t become a billboard where I’ll advertise anything as long as it pays. I think it’s the fastest way downhill for a blogger, because you’ll lose your integrity and your readers will notice. In the music business there’s not that much temptation though, as there’s not a lot of money going around and the subject is less tangible.”

With rising stars Tsar B and I will I swear under his manager wings, a position as one of the directors in online music community Human Human and other opportunities on the horizon, it seems as though Jarri doesn’t have anything to worry about. This one’s future surely looks promising.

Jarri Van der Hagen - blog - instagram - twitter - facebook
Caravan, Damplein 17, 2060 Antwerpen - website - instagram - facebook
Museum aan de Stroom, Hanzestedenplaats 1, 2000 Antwerpen - website - facebook - twitter
TIJD voor HETSTEEN, Steenplein 1, 2000 Antwerpen