‘Besoin d’habitudes’ was the first piece I composed in Brussels, after moving there in August 1992. During the first months I lived in a part of Anderlecht which was basically populated by African immigrants who all worked for or owned car repair and second hand car stores. I was the only white person in the Nigerian-owned house, except for a Belgian family of which the father just had returned from jail. We all became friends, and the Nigerians used to walk in an out of my room, eat my food, use my belongings, at any time whether I was working, eating, sleeping, or not. Of course, I was welcome to participate in their private lives to the same extent. In this very particular situation I was in the ‘need of habits’, as the French title translates. I tried to write a simple, easy-to-play piece which would partially refer to earlier, more complex works, employing a reduced, dry, emotionless musical language. The composition is dedicated to my old friend, the writer and philosopher, Harald Borges.