Stijn Cole

Stijn Cole—yeah, he goes by Stan Lee Cole sometimes—has got this wild mix of talents, honestly. Graduated from Studio Herman Teirlinck back in ‘99, and since then, he’s been all over the arts scene. Theatre? He wrote, directed, and acted for Hetpaleis and Podium Modern, messing around with how music and theatre can blend, so you’re not just watching a play, you’re kinda living it. Never one to chill, he kept learning, taking music courses at Berklee and studying jazz in Antwerp, which, let’s be real, not everyone bothers to do after they’ve already “made it.” As a singer-songwriter, he dropped two albums under the name Stan Lee Cole—his song “Separated” didn’t just get a nod, it snagged first prize at the International Songwriting Competition, and that panel had Tom Waits and Robert Smith, so, not exactly small potatoes. The music video nearly grabbed a Belgian MIA award too. These days, he’s ditched the alias and just releases stuff as Stijn Cole. You might’ve caught him on Belgian TV in Scheire en de Schepping, where he was the one-man band for four seasons, not just a face but the whole soundtrack. He also co-founded Off The Record, a beatbox a cappella group that ditched instruments and got crowds moving anyway. Producing for names like KRAMER and Samowar, playing festivals across Benelux—seriously, the guy doesn’t sit still. In 2016, he started Earbug, making music for film, TV, and games, pulling in Antwerp’s top musicians. That work on Dealer? It bagged him an Ensor Award for Best Music. He’s all about finding the right sound for each story, mixing his acting chops with music to build something new every single time.