20 years of Red Bull Music Academy
Last September 2018 Berlin held the 20th anniversary of the Red Bull Music Academy, a project that has done a lot for music and culture, probably like no other in the world. It seemed to me that returning for the anniversary to the city where it all started was an act of romanticism, a nice nod to the considered capital of electronic music; now we know that a circle was being closed and that the 2018 edition will have been the last.
We know that since April 3, 2019 when Red Bull announced that the RBMA and the Red Bull Radio would close next October 31st “to move away from a strongly centralized approach, and gradually phase out the existing structure and implement a new setup which empowers existing Red Bull country teams and utilizes local expertise”. And to dispel any kind of doubt, Yadastar, the marketing and consultancy company that partnered with Red Bull to manage the creative and curatorial side of both the RBMA and the Radio, said in a statement on Twitter that the companies had “mutually agreed to part ways.”
Björk as lecturer guest at the RBMA in Montreal 2016. Photo by Santiago Felipe
RBMA was cofounded in 1998 by Torsten Schmidt and Many Ameri to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and inspiration between influential music-makers and up-and-coming artists representing different backgrounds, genres and generations. Since that first edition which took place in a repurposed warehouse in the east of Berlin until this last one, held at Funkhaus Berlin, the RBMA has toured the world, hosting lectures, workshops, parties and concerts across the globe, while also running a daily online music publication.
For every edition, prospective applicants to the Academy had to prepare a demo CD of their work, either songs or a DJ set and mailed it to the Red Bull Music Academy office in Germany. From there, each application was taken into consideration, with no quota on country or musical genre. Out of these applications, 60 were selected and taken afterwards all of them into the location of the respective year's event, seeking to bring together music makers with a wide range of talents, skill levels and cultural backgrounds.
Torsten Schmidt & Many Ameri cofounders of the RBMA in Berlin 2019. Photo by Dan Wilton
For two weeks, the participants had the opportunity to work in up to twelve studios specially designed for every edition of the Academy, having full access to a range of the latest gear as well as analog equipment for music production and performance and having to attend lectures by guest speakers who ranged from composers, producers, sound engineers and technological pioneers, to rappers and industry professionals.
Along these 20 years, the Academy has given many names (Nina Kraviz, Modeselektor, Flying Lotus, Aloe Blacc, Natalia Lafourcade, etc ...) or have had amazing guests (Björk, Iggy Pop, Laurent Garnier, Jeff Mills, Nile Rodgers, James Murphy, and many many more) but also along all the cities where it has taken part, the RBMA has always been very sensitive to the local circumstances trying to make a difference and a positive influence in the community. At this point its is necessary to emphasize the collaborations throughout the years with fantastic local architects that left unforgettable designs (Madrid, Tokyo, Montreal, New York, etc ...).
RBMA recording studios in Madrid 2011 designed by Spanish architecture firm Langarita Navarro. Photo by Luis Diaz Diaz
To sum up I would say that RBMA has been an example not only musically, but culturally and hopefully what is next to come will be as good as the RBMA has been.
Do not miss any detail of the RBMA history by checking out all the links below and remember past editions, alumni, guest lectures, locations and a long etcetera!
Berlin (1998), Berlin (1999), Dublin (2000), New York (2001), London and Sao Paulo (2002), Cape Town (2003), Rome (2004), Seattle (2005), Melbourne (2006), Toronto (2007), Barcelona (2008), London (2010), Madrid (2011), New York (2013), Tokyo (2014), Paris (2015), Montreal (2016) and Berlin (2018).
Cover photograph by Martin Reisch
