Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto

Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto

11 October, 2007 | 5.29AM

• Section: Music News
• Written by: Karen P

Red Bull Music Academy, Toronto 2007

Workshop Term 1: September 23 – October 05, 2007

Workshop Term 2: October 14 – October 26, 2007

Red Bull Music Academy, the annual international jamboree of music, art and street culture, landed in Toronto on September 23rd. This year’s sixty talented music makers, who were selected from applicants the world over, arrived and have been locked into a round-the-clock sonic extravaganza – and some. The entire experience is also available for the rest of the world at Red Bull Music Academy’s website (below).

The Red Bull Music Academy rotates around ideas of exchange and open-mindedness – Toronto is the largest city in Canada and, with nearly half of its population born outside Canada, one of the world’s most diverse, making it an ideal departure point for the Academy’s fusion of cultures and styles. And as in previous years, the Academy is not just passing through; it is taking root. The four storey Academy building in the arts-and-club-infused district of Queen St. West is currently being refitted and filled with work by up & coming Canadian artists. There’s an exhibition of black and white photographs taken by young Torontonians from a community art project guided by renowned photographer Jamal Shabazz. Mr. Shabazz is the photographer who’s been capturing hip hop style and New York City’s ‘urban culture’ with such aplomb for the last several decades – you will no doubt remember his critically acclaimed books ‘Back in the Days’ and ‘A Time Before Crack’. The photos, documenting the inner city life/inner city pressure of camera-equipped young Torontonians, will be the first of many such exhibitions that are planned for this space. Once the Academy has wound up its ’07 adventure, Red Bull Canada will move into the building and carry on the legacy of the Academy by maintaining one floor as Toronto’s latest gallery.

The rest of us have been plunged headlong into Red Bull Music Academy’s multimedia onslaught. That means blogs, podcasts and photo galleries, 3 hours of live Red Bull Music Academy Radio every night, relayed recordings from Toronto’s clubs and bandrooms, and daily online video uploads capturing the wise words from the Lecture Hall couch.  With past guests including jazz-funk mega-family the Mizell Brothers, dubstep mouthpiece Skream, Jay-Z’s fired up producer Just Blaze and Detroit techno pioneers U.R., you know you’ll be witnessing history in action.

The RBMA radio is a star in it’s own right. Broadcasting live every evening between 7-10pm in both the Academy building and in The Hub. The live shows are a chance to bring in the day’s lecturers for extra interview time, to play some killer tunes, and to showcase the musical styles of our participants. We’re also recording a slew of unmissable interviews and specials that we’ll be uploading over coming months. Like Human League’s Martyn Ware playing the music that influenced him or Georgia Muldrow and Dudley Perkins spreading live musical love or special live sets from Jake One and Dabrye.

Check the Red Bull Music Academy Radio website (below).

For Toronto residents, the opportunity exists to take an even closer look. On Queen St. West, the Academy Festival Centre is where people can find out about scores of gigs during the four weeks, and attend public workshops on musicianship or beatmaking with some of the acclaimed music makers also presenting lectures at the Academy. Those Academy lectures that are not accessible to the public will be broadcast via a live feed to the Festival Centre, so if peeps are passing by, they can easily drop in and soak up some real live knowledge. The Festival Centre will serve as an Academy hub, where lecturers as well as participants from all around the world can connect with the people of Toronto. It’s the spot for the good people of Queen St West to hear Red Bull Music Academy Radio broadcasting
24/7, pick up our weekly publications, get access to special package ticketing deals, and, well, take five to hang out with the crew!

The Red Bull Music Academy 2007 is underway. Watch out for fireworks!

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