MUMBAI: Each year, Red Bull Music Academy invites music makers around the world to submit their demos and fill out that weighty application form. What follows is a lengthy process involving giant stacks of yellow crates filled with postal deliveries, and page upon page filled with the motivations, silly jokes and creative processes of singers, musicians, producers and DJs in 102 countries.
Since the 2015 Red Bull Music Academy in Paris was cut short due to the devastating events that took place in the city on November 13, the 30 participants selected for the second term in Paris will join 40 newly-selected participants in Montreal. That means the total number of participants in Montreal will add up to 70, instead of the usual 60.
Among the 70 are two young Bengaluru-based producers, The Sine Painter and Oceantied. Having been selected to attend the second term of the Academy in Paris last year, The Sine Painter will now travel to Montreal later this year. Selected from among the fresh batch of applicants for the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal is Ketan Bahirat, aka Oceantied, who also doubles as guitarist for the post-rock outfit Until We Last.
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This year, the Academy jury listened through 3500 application CDs, and a group of successful applicants has now been chosen to reflect the diverse styles, methodologies and cultural backgrounds among those applications. 70 emerging music makers from countries including Lebanon, South Korea, Iceland and Peru have been invited to join the 18th edition of the Red Bull Music Academy, to be held in Montreal from September 24 to October 28 this year. 38 countries will be represented, making this the widest array of nationalities so far to attend a single edition of the Academy.
The names of all the selected artists who applied in 2016 will be announced between June 27 – 30: stay tuned todaily.redbullmusicacademy.com and @RBMA to find out their names. Their ranks include a Toronto producer of “ethereal R&B” whose first solo track debuted less than a year ago; a Kansas-raised atmospheric guitarist and singer recently signed to Domino; a Latvian artist making “post new age, documentary beats”; a Taiwanese trap and grime producer/DJ; and a producer of saturated, somnambulant electronica, based in Tehran, where nightclubs are prohibited.
Over five weeks from late September to late October, these artists will come together in custom-designed spaces at Phi Centre, an acclaimed contemporary art gallery and cultural center in Old Montreal. They will attend lectures by musical luminaries, and exchange personal perspectives and free-ranging ideas on every facet of music making. At the same time, Red Bull Music Academy will present a five-week festival of concerts, club nights and public talks at the city’s most stunning music and cultural venues. Phi Centre is an institution and performance space at the heart of Montreal’s creative community, with an ethos of exchange and discovery which matches the Academy’s long term commitment to exploring all aspects of creative culture – providing a space for music lovers to immerse themselves.
