Red Bull Music Academy offers exciting opportunity

The application phase for the 2015 edition of the Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is in full swing and Namibian talent is encouraged to apply for the Red Bull Music Academy 2015. This year’s the Academy is to be staged in the French capital, Paris, from October 25 to November 27. To pave the way to Paris, both Red Bull Music Academy alum Blinky Bill and Cape Town Red Bull Studios manager Richard Rumney are coming to Windhoek for an RBMA Session tomorrow and a club night on Friday. Blinky Bill is a dyed-in-the-wool hip-hop lover and musical polymath of the highest order. Bill belongs to the Red Bull Music Academy 2014 Tokyo alumni, having represented Kenya at last year’s edition of the Academy. Looking over his discography, you get the feeling that he’s collaborated with pretty much every musician in Nairobi at some point. Local artists and producers will be joining a Session with Blinky Bill, hosted by Richard Rumney at JoJo’s Music & Arts Cafe (Old Breweries Centre), starting at 18:00 tomorrow. The following day, a blissed-out party is hosted for the public at Vibe Lounge, featuring a live set by the guest of honour himself, with additional support from local talents Fisherman and KBoz. The 17th edition of the Red Bull Music Academy will take place in Paris in autumn 2015, bringing together 60 carefully selected producers, vocalists, beat-makers, instrumentalists and DJs. They will be invited to attend intimate lecture sessions and collaborate on music in an expansive, custom-fitted complex of creative and studio spaces. As always, Red Bull Music Academy lectures are then available as archived video content on their website. Former lecturers include Giorgio Moroder, Chuck D, Steve Reich, Sly & Robbie, Bernie Worrell, Mark Ronson, M.I.A., Q-Tip, Hot Chip, MF Doom, Ryuichi Sakamoto, RZA, Stephen O’ Malley, Gilberto Gil, and pioneering synth inventors Bob Moog, Tom Oberheim, Don Buchla, Roger Linn, Dave Smith, among many others. Plenty Academy alumni have gone on to become true figureheads of their scenes like experimental electronic music producer and beat music innovator Flying Lotus; Hudson Mohawke, the Scottish producer behind the beats of Drake and Kanye West; Russian DJ, producer and label head Nina Kraviz; LA soul singer Aloe Blacc; Mexico’s Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Natalia Lafourcade; and the UK’s own Katy B, who introduced the whole world to the sound of London’s dubstep, funky and garage. The Red Bull Music Academy has been pairing music legends and emerging beatsmiths since 1998 in cities such as Berlin, Cape Town, Melbourne, Barcelona, São Paulo, London, New York City and Tokyo. This unique combination of old-school knowledge and new-school sounds is unrivalled for its creative exploration and achievement. Each yearly Academy edition leaves behind structures to encourage musical collaboration and creative exchange for years to come. There are eleven fully equipped Red Bull Studios around the world. WINDHOEK STAFF REPORTER