Applications Now Open to New Zealand Musicians for the Red Bull Music Academy, Tokyo, 2014
Academy dates: October 12 – November 14
Application dates: Jan 15 – March 18
The Red Bull Music Academy has been right around the world over the last fifteen years, and this October we’re heading to Tokyo. Music makers of
all styles, methodologies and levels of experience are invited to apply by March 18, 2014, for a two-week escapade
exploring music from every angle; an experience that many alumni have described as life-changing.
"There is no other uniquely special opportunity on this earth quite like The Red Bull Music Academy. I had the absolute
pleasure of meeting some of my hero's, Q-Tip and ?uest Love. I was able to connect with other musical minds from all over the world, whilst writing and recording with them into
the wee hours. Participants can expect no less than a completely inspiring, hospitable, profound, and expansive learning
experience," says 2013 New Zealand #RBMA particpant,Louis Baker.
To gain audible insights into the goings-on at the most recent edition, take a listen to the brand new compilation Various Assets - Not For Sale, featuring music created by participants at the Academy in New York in 2013.
To apply for the Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo, music makers must be 20 years of age by October 12, 2014. For all
information, FAQs and to download the application form, prospective applicants should find their way toredbullmusicacademy.com/apply.
Destination Tokyo
The Red Bull Music Academy takes its complement of music festivals and workshops to a new city each year. Previous stops
have included NYC, Toronto, London, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Melbourne, and Cape Town. Tokyo is one of the world’s most iconic
cities – a place that tends to inspire mythic reimagining. This is a country that has long embraced the soul in the
machine, while its composers, equipment designers and game soundtracks have had an inestimable influence on modern
music. Ever since the pioneering work of artists like Isao Tomita, YMO and Yann Tomita, the country has produced many
fine purveyors of detailed, ethereal soundscapes and electronic music with elements of new wave, jazz or psychedelia.
Technology provides a constant departure point, and many of Japan’s front-running electronic music artists – Daito
Manabe and Ryoji Ikeda among them – have embraced the use of video art, multimedia platforms and large-scale visual
installations in realising their work. Dancehall, hip hop, garage rock, experimental music and funk and soul have
variously grown into burgeoning scenes on the streets of Harajuku, in big music arenas, in grand concert halls, and in
the many small but well-stocked second hand record stores that are a collector's dream.
Tokyo, the original urban jungle, with over 13 million inhabitants, is a place where the ancient past and the recently
imagined future are deeply entwined, and vestiges of old Edo underlie the city’s sprawl. From October 12 through
November 14, 2014, the world-travelling music lab and festival will set up shop in the city for five weeks' worth of
workshops, concerts, club nights, and all-round musical extravaganzas held all across the city.
Beautiful Rewind – Academy Lecturers
Exchange between genres and generations has always been central to the Academy philosophy. Former lecturers include Bob
Moog, Nile Rodgers, Steve Reich, Kim Gordon, Flying Lotus, Giorgio Moroder, Erykah Badu, Bootsy Collins, Brian Eno,
Richie Hawtin, Tony Allen, Q-Tip, Sly & Robbie, Chuck D, M.I.A., James Murphy, and Moodymann, to name a few. Find an archive of Academy lectures at our
homepage redbullmusicacademy.com
Going Places – Red Bull Music Academy’s Various Assets Compilation
The infamous yearly compilation ‘Various Assets - Not For Sale' provides a snapshot of the ideas and collaborative
projects that tend to spring out of Red Bull Music Academy studio sessions. The latest edition of Various Assets,
features 30 tracks created by participants at the Academy in New York. It includes a few solo tracks, and a whole lot of
collaborations. The CD release is now available for download on redbullmusicacademy.com/various-assets.
What Is The Red Bull Music Academy?
The journey of the Red Bull Music Academy began 15 years ago, and since then the yearly music jamboree has travelled to
cities around the world. For each event, a building is fitted out with specially designed workspaces, high-end recording
studio, radio studio and communal spaces, and installed with an exhibition of local established and emerging visual
artists. By night, Red Bull Music Academy presents a festival of ground-breaking signature concerts and parties held in
the city’s cult venues, cultural institutions, and hidden spaces. Likewise, there’s no corner of the sonic universe that
the Academy’s lecture sessions have left unexplored. What began in the backyard of an unassuming Berlin warehouse
resulted in a yearly venture, bringing music festivals and workshops to every continent. Red Bull Music Academy puts on
some 500 night time events a year, each one intended to challenge and inspire. #RBMA curates stages at the most
significant of festivals, including Sónar, Montreux and Movement. It hosts an online magazine (redbullmusicacademy.com,) a 24/7 online radio station (rbmaradio.com) and a megaverse of couch conversations; all watchable from your mobile device. Some Academy alumni have gone to the
top of various charts, others became doctors or graphic designers, but even more are creating heartfelt, meaningful and
cutting-edge music.
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