TC Matic

TC Matic was a Belgian rock band formed in 1980 in Brussels around singer Arno Hintjens, better known simply as Arno, and guitarist Paul Couter. The group grew directly out of Tjens Couter, the rhythm-and-blues duo that Arno and Couter had started in the early 1970s. By 1974 the project had expanded into a full band with Ferre Baelen on bass and Rudy Cloet on drums, while Serge Feys later joined on keyboards. Tjens Couter released 'Who Cares' in 1975 and 'Plat du Jour' in 1978 before the move towards TC Matic.

 
The change of name in 1980 marked a pretty radical shift. Paul Couter was soon replaced by guitarist Jean-Marie Aerts, who became Arno's main songwriting partner and an important part of the band's sound. Aerts had already worked as a session musician with artists including Raymond van het Groenewoud and Plastic Bertrand, and he also produced TC Matic's first three albums. 

The new band brought together a strange mixture of new wave, blues, funk, hard rock, avant-garde ideas and French chanson. The result was sometimes described as "eurorock", although TC Matic never fitted comfortably into a single category. Arno's rough, highly individual voice was at the centre of it, while Aerts' guitar work gave the songs a harder and more angular edge. The regular line-up settled around Arno, Aerts, Ferre Baelen, Rudy Cloet and Serge Feys. In 1984, Dutch bassist Michael Peet replaced Baelen. 

The first album, simply titled 'TC Matic', appeared in 1981 and produced the group's first major Belgian success with "O La La La". The song, originally titled "O La La La", became a big club hit and one of the band's signature numbers. Its success helped push the group beyond Belgium, with the debut album eventually appearing in numerous European markets. 

TC Matic followed the debut with 'L'Apache' in 1982 and 'Choco' in 1983. The latter contained "Putain Putain", another of their best-known songs. Written by Arno and Aerts, the track mixed French with English and Ostend dialect and became a minor club hit in Belgium and France. It also showed how naturally Arno could move between languages without making the songs feel tied to a particular national pop tradition. 

The group's European profile continued to grow through touring. They played extensively outside Belgium, including Scandinavia, and in 1986 toured as support for Simple Minds. That tour proved particularly difficult and coincided with the final period of TC Matic. After six years and four studio albums, the band ceased to exist in 1986. Their studio catalogue consisted of 'TC Matic' (1981), 'L'Apache' (1982), 'Choco' (1983) and 'Yé Yé' (1985). 

A big part of TC Matic's visual identity came from photographer and designer Danny Willems, Arno's lifelong friend. Willems had known Arno since the early 1970s and photographed his earlier groups before becoming closely involved with TC Matic. He worked on the band's record sleeves, photography and graphic presentation, and was also involved with their live shows. His photographs became closely associated with the image of the group, including the famous 1981 line-up photograph. 

After the split, Arno began his solo career under the name Arno, while Jean-Marie Aerts continued working as a guitarist, songwriter and producer. Aerts went on to produce records for artists including Jo Lemaire and Urban Dance Squad, while former TC Matic members Rudy Cloet and Serge Feys also continued working with Arno during different periods of his solo career. 

In 2017 Arno returned to the material from his early years with a new live project called Tjens Matic. The band brought together Arno with guitarist Bruno Fevery, bassist Mirko Banovic and drummer Laurens Smagghe, concentrating on songs from the Tjens Couter and early TC Matic period. The project was presented as a way of reconnecting the blues-rock of Tjens Couter with the more angular direction that developed into TC Matic. Arno continued performing with the project during the following years, alongside his solo work under the Arno name, until his death in Brussels on April 23, 2022. 

Jean-Marie Aerts died in April 2024, aged 72. His partnership with Arno had been central to the TC Matic catalogue, with the two responsible for the majority of the band's compositions and for much of the distinctive sound that developed between the first album and 'Yé Yé'.