With continuing third and even fifth waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a pall on the live music industry around the world. But a group of 14 festival organizers and 19 bands has rallied together to host the second edition of Culturas 360°, an annual global online music project.
The partner organizations of the inaugural edition are the hosts of Sunfest in London, Ontario (Canada); IndiEarth XChange in Chennai (India); MMM Festival in Maputo (Mozambique); MARE in Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Ollin Kan Festival in Mexico City (Mexico); Kriol Jazz Festival in Praia (Cape Verde); Havana International Jazz Festival in Havana (Cuba); WOMAD in Recoleta (Chile); and Artes á Rúa in Evora (Portugal).
Five new festival partners have signed up for the second edition: Concert of Colours (US), Musica Mundo (Brazil), Small World Music (Canada), WOMAD Roma (Italy), and Voice of Nomads (Russia).
The second edition of this global music festival will be held online this weekend, on November 27-28. The first edition was streamed live on March 27-28 earlier this year.
See my photo-essays on earlier editions of IndiEarth XChange in Chennai, and the pandemic lockdown activities of the Indian Music Experience museum in Bangalore.
Edition I, Edition II
“From nine founding member festivals, we are now a collective of 14 festivals, and the next edition in March 2022 will have many more festivals in the collective,” explains Sonya Mazumdar, CEO and Director of EarthSync, based in Chennai, India, in a chat with World Music Central.
“What I find magical is that Culturas 360 has grown to be a wider collective of not just festivals, but also artists, managers, and production houses that share the ideology, and empower CULTURAS 360 in its growth,” she adds. The first edition in March had an audience of over 95,000 from around the world.
“The first edition was a unique experience since we didn’t know what to expect. However, we believe that the greatest achievement was to come together as a collective and to support each other during this difficult period,” says Alfredo Caxaj, Co-Artistic Director of SUNFEST, hosted in London, Ontario, Canada.
“Most importantly, we continue supporting artists and to engage with audiences all over the world,” he adds.
Artist lineup
The artist lineup this weekend includes Okavango African Orchestra, a Juno award-winning ensemble of seven African-born musicians who live in Toronto and Montreal. Their music creates a common meeting place and harmony of multiple styles and languages.
Based in Canada, Vox Sambou writes and performs in Creole, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. He is a founding member of Montreal-based hip-hop collective, Nomadic Massive. He combines Haitian rhythms with Afrobeat, jazz, reggae, and hip-hop, addressing issues of social justice.
Modern Portuguese band Virgem Suta are known for their contagious energy as well as tranquility, with a string of favourite hits. The Serbian band Naked has a unique mix of traditional Balkan, global urban, swing, funk and jazz styles.
Algerian musician Fethi Nadjem grew up in a musical family of musicians, and plays violin and mandole. He is the co-founder of fusion band Djmawi Africa, and is now based in Toronto.
Cuban musician Michel Herrera has also collaborated with cross-genre musicians such as Bobby Carcaces, Joaquin Betancourt, Isaac Delgado, Wynton Marsallis, Darryl Jones, and John Corabi.
Chilean duo Reptila, formed by Andrea Zárate and Maite Rojas, blends electronic music, pop, and punk. The diversity reflects the name Reptilia, a being that can live on land and in the water.
Mexican group Pañuelo Rojo performs popular Mexican and contemporary music. Their repertoire spans Latin jazz and marimba styles, and has been showcased in Ecuador, Colombia and Japan as well.
Siberian artist Namgar’s music is a fusion of Buryat-Mongolian tradition and modern rock/jazz elements. Namgar Lhasaranova has an impressive vocal range, backed by a band performing on the yatag (13-stringed zither), chanza (three-stringed lute) and the morin khuur (two-stringed bowed instrument).
Mozambican artiste Lenna Bahule has collaborated with groups from other African countries and Brazil as well. Her debut album NÔMADE was rated among the 100 best albums produced in Brazil in 2016. She is also an art educator in group singing, body-voice movement and folk music.
Other performers include Inga Ingrid (Buryat folk performer from Russia), Nadir Omowale (funk rock artist from Detorit), Chejere (presenting Mexican and Caribbean styles), and Le Vent du Nord (award-winning progressive francophone folk band from Quebec, Canada).
Outlook 2022
“There is still a lot of uncertainty for next year,” Alfredo cautions. “It’s been encouraging to see some music markets and conferences returning this year, as well as concert series and festivals with limited capacity,” he observes.
“At the same time, in some European and many other countries, the COVID-19 conditions have deteriorated. This unsteady situation makes it difficult for the planning of many festivals and concerts,” Alfredo laments.
The hybrid ‘new normal’ offers equal measures of doubt and opportunity. “We believe that these new digital tools will remain in place to continue enhancing our work. Of course, nothing compares to the in-person and live performances,” Alfredo observes.
“Virtual activities will continue in some form to complement the rest of our regular activities,” he adds.
“The festival industry is badly hurt and will take time to heal. The situation with the pandemic, the health and safety decisions, and the challenges of travel, make the landscape still too fragile and high-risk for festivals organizers,” Sonya adds.
Edition II
For this second edition, the organizers built on the process laid out for the first edition. “Each festival submitted one or two artists, and the lineup was complemented by several artists that expressed their interest in being part of this,” Alfredo explains.
Some members of the collective reviewed their material and then approved them. “We believe that after this second edition and because we have already received so much interest from other festivals, agents and artists themselves, we have established some kind of a juried process,” he adds.
The organizers can combine all kinds of elements in order to make the proper selection of artists. “Of course, the fundamental principle will continue being artistic quality and integrity of the project,” Alfredo affirms.
Obstacle and opportunity
“We think that in some way the challenges we had at the beginning of this difficult period are still there. Despite the fact that we have access to all kinds of digital communication tools, it is not the same as having in person conversations, since you never know what the other person is doing on the other side of the screen,” Alfredo explains.
Many stakeholders had to adapt to this new reality. “That also made it possible to create job opportunities in several sectors such as recording studios, videographers, editors, and others,” he adds.
“In many countries there are still huge challenges with technology. This includes low internet bandwidths, access to tools and services, or quality recording facilities,” Sonya observes.
Message and meaning
The organizers also have important messages for musicians, audiences, sponsors and other stakeholders.
“Now more than ever before is the time to support initiatives such as CULTURAS 360. Projects like this are bringing people together and this is a unique opportunity for sponsors to promote themselves in supporting good causes,” Alfredo urges.
Virtual programming has enabled outreach to thousands of people everywhere. “This is indeed a great time for sponsors to put their name behind initiatives like this,” he adds.
“Sponsors could greatly benefit with the new opportunities that a platform like CULTURAS 360 could bring them. Local sponsors can reach a wider international audience that will bring brands a wider visibility and increase value,” Sonya affirms.
“Keep engaging with the artists, support them in every possible! Support your local artists, festivals and organizations. The joy that music brings to our lives is simply unmeasurable,” Alfredo signs off, as a message to audiences.
Author: Madanmohan Rao
Madanmohan Rao is an author and media consultant from Bangalore, and global correspondent for world music and jazz for World Music Central and Jazzuality. He has written over 15 books on media, management and culture, and is research director for YourStory Media. Madan was formerly World Music Editor at Rave magazine and RJ at WorldSpace, and can be followed on Twitter at @MadanRao.