Hybryds seek to rebuild lost Belgian industrial video archive after YouTube takedown
Belgian ritual-industrial project Hybryds is trying to reconstruct the Belgian industrial archive on YouTube after the platform took it down. The band’s YouTube channel once held rare footage from Belgium’s industrial scene in the 1980s and 1990s, including material connected to artists such as Klinik and Dirk Ivens.
In an email sent to Side-Line Sandy Nys (Hybryds) says YouTube removed the channel after what it described as an AI flag for “nudity,” and that no meaningful appeal followed.
The band also told us that backups had survived for years, but that both hard drives failed after about 25 years. “It’s a strong reminder of how fragile digital memory is – without constant care and preservation, even valuable history can disappear overnight.” Nys now plans to re-digitize the original VHS tapes and rebuild what can still be recovered.
UPDATE: In a follow-up email, Nys tells us that they will be uploading all of the content on this Arvhive.org space.
This case again shows that ownership of data has become extremely difficult today and can be quite volatile when you have to rely on external platforms such YouTube. The same goes for Facebook, Instagram, X, … There is simply no guarantee that your content (or even account) will stay alive and kicking in the long run.
About Hybryds
Hybryds is a Belgian project centered on Sandy Nys. The act has been active since the mid-1980s and is known for ritual, mythical and industrial electronic work. Its history reaches back to the cassette-era Belgian underground and later expanded through a broader circle of collaborators, including Peter De Koning.
Nys’ career began with the 1986 cassette “Mythical Music From The 21st Century.” Later releases included “Music For Rituals” in 1992, “The Ritual Of The Rave” in 1995, “Cortex Stimulation” in 1996 and “Electric Voodoo” in 2002. More recent releases include “Mythopia” in 2021, “Mythopia, the Sequel” in 2024, “In the Wake of the Witch – extended release” in 2024 and “Mythopia The radioplay remix album” in 2024.
You may also want to read our recent interview with Sandy Nys from Hybryds.
For a more complete discography, check the list below.
- 1986: “Mythical Music From The 21st Century” (cassette)
- 1991-1992: “The Ritual Should Be Kept Alive, Part 1”, “Music For Rituals”, “The Ritual Should Be Kept Alive, Part 2”
- 1994: “The Rhythm Of The Ritual”, “The Atavistic Fetisj” (EP)
- 1995: “Soundtrack For The Aquarium: Antwerp Zoo”, “The Ritual Of The Rave”
- 1996: “Cortex Stimulation”, “Dreamscapes From A Dark Side”, “Mistrust Authority – Promote Decentralisation”, “Madhr” (split with The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud)
- 1997: “Ein Phallischer Gott”, “Clavis” (with Nebulon), “Live”
- 1998: “Tectonic Overload”
- 2000: “Virtual Impact”
- 2002: “Electric Voodoo”, “Tryptykh”, “Lust” (EP)
- 2008: “Dreambient”
- 2009: “Ritual Anthology”
- 2010: “Urban Rhythms Urban Rituals”
- 2013: “The Silent Whisper”, “Hybryds versus Weydas”
- 2015: “The Ritual Should Be Kept Alive”
- 2017: “Only Darkness”
- 2022: “Mythopia”, plus the Bandcamp reissue of “The Ritual Should Be Kept Alive – part 1”
- 2024: “Mythopia, the sequel.”, “In the wake of the Witch – extended release”, “Mythopia The radioplay remix album”, “I am the eye of Horus”
- 2025: “The ritual of the drum- mini album!”, “Desert of white salt”, “Live at Stubnitz boat 2002.”
- 2026: “Fire and Ice – Part 1”, plus Bandcamp archive uploads of “The ritual of the rave (DAFT – 1995)”, “Cortex Stimulation (DAFT – 1996)”, and “Electric Voodoo (DAFT – 2002)”.
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