Congratulations : you have just reached Planète Indie..
Planète Indie is a monthly, Belgian radio show, exclusively dedicated to independent artists, talents, labels, and music.

My name is Pierre Gerard, I am very proud to be its "father", and I am on the air each month, every first Saturday between 5pm until 6.30pm to host it. I will not talk a lot about me here. If you want to know more about me, read the FAQ or go directly to my personal web page.

The History

This show started officially on the air in July 1997, after several weeks of preparation, and it has been growing since then.
Since the beginning, the show has been very ambitious : it aims at becoming a reference in the area and in Belgium for the world of independent music. Even if it is mainly focused on pop, rock and electronic music, there is room for each and every style, provided the music is good.
A lot of things have happened during these almost 10 years of existence. It all started during my last year at university : I joined the university radio and discovered its "spirit" : an open mind for getting behind the traditional borders and discovering what is hidden on the other side. When I ended up studying, I wanted to keep this alive in me and started this show on a local station in the region where I live. And now, in 2007, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Planète Indie.

If it is now a monthly event, it was, at the beginning and for the first 8 years, a weekly show. I then had to stop for slightly more than a year due to "professional" reasons : I attended some very time-consuming evening classes and could no longer maintain a high-quality level and commitment. I therefore preferred to have a break.
The re-birth took place in 2006, after having been invited in Switzerland to attend the famous festival "Voix de Fête" in Geneva. This gave me the desire, energy and strength to start all over again.

As you might guess, I am completely voluntary for this "adventure". No sponsor or financial support (this would be opposite to the philosophy of the show, as well as of the indie world).
This show is entirely auto-produced. It takes me a lot of time (preparing the shows, writing some reviews, updating the web site, answering to the emails, ...). So please, allow me some time to reply to your mails.

The Geography

Planète Indie is broadcast every first Saturday of each month between 5pm and 6.30pm on 100.1fm.
The transmitter is located in the deep South of Belgium, in the area of Arlon - Virton - Florenville - Longwy (F) - Aubange. This makes the show being received not only in Belgium, but also in some parts of Northern France and Western Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

During all these years, I have been hosted by 3 radios (where of one in France). When I moved, I found it easier and more convenient to been hosted by a station closer my house. I therefore left the inital Must fm to go for a couple of months across the border in France. The show is since 2006 back in Belgium on 100,1fm.

The Web Site(s)

Planète Indie has also been present on the internet since the beginning. It is for me the cheapest and most efficient way to let people around the world know about this project.

The story of Planète Indie on the web was made of several ups and downs... At the beginning, there was only one web site, hosted at Geocities. I then decided to set up a mirror site, on a European server. This mirror moved a couple of times, but all these hosts turned out unreliable each time (Altern stopped its activities, as well as Citeweb, and Freeflight had loads of ads...), until it found some stability at Swing.
The problem with Geocities is that advertisement is taking more and more space. Moreover, the gains of keeping up to date two sites are not really justified anymore. In order to make the surfers' life easier, I decided to put everything back in order. From now on, the only reference address to reach Planète Indie will be www.pierregerard.be/planete, and the pages will be hosted on an ads-free server. I therefore invite everyone to update their bookmarks, links, ... The web site at Geocities will thus progressively be left alone (or rather not maintained up to date).

I did not check, but I guess that all the other addresses that were previously used do no longer exist. Should you find any other web site, you should not pay attention to it : the only official home of Planète Indie on the web is www.pierregerard.be/planete.

I am sorry of all the troubles that these changes may cause you, but I am sure that you will understand that this is done to make you visit easier and more pleasant.

This site should provide you with the latest information about the show, about how to get in touch with me, about how to submit material, ... If you want to know anything that you cannot find, read first the frequently asked questions. Should you not find the answer to your question, do not hesitate to contact me either by snail mail or by email.

If you are unsure about the correct way to use this site, if you are looking for a precise bit of information, I advise you to read carefully the 'read me first' section ('How to use this site ?').

This web site is updated as often as possible, as often as needed.
For example, the playlists are currently updated each month, after the show takes place.
Moreover, as far as the playlists are concerned, a 'direct delivery' service is available : I run a mailing list for them. You can have them delivered automatically and regularly (once a month, after the show) to your mailbox. It is very easy to join in and to leave : to subscribe, send me an email with 'I wanna get your playlists' in the subject field. To unsubscribe, email me with 'No more playlists' as subject.

New sections also appear from time to time, depending on my inspiration and on my free time... since these pages are at 100 % hand-written, directly in HTML, without editor.