The World Music Expo (WOMEX) has unveiled the first set of official jury-selected showcase artists scheduled to perform in Tampere, Finland, October 23 – 27, 2019.
Marina Satti – Photo by Penelopi Gerasimou
The 2019 selection thus far represents a wide-range of world music genres and styles: new tango, urban-edged Senegambian sabar drums, polyphonic vocal tradition of Georgia; the fiddles of Finland, Brazil’s ‘Queen of Carimbó’; an Iranian orchestra, Sindhi sarangi fiddle from Rajasthan deser, Korean pansori singing , reggae, sacred steel guitar gospel blues and more.
Lakha Khan (India) – Photo by Shiv Ahuja
The first set of jury-selected WOMEX 19 Showcase artists are:
3MA: Ballaké
Sissoko, Driss El Maloumi, Rajery (Mali/Morocco/Madagascar)
Arat Kilo w/
Mamani Keita & Mike Ladd (Mali/USA/France)
Bani Hill Band (Georgia)
Bongeziwe Mabandla (South Africa)
Dona Onete
(Brazil)
Duo Emilia
Lajunen & Suvi Oskala (Finland)
El Cachivache
Quinteto (Argentina)
Fofoulah
(Gambia/Senegal/UK)
Khonyagaran
(Iran)
Lakha Khan
(India)
Lemma
(Algeria/France)
Marina Satti
(Greece/Sudan)
Maya Kamaty (La
Réunion)
NST & The Soul Sauce meets Kim Yulhee (South Korea)
Manu Chao and Calypso Rose have released an updated version of “Clandestino”, Chao’s cult song from 1998. “Clandestino” talks about illegal immigrants, dots at sea, ghosts in the city, lost and without papers. Calypso Rose now sings about the shipwrecked on the way to “the land in front don’t want me, the land behind me burns”. Calypso Rose says: “Everything I see on TV makes me want to cry. These things should not happen in the 21st century. “
An animated music video made by Wise Bird studio accompanies this new single. The vibrant video shows the need to “value everything that ‘the clandestine’ can contribute. It is not a simple shadow that society does not want to see.”
Manu Chao met Calypso Rose at the Carnival of Trinidad and Tobago in 2015. “He came to my hotel in sneakers, shorts and with a small old guitar,” says Rose. Manu captivated her and they spent hours playing and singing. “If Manu did not have a partner, I would be happy to be Mrs. Chao.”
Manu Chao and Calypso Rose
Both artists understood each other so well from the first moment that they decided to work together on “Far From Home“, Calypso Rose’s album released in 2016 on Because Music. This irresistible mix of traditional and modern calypso, soca, reggae tints and the characteristic guitar of Manu Chao, is the biggest international sales success in Rose’s 60-year career. Her subsequent album “So Calypso” (2018), also released by Because Music, has served to consolidate Calypso Rose’s international audience. As proof of this, at 78, Calypso Rose became the most elderly artist to perform at the latest edition of the Coachella festival.
Unsigned Only will continue to receive submissions until April 30, 2019. Unsigned Only includes a world music category and is looking for talented, unsigned artists who deserve to be heard.
Submit your entry now before the April 30th deadline for your chance at $20,000 US in cash, plus one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. Enter your songs at http://bit.ly/2VU61Qo
The “Andrea Parodi Award”, the only Italian world music competition, organized by the Andrea Parodi Foundation, is seeking international submissions for its twelfth edition. Registration is free. Submissions must be sent no later than May 31, 2019, using the format on www.fondazioneandreaparodi.it
Submissions must contain:
2 tracks (2 mp3 files, specimens or live recordings or final realizations; indicate with which of the two tracks you intend to compete);
lyrics and any translations into Italian of the two passages;
artist biography of the competitor (solo or group)
There are many prizes for the winner, including a series of concerts and participations in some of the most important Italian festivals in 2020, such as “European jazz expo” in Sardinia, Folkest in Friuli, Negro Festival in Pertosa (SA), Mei of Faenza, the Parodi Prize ceremony, and other events that will be announced. In addition to this, the winner will receive a grant of 2,500 euros. The winner of the Critics Award will receive a professional-quality music video of the competing piece, funded the Andrea Parodi Foundation.
The finals will take place in Cagliari October 10-12, 2019.
The Award intends to enhance the new trends in world music, artists who mix the so-called folk or ethnic music with sounds and stylistic models of different origins.
From all the entries, the Artistic Commission established by the Foundation will select, anonymously, eight to twelve finalists. The finalists will perform in Cagliari at the “Premio Andrea Parodi” 2018 festival, before a Technical Jury (experts, authors, musicians, poets, writers and songwriters) and a Critical Jury (journalists). Both juries, as in previous years, will be composed of authoritative exponents of the sector.
The event was born to pay tribute to the late Andrea Parodi, an acclaimed Italian musician in the field of world music.
Unsigned Only Music Competition has announced the addition of World Music to its line-up of eligible categories. Unsigned Only Music Competition is designed for all independent artists (including solo artists, groups, and vocalists) who are unsigned to a major label record deal. Unsigned Only’s goal is to give artists exposure, recognition, and validation for their artistry and is the premier music competition in the world for indie and unsigned artists.
”We are very pleased that World Music artists will now be able to enter the competition and have their music heard by such an esteemed panel of judges,” said Candace Avery and Jim Morgan, Co-Founders of Unsigned Only. “We are strongly committed to providing exposure to the different music traditions of the world, and we look forward to providing World Music artists the opportunity to showcase their music on a global platform.”
Unsigned Only awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes split among 38 winners, including a $20,000 cash prize to the overall Grand Prize winner. The Grand Prize winner is also awarded one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. This is a unique opportunity for an artist to directly network with the highest level of record company professionals and get guidance, advice, and feedback. First Place and Second Place winners will also be selected in each category and awarded prizes.
Since its inception in 2002, Unsigned Only has become an important source for discovering new talent, with five Grand Prize winners having been signed to record deals. Additionally, winners have seen major benefits including securing licensing and publishing deals, getting better gigs, increasing their media coverage, and expanding their fan base.
Categories include: AAA (Adult Album Alternative), AC (Adult Contemporary), Americana, Blues, Christian, Country, EDM, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Instrumental, Jazz, Latin, Pop/Top 40, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Screen Shot (songs suitable for placement in film/TV/advertising/gaming), Teen (artists 18 years old or younger), Vocal Performance, and World Music.
Unsigned Only is sponsored by Berklee College of Music; Eventric; Hybrid Studios; Lurssen Mastering; Merch Cat; Musicians Institute; Musician Wellness; Pro Tour Nutrition; Radio Airplay; Shubb Capos; Symphonic Distribution; The Music Business Registry; and Vocal Eze.
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s USArtists International (USAI) has grants available that support performances by U.S. dance, music, and theater ensembles and solo artists invited to perform at important cultural festivals and performing arts marketplaces anywhere in the world, outside the United States and its territories.
Grants of up to $15,000 are available. The next deadline is April 3, 2019 for engagements between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020.
Since the program’s creation, USArtists International grantees have showcased the vibrant diversity of U.S. artists and creative expression in the performing arts.
Rivers of Sound Orchestra performed at the November Music Festival in The Netherlands with support from the 2019 USAI program. Credit: Tom Beetz.
USAI is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding and is the only program of its size and scope in the United States.
headline photo: 2019 USAI grantee Ledoh & Salt Farm in HEARTLAND at the International Butoh Festival Thailand. Credit: Terry Hatfield.
World Music Expo, WOMEX, has announced the members of the jury that will review showcase and conference proposals for the 2109 edition. WOMEX 2019 will take place in Tampere, Finland.
The Program consists of proposals coming from all over the globe and applications are divided into four categories: ‘Showcase’, ‘Club Summit’, ‘Conference’ and ‘Film’.
The seven curators, four women and three men, are active members of the world music community.
The Showcase Jury:
Alejandra Gómez (Colombia), director, Biche Amandine Saumonneau (France), coordinator, Zone Franche Divya Bhatia (India), artist director and producer, Jodhpur RIFF Tapio Korjus (Finland), managing director, Rockadillo Production OY Zlata Holušová (Czech Republic), festival director, Colours of Ostrava
The Conference Jury:
Hinurewa te Hau (New Zealand), director, Tamaki Makaurau Matariki Festival Trust
Virgo Sillamaa (Estonia), director, Music Estonia
Club Summit Curator
Emily Dust, renowned DJ, promoter and broadcaster, will be curating the WOMEX Club Summit, a series of customized club nights that feature a line-up of DJs and producers, highlighting the trends, sounds and beats featured on dancefloors across the world.
The global youth-music nonprofit, JM International (JMI),
has announced a new development to its Ethno program. 2019 will mark the
beginning of a 3-year project to strengthen the program’s effect, outreaching
more young musicians worldwide, strengthening the program’s organizational
capacity and bringing greater attention to the vital work being done through
Ethno.
JM International reports that access to music education and
opportunities for youth around the globe are currently inadequate and mostly available
only to those with the economic resources to access them. These new
opportunities will allow young people to develop skills in music, enhance their
personal growth, and to expose them to their own and other cultures.
Ethno is JM International’s program for folk, world and
traditional music, directed at young musicians (13-30). Founded in 1990 in
Falun, Sweden, Ethno’s mission is to revive, invigorate and disseminate our
global traditional musical heritage. Today Ethno is present in over 20
countries, running a series of annual international music camps, workshops and
concerts that promote peace, tolerance and understanding.
At the core of Ethno lies its democratic peer-to-peer learning approach, where young musicians teach each other the music from their countries and cultures. This non-formal pedagogy provides a unique opportunity for young people from across the globe to come together and engage through music, in a manner characterized by respect, generosity and openness.
Ethno workshop
This project is made possible through a grant from Margaret
A. Cargill Philanthropies, and new efforts will focus on five distinct pillars:
Ethno Mobility – An average of 100 young musicians annually will receive a full scholarship to attend various Ethnos around the world, covering their flights, transport, food, accommodation and participation.
Ethno Research – A 3-year Ethno research project will be carried out by the International Centre for Community Music based in York St. John’s University in the UK. The study will focus on the efefct that Ethno has had on the lives of young musicians, personally and professionally, over the past 30 years.
Ethno USA – The establishment of the first-ever Ethno on US soil. Beginning with a stakeholder meeting in 2019, followed by Ethno USA in 2020 and 2021 in the Midwest, bringing the world to the USA and the diversity of the USA to the world.
Ethno Organisers Annual Training – A peer-2-peer annual training for all organizers of the Ethno program, strengthening and building capacity amongst organizers, sharing best practices and creating a more sustainable program together.
Ethno Organisational Support – An investment into the human and material resources needed to carry out the Ethno program, ensuring that Ethno’s outreach and effect only continue to grow and reach more and more people worldwide.
Ethno workshop
This new development to the Ethno program is set to broaden the cultural horizons of many young people, and in a time when the world is in increased need of open, respectful dialogue between its peoples and nations through music.
WOMEX, the World Music Expo is welcoming showcase, film and
conference proposals from artists, bands, DJs and producers, filmmakers,
industry experts and creative thinkers. WOMEX 2019 will take place in Tampere,
Finland, October 23 – 27, 2019.
The pool of proposals will be selected by an independent,
international and annually changing jury, also known as the Seven Samurai.
Proposals can be made in four categories: Showcase, Club Summit, Film and Conference and can be submitted from the dedicated website: www.womex-apply.com
The deadline for proposals for WOMEX 2019 is Friday, March 22, 2019.
Headline photo: Tampere, Koski panorama – Photo by Juha Suhonen
Folk Alliance International has announced Tanya Tagaq as its 2019 keynote speaker. The conference will take place February 13-17 in Montreal, Canada.
She is an acclaimed Inuk throat singer from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic who uses delightful, surprising vocal improvisations that connect traditional roots with contemporary culture.
Tanya is a
2014 Polaris Prize-winning recording artist (Animism), author of a 2018
Scotiabank Giller Prize longlisted novel (Split Tooth), an actress, a painter,
and has collaborated extensively with Bjork, Kronos Quartet, Shooglenifty, and
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
The
recipient of multiple Juno Awards (Canada’s top music award) and a Canadian
Folk Music Award, her work concentrates on topics ranging from food sovereignty
and environmental issues to the plight of women and indigenous peoples.
Tagaq is a
mother of two and a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest
honors.
