Category: News

COMPANY FOCUS: SLOW TRAVEL BERLIN

1/7/2013

Berlin can seem like an overwhelming, sprawling place to visit sometimes. That's why anyone spending time in the city needs to follow the guys at Slow Travel Berlin to get the very best info regarding off-the-beaten-track hangouts and activities.

Name of company: SLOW TRAVEL BERLIN
Type of Business: Local Travel & Info Hub With Broad & Sometimes Atypical Ambitions
City/Country: Berlin, Germany
Year Founded: 2010
Employees and their roles: Paul Sullivan (Founder & Editor), Brian Melican (Sub Editor), Natalie Holmes (Listings Editor), Rebecca Loyche (Art Listings) plus a team of lovely and excellent contributors inc. Marian Ryan, Giulia Pines, Paul Scraton, Tam Eastley, Grashina Gabelmann, Natalye Childress, Marcel Krueger, Vanessa Remoquillo, Rhea Boyden and Wyndham Wallace.
Company motto: Slow Travel Berlin is first and foremost a repository of eclectic information about the city from a range of perspectives. Our take on travel is very sustainable, something that's needed in a city as swamped with tourism as Berlin. We feature regular contributions from city residents on subjects ranging from food and family life to art and personal experiences with an aim to encourage deeper, more varied exploration and promotion of small, locally-minded businesses and services. We aim to facilitate any quest to get beneath the skin of the city a little, or discover it at a more leisurely pace. We offer an insider’s view that at the same time tries to be as inclusive as possible.
Company Highlights so far: Company Highlights so far (best achievements): Consistently delivering high-quality content on Berlin that is deeper and broader than most, and with zero budget. We've also hosted two really fun (and quite big!) events this year: our "Day of Cuisine, Creativity and Culture in Berlin" at the Markthalle IX (April 2012) was packed with great and free things to do, including a Locavore food market, things for kids, a literary corner with bookstalls and music performances. It was really popular and we might repeat it next year; and The Slowlympics (August 2012), which was our non-commercial, Monty-Python-esque take on the Olympics that included Compact Discus throwing and Slow Cycling races.
Goals for next 12 months: We'd like to do more events this year, both large and small. We've also been testing the water with various tours and workshops (photography, walking and cycling tours, film making - all sustainably minded), which we will launch properly next year. And we're producing a couple of books, the first of which should be ready for Spring and will be a fantastic companion for anyone wanting to get to know Berlin's hidden nooks and crannies a little better.
Biggest Challenge ahead: Growing a business model that is fair, non-hierarchical and transparent. Expanding without losing our Slow ethic.
Key Projects: The main thing right now is getting our first book finished, and broadening our tours and services
What are the main things are you looking for at the moment: Now that we're expanding, I think we could do with someone to help manage everything. Someone who knows about marketing would be a great help too, since we need to start spreading our vision (and commercial services) beyond the local blogger scene. And we are always happy to link up with like-minded services and people in different cities and countries.

Homepage address: http://www.slowtravelberlin.com
Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/SlowTravelBerlin
Twitter address: https://twitter.com/slowberlin

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH: BASTI WEINERT

1/7/2013

name: Sebastian Weinert
company: Freelancer
job: Production, Event, and Tour Manager
city: Berlin
working on: Since 2005 I’ve been working as a professional production- and tour manager for various companies. From the beginning my work was focused mainly on rock´n´roll shows for the Berlin based promoter Trinity Music. Over the years I did nearly all kinds of different production work from concerts, sport events to exhibitions and business events. Since 2007 I’ve been one of the production manager for the Citadel Music Festival in Berlin. From 2009–2011 I was also responsible for the local production for the „Telekom Extreme Playgrounds“ @ Velodrom/ Berlin. In 2010 and 2011 one of the biggest experiences was to supervise the Popkomm showcase festival which included up to 7 venues and more than 80 artists in 2 days. Next projects will for example include the World Economic Forum 2013 in Davos.
favourite artist(s): Too many to name them all. But to mention a few of my all-time favs: Social Distortion, Wolfbrigade, The Generators, Depeche Mode, Beastie Boys....
But I always look out for all kinds of new and good music.
first gig: One of my first shows I ever visited was Depeche Mode in 1993 at the „Songs of Faith & Devotion“ Tour.
highlight(s) of the last year: Absolutely to work with Henry Rollins was one of the best experiences ever. And as every year to work at the Citadel Music Festival with different artist such as Soundgarden, Snow Patrol, Alanis Morrisette etc.....
musical hero: HENRY ROLLINS!!!
listening to: music ;)

Connect with Basti HERE

THE NMO ESSAY: THE EP - AN EXCUSABLE PROJECT, AN EASY FORMAT?

1/6/2013

The EP – an excusable project, an easy format?
An essay by Martin Hjorth

EP is an abbreviation of “extended play”, which basically means that we’re confused from the beginning. It may have made sense when we defined different kinds of musical releases based on what actually fit on a particular vinyl. Back in the days, the EP used to be a 7” that contained more songs than the typical single. So far so good.

Before I go on, I should perhaps say that some of my favourite records are EPs. I even released a few EPs myself, so I’m not trying to run this format into the ground. But what is an EP in 2013, and which problems do we encounter when speaking of this format? Let’s start by taking a look at what it’s not.

A friend once said that an EP is merely “a demo with better recordings”. I don’t agree, but symbolically there is some truth to this. I’ll get back to that. Can it then be considered the same as an LP, simply shorter? Again, this simply isn’t possible from a symbolic point of view.

Nowadays, you’ll come across EPs that contain one song in three different versions: An original recording, a remix and a live version – or perhaps an instrumental version. That is basically the same as calling something a “festival” even though it’s only one night. So why not just call it a single instead of an EP? Let’s have a look at this idea of quantity.

Quantitatively speaking

After that clumsy headline, let’s have a look at some examples. You might remember the debut EPs by rock bands such as Arcade Fire, Interpol, Vampire Weekend and Tokyo Police Club. These served to build a certain hype before the bands (or labels) were ready to record and/or release their respective debut LPs, which would be known as the official “debut albums”. So in terms of marketing, their EPs weren’t “real” as these weren’t really the “debut”. They were EPs, but the bands released something more “real” when it was an LP? Huh!

This is, however, not to say that many journalists and fans don’t pick up on this; many writers are good at clarifying what kind of debut they’re speaking of (first release, first full-length, first major label album etc.). Let’s stick to Tokyo Police Club for a second. They released their first EP, “A Lesson in Crime”, in 2006, containing 8 songs and a total length of about 16 minutes. Three of these songs were released as singles. Three singles on one EP! In 2007 they released a second EP called “Smith EP”, which originally contained only 3 songs. Back then, Adam Moerder wrote the following in his review on Pitchfork:

“Oh, what a coy temptress is this Tokyo Police Club. With only about 20 minutes of released material under their belt, [they’ve] generated a tidal wave of well-deserved hype... as the indie world collectively holds its breath for the TPC full-length, they first punch us in the gut with the “Smith” EP, a three-song, eight-minute release that could pass for a free iTunes preview.”

Besides serving as an example of building hype through the EP format before releasing the “real” debut album, these EPs also serve as an example of how many tracks you can put on an EP and still release it as the same format. The “Smith” EP was, by the way, initially only released digitally. Personally, I always thought of their first EP as a sort of “mini album” rather than an EP, exactly because of the number of songs - something that also allowed them to test out different styles.

Mini albums and double EPs

Let’s cross the pond and have a look at Wales-based (but English) indie pop outfit Los Campesinos!. After releasing their debut full-length in 2008, they followed up with the quite brilliant “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” in the very same year. The latter consists of 10 brand new songs and a total length of 32 minutes, compared to the 42 minutes and 12 songs that made up the debut full-length. And yet, somehow, this second album was indeed not officially an “album” or a “full-length”. It was, rather, a “mini album” or an “EEP” (extended extended play). Supposedly, there were contractual reasons behind this.

Right, let’s go back across the Atlantic and have a look at Modest Mouse, a band known for long releases, whatever the format. In 1997 they released “The Fruit That Ate Itself” EP, spanning 9 songs over 21 minutes. Very short songs for their standard! The number of songs is, however, what is interesting here, and the Japanese version even contains five more songs. That is, an EP with 14 tracks. Their EP “No One’s First and You’re Next” from 2009 is a collection of B-sides, unreleased songs and new material. These 8 songs make up a total of 33 minutes, more than many “full-length” albums released today.

Now consider Sufjan Stevens. His “All Delighted People” EP from 2010 is 59 minutes long. That’s almost one full hour of music and only seven minutes shorter than his breakthrough full-length “Michigan” (2003) and ten minutes longer than his LP “Seven Swans” (2004). Sure, he followed his 2010 EP with a full-length that is slightly longer, “The Age of Adz” (74 minutes), but an EP of 59 minutes certainly stretches the idea of an “extended play”.

So we have EPs that could in one way or other also be considered singles, maxi singles, LPs, mini albums. Sticking close to the full-length album is also the quite rare “double EP” (a relatively new example of this is Beirut’s “March of the Zapotec/Holland” EP). And we have the classic and stricter vinyl definitions of the format. But they matter less in this (sigh) increasingly digital world, right?

Cost benefits and indie ideals

The past few decades, the EP format has been popular mainly within a punk and indie discourse (and no wonder seeing how confusing it is to understand what it even is!). If you were buying records in the 80s, the EP was exclusively the output of indie labels and artists. They were simply good value for money. Indie bands were unlikely to compete in the singles market in the UK (the top 40 was all important) as they tended not to be singles-led acts. There were of course exceptions, The Smiths being amongst the most famous, but the EP was seen as value for money and somewhat of an antithesis of what being a major label artist was about.

Back then the Majors brought in the 12” single as their way of offering value for money. These tended to be 3-4 tracks with remixes and instrumental versions of the same song. But what about the cost factor today? You can sell an EP for a lot more than a 7” single, and they are thus easier to recoup on. At the same time it gives you a better idea of what a band stands for. As Kevin Douch, owner of Big Scary Monsters Recordings (based in Oxford), says: “From a fan’s point of view it offers a lot more than a single, musically, so you really get a good idea of a band.”

David Laurie, owner of the London-based label Something in Construction, agrees: “They can be a nice summation of a themed body of work that is more than a couple of songs and less than an album. For new acts, they are a nice way of drawing an audience a little closer to what an artist is about than a single track; and they’re not as, well, time-consuming as an album.”

In the early days, Big Scary Monsters was built on a few key EPs by bands such as Secondsmile, Jeniferever and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly. They all went on to do well and at the same time help build the label’s name. The fact that the EP is neither a single nor an album (the way most people would define ‘album’) is what gives the EP its niche quality. It is, however, also what makes it occasionally problematic: Magazines have never quite figured out where to place them in their reviews section, and shops have never really embraced stocking them.

David Laurie elaborates: “Some media types don’t cherish them quite so much. Many magazines won’t review them, [which is] a shame because they are often not a second tier frippery at all. Many, especially older journalists, who still recall B-sides as a concept, will view them just as a single with extra B-sides.” At the end of the year, you also see plenty of magazines and websites listing the best EPs of the year, while others include them in their list of “best album” (notice how many have included the Burial EP in 2012 in this section).

These might not be huge factors to indie labels, who rely on selling directly to fans via word-of-mouth and very small marketing budgets, but for many others it will make it a less appealing format. In the case of Big Scary Monsters, though, it has been a most useful tool: 8/10 times they have opted to release an EP before releasing a full-length album when beginning work with a new band.

For Hannes Tschürtz, CEO of Ink Music from Austria, the EP is now mainly somewhat of a “bridge” between albums. They occasionally use EPs to open a campaign for a new artist, which gives the format more of a promotional and strategic purpose. In their case, the EPs hardly bring the money back they cost but instead serve as an investment.

Future embrace of the mainstream?

Regarding the mainstream market, there is generally good reason to avoid confusion, and the EP does often represent just that. And how often do you see major artists and major labels release EPs? One infamous example is Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster”. The 8 songs make for 34 minutes of music. Almost 10 minutes longer than the Official Chart Company in the UK defines the limit (anything longer than 25 minutes cannot be an EP). So that was apparently an EP whilst she has only released two “studio albums”. Again: Huh!

We live in an age with easier access to our cultural archive than ever before. Incidentally, we’ve also been called an “ADD culture”. If you consider this combination of technology, attention span, and accessibility there could be a change underway. Maybe not a paradigm shift as such but the idea of the EP as the “mini album” would make sense to a certain extent. Talking to Kamilla Traberg of Copenhagen/London-based label Good Tape Records, she told me that she liked the format because of her own inability to stay focused: The EP has the ability to show what a band is capable of without boring you.

In this hypothesis we would have to consider the dynamic between habit and collective romanticizing: Although more and more established labels sign “singles deals” instead of traditional record deals, the idea of the album transcends idealism and is still somewhat of a “condition” in terms of taste and consumption. It’s what artists are supposed to do - we expect them to release albums. It’s what we’re used to, and it’s what our parents are used to. Major labels have been criticised heavily for not adapting to the new (digital) conditions of the music industry, but there’s a reason why they can actually still sell full-length albums, and it’s more a question of habits than marketing. The EP is still too confusing, too weird, too unusual. But everything needs to start somewhere, right?

Excuses and liberation

But enough about the future and the past. Let’s go back to the idea of the “demo” and “the real” (this is neither a theological nor philosophical notion in this context). When calling something a “demo” you imply directly and literally that it’s not finished, either creatively or in terms of production/mixing/mastering. When putting out an EP the piece of art as such is (or is to be) considered “finished”. And yet we most often don’t take it seriously in the same way as an “album”.

Granted, most of the people who will read this are probably nerds like me who will have several favourite EPs that are right up there with the “real” full-lengths in terms of quality. For some listeners, the EP might even have something more authentic to it; partly because the recording and/or production is often not quite as good or smooth as that of an LP (which is why we have been accustomed to calling an LP a “studio album”), and partly because of who usually chooses to work with EPs – that is, not the mainstream labels and artists.

But even the glorification of the EP underlines its different status altogether. A common joke about music snobs is that they always “liked the EP better”. This actually calls for a discussion of Plato’s “simulacra”, but we can also stick to calling the EP a work of art that is closer to the pure “idea” or even genius whilst the “album” is the somewhat corrupted piece of art. It’s not exactly news to anyone that we often (pretend to) prefer the rough diamond over what we could call “polished”.

In an interview with the blog Aquarium Drunkard in 2011, Swedish group The Radio Dept. expressed something similar to this idea of what is ‘pure’. Martin Larsson from the band said: “An album really defines you in a way, and it’s kind of boring to be defined when you’re trying to be creative or do something different.”

Larsson even speaks of a certain fear of how people will define you for years based on full-lengths, which is why they can be seen as less ‘corrupt’: “I really love the idea of an EP. You don’t have to think and just do what you want. You don’t have to go through the whole media cycle and neither does the audience.”

The Rumour Said Fire had an impressive breakthrough in their native Denmark with their debut EP “The Life and Death of a Male Body” in 2009. Singer Jesper Lidang does see it as a sort of mini-album, but he concedes that the strength of the EP is the fact that you don’t have to create something coherent, which enables musicians to simply share whichever new songs they want to share. This way you don’t have to be held artistically responsible to a possibly dated view of “meaning” and “history”, he says.

David Laurie of the Something in Construction label adds: “For more established acts, they can be a nice mini-statement that doesn’t have the same this-is-going-on-your-tombstone-or-Wiki weight. They can be fun or experimental or just a nice release for ideas that you don’t have to live with for two years.”

So we can also glorify the EP. In the verdict, the judgment of taste, many people do take the LP and the EP seriously, but it still becomes a question of status. If an EP is great and receives glowing reviews, congratulations! If it’s not received well either critically or commercially, well, it was just an EP. It’s an artistic freebie in this sense. Excusable.

Why so serious?

Some would call it a kind of euphemism for a demo, and very often that would be true. But we’re not culturally and socially allowed to call anyone out for having created, crafted, released and promoted something that is “less serious”. This is where the EP format, from a philosophical point of view, gets extremely interesting: It is considered a finished piece of art but is subject to a relativised judgment of taste and not the merciless honesty and responsibility connected to the “album”. It is somehow a piece of art and artistically in transit. Flexible. We can view it as finished or unfinished, something less serious or something less in general, and at the same time as something more pure. There is a kind of magical, aesthetic discrepancy at work here.

So the ‘problem’ might essentially be more of an aesthetic conundrum. We may simply have decided to accept the mystery. David Laurie of the Something in Construction label, categorises the EP as “the middleman”, which might very well summarise some of the problems and paradoxes as well as potential found in this format.

We touched upon the theme of temporality earlier: The length of various releases, attention span and ADD culture. David Laurie half-jokingly remarks how the blogosphere seems to be afraid of albums and of all the MP3s they might miss during the course of listening to one and encourages new acts to make EPs. But despite an intrinsic conceptual arc, they are still advised to put out the most single-y track of the EP first: “Be very prepared for people to only listen to, and thus judge you on, one track. And it’s probably going to be track one or the first one you put out.”

In the spring of 2012 the Gothenburg duo Air France decided to call it a day. They released two brilliant EPs and never a full-length album. The last EP, “No Way Down”, was particularly good (the aforementioned Something in Construction released it in the UK). One song, “Collapsing Outside Your Doorstep”, uses a sample with the voices of two kids. One says: “It’s sort of like a dream… isn’t it?” to which the other kid responds: “No. Better”. The statement is beautiful and much more autobiographical than the band could ever have hoped for themselves.

This last EP was such an accomplishment and did indeed feel like a short album, statistics aside (six songs, a little shy of 23 minutes). Pitchfork included it on their year-end list as one of the albums of the year. And yet people have been lamenting that they never released “an album”, thinking the EP cannot possibly be their best work. They must have been holding something back.

The music itself is dreamy, but the disbandment is what allows the dream to take on a new shape: We can now keep wondering what the band could have become if they had released – dare we say it? – an album.

But this is the key: To keep wondering. We have been busy the past few years criticising major labels for handling the transition to the so-called digital age clumsily. They were sleeping giants. But we must not risk the consequences of not keeping up, major or indie, composer or producer, listener or writer; what we need is to genuinely keep wondering and keep asking (ourselves) questions.

If we cannot define something clearly, we should at least have the decency to reflect on the state of things, and the idea of the EP has so much to offer in this regard: What do we want from it, what can it offer, do we really need to define things? Should the EP format be more accessible, or is it thriving exactly because of the quasi-negation: Its status as a non-album of sorts? Is it even a problem that an EP can be… anything?

Pop music already has trouble being included within the realm of art, so should we be concerned that the EP can be seen as an artistic loophole or freebie that can be excused? On the other hand, its playful character might somehow be able to set it free to make it true or real to many people in a sense the full-length cannot. These are dangerous adjectives to throw around, but if it makes us reflect on the state of music isn’t that exactly what gives it the artistic legitimacy we are searching for?

REPORT: ICELAND AIRWAVES

12/12/2012

Iceland Airwaves 2012

31 October – 4 November || Words and photos by Vasilis Panagiotopoulos

Iceland Airwaves has changed drastically over the years. Starting out, in 1999, as a one-off stunt in an airplane hangar, thirteen years on it has become an international professionally run multi-venue event that sells out months in advance. Probably one of its most defining changes has been the recent closure of legendary club NASA, formerly the heart and soul of Airwaves and despite the vehement public outcry – especially within the artistic community – the club is still threatened to be torn down to give way for a hotel. As a result of this, Harpa, Rekjavík’s stunning concert hall has become Iceland Airwaves’ new home giving the festival a sleeker more upmarket feel.

Gusgus

Despite the unfortunate cancellations of Swans, Poliça and Django Django the 2012 Airwaves line-up consisted of a long list of highlights, including Gusgus, Phantogram, Retro Stefson, Dirty Projectors, FM Belfast, Sóley, DIIV, Philco Fiction, Friends and its indisputable headliners Sigur Rós.

But what about the newcomers? The NMO travelled to the Icelandic capital in order to bring you a selection of the best new acts at Iceland Airwaves 2012:

Nova Heart (CN)

http://soundcloud.com/novaheart/beautifulboys

Chinese-born, US/Canada-bred, former MTV VJ Helen Feng was voted the no.11 coolest rock star by Beijing Timeout Magazine. Nova Heart’s new wave sensibilities and uplifting electropop beats were brought to Reykjavik all the way from Beijing. Aided by her huge stage presence and a series of well-thought-out tunes the unsuspecting crowd that gathered on Thursday night at Gamli Gaukurinn was in for a real treat.

Oyama

Oyama (IS)

http://soundcloud.com/oyamaband/oyama-dinosaur

Oyama won’t get an award for being original, but their fuzzy noise-rock is honest, cleverly melodic and highly-addictive and they surely deserve credit for that. The band’s Friday show at Bar 11 was jammed-packed by eager shoegaze fanatics. Júlía Hermannsdóttir and Úlfur Alexander Einarsson’s boy-girl vocals will please all Lush and, Jesus And Mary Chain fans out there.

Tilbury (IS)

http://soundcloud.com/rvkmusicmess/tilbury-slow-motion-fighter-1

On first listen Tilbury sound pretty dull. It takes a while to get into their peculiar dreamy world. Þormóður Dagsson’s softly-spoken voice and quirky melodies convey a dark nostalgic beauty. No wonder that this is an all-star band comprised of members of Skakkamange, Jeff Who?, Valdimar, Sin Fang and Hjaltalin. Unfortunately the writer only got the chance to see a short-but-sweet daytime show. So stay tuned for more… Highly recommended

Nelson Can

Nelson Can (DK)

http://soundcloud.com/music-week/nelson-can-apple-pie

Nelson Can like the minimalism of the White Stripes’ and The Gossip. Consequently the female punk-trio rely solely on bass, drums and some percussion. That didn’t prevent them from causing a mini-riot at Deutsche Bar on Thursday night. Expect ample amounts of attitude, Nordic wit and Danish charm. What’s not to like?

Pascal Pinon (IS)

http://soundcloud.com/ramdadadej/pascal-pinon-bloom

Ethereal female ensemble Pascal Pinon started playing music at the early age of 14. The young Icelanders specialise in genuine and intimate performances such as the one on Thursday afternoon in Eldhús, a tiny house specially built for Airwaves on Ingólfstorg Square; coined the festival’s smallest venue. They played material from their brilliant new album produced by Alex Somers with lyrics in Icelandic, Swedish and English. Managing to charm all passers-by

Retro Stefson

Further new acts worth checking out are folk-pop female extravaganza My Bubba & Mi, eighties devotees Kiriyama Family, stripped-down rock’n’roll duo The Echo Vamper, alternative rockers Two Tickets To Japan, eccentric popsters Monotown, shoegazers Dream Central Station and finally upbeat disco-pop crew Boogie Trouble.

COMPANY FOCUS: BOOGIE DRUGSTORE

10/10/2012

Name of company: BOOGIE DRUGSTORE
Type of Business: Press Relations & Management
City/Country: Paris France
Year Founded: 2010
Employees and their roles: Justine Debicki (Manager, TV and Radio Promotion); Thomas Rousseau (Manager, Press and Radio Promotion); Erwan Julé (Web and Local Promotion).
Roster/Clients: Warp Records (UK), No Format Label, (FR) Tambourhinoceros Label (DK), The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Jay Jay Johanson, WhoMadeWho, The Spinto Band, EBBA/Eurosonic Noorderslag, The Scoop Engine, MUSEX, Music Austria..
Company motto: The company's approach is that of a label: Making strong artistic choices and accompanying artists in the long run by elaborating a personal management, marketing and/or promotion strategy. The company mobilizes its extensive network (media, labels, distributors, publishers, tour promoters, etc.) at their service. Boogie Drugstore is also specialized in music event PR. The company ensures its client get the best media visibility (radio, TV, press and web) and that they benefit from the specific implication and strategic advice they need at all stages.
Company Highlights so far: Organisation of special nights in Paris in cooperation with Music Export Offices and the booker Super! : „Helsinki Mon Amour!“, „Vienne Mon Amour!“, Being part of the new pan-european PR Agency „The Scoop Engine“,representing Warp label in France...
Goals for next 12 months: Developing events in Paris in collaboration with Music Export Offices in Europe to ensure visibility to emerging indie bands and creating opportunities with the French music industry for them. Finding new bands and helping then develop their carrer in France...
Biggest Challenge ahead: Developing our US network...
Key Projects: All the bands/events we are working on, be there development or confirmed acts or festivals are all key projects to us. We are putting the same amount of effort to promote each project we are working on.
What are the main things are you looking for at the moment: We are always looking for new bands, mainly in PR. That’s why we try to travel as much as we can...

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EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH: JONAS VEBNER (MUSIC EXPORT NORWAY)

10/10/2012

name: Jonas Vebner
company: Music Export Norway
job: Head of GSA Office
city: Berlin
working on: Having recently relocated from London to Berlin to head up our GSA office, I’m currently spending most of my time meeting old/new colleagues in these territories. In addition to developing project proposals for 2013, we’re also introducing some schemes we initially set up for the UK market. I still work 20% towards the UK and part of my time is spent following up my successor in London. I still do a Nordic showcase series here called Ja Ja Ja which has spawned an editorial new Nordic talent music blog and we’re currently exploring some interesting new avenues for the platform. I’ve started preparations for By:Larm, the premier Nordic music conference, were we co-produce the international program. But the majority of my work is constantly dialoguing with our Norwegian music industry professionals (and their international partners) who are already active in the GSA market or trying gain entry: advising on service providers/partners, entry strategies and general information, mediating contact between professionals and administering our various schemes/tools. We are also about to into Pfuelstraße 5 in Berlin, a great creative environment full of other music companies. Oh, and I’ve just started my intensive German course!
favourite artist(s): Chopin, Debussy, Thelonious Monk, Roy Orbison, Bill Evans, the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, T. Rex, Arthur Russell, Serge Gainsbourg, Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, Andrew Bird, Fennez, Beach House, Grizzly Bear to mention a few that comes to mind.
first gig: My first proper gig was probably seeing Lauren Hill at 16 which I remember being a big deal as I was well into Fugees in my teens.
highlight(s) of the last year: I’m really pleased about how the Ja Ja Ja platform has developed over the last 3 years and excited about the new editorial site we recently launched with the Line of Best Fit. I’m also very chuffed about having been given the opportunity to relocate to Berlin and further develop our GSA office.
musical hero: Music is surely one of the most sublime art forms, but has also been a powerful tool to address social and political issues (from Shostakovich to Rage Against the Machine). The case of Pussy Riot got a lot of attention recently, but unfortunately censorship is quite widespread. The guys over at Freemuse work hard to advocates freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide.
listening to: Of new stuff I’ve been really enjoying Jessie Ware’s Devotion, Janka Nabay’s En Yah Sah, Tim Burgess’s No I Love You, Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland’s Black is Beautiful, Flume’s coming album, Savages recent live EP, Sizarr, Actress’s album RIP, Efterklang’s latest and a new discovery for me in Hélène Grimaud’s Reflections (thrilled to learn she is soon to play with the Berlin Philharmonie). Some (new) Norwegian music to watch out for; Stian Westerhus’s The Matriarch and the Wrong Kind of Flowers, the debut of Moskus (winner of Young Nordic Jazz Comets award), Mikhael Paskalev (who is playing our next Ja Ja Ja night!), Highasakite, 1982 + BJ Cole, Machinebirds, Alfred Hall, CLMD, Terje Bakke, Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Okkultokrati, Bloksberg, Hanne Kolstø, Neneh Cherry & The Thing + the remix album (feat. people like Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas, Four Tet, Kim Hiorthøy) . Still very much appreciating Susanne Sundfør’s latest album - catch her this November when she’s touring Europe. I’m also excited about Young Dreams impending release on Modular.

Connect with Jonas HERE

REPORT: REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL 2012

10/10/2012

The seventh edition of the Reeperbahn Festival offered everything you could hope for: A strong lineup, easily accessible seminars, a nice lounge area for the delegates and the obvious advantage: Reeperbahn itself, the central street of Hamburg’s St. Pauli neighbourhood. You’re never more than 10 minutes away from the farthest venue, which makes it easy to make it to as many shows as possible. Oh, and let’s not forget the free stuff either. Verdict? The NMO had a blast at Reeperbahn Festival 2012

Arriving at Reeperbahn, you rarely experience an overwhelming sense of doubt as it’s quite clear where you will find what you need. And let’s be honest, there are many different needs that can be fulfilled at this particular location! As with most well-organized festivals, it doesn’t take long before you run into a colleague, a friend, a business associate or simply someone you know because he or she threw a killer keynote speech at the last festival you went to.

One of the hot topics this year was the merger between Universal and EMI or, in other words, the former’s acquisition of the latter. It was a big part of Ben Challis’ introductory keynote speech, and it was the object of much attention in general: Whispers in the corners, heated discussions and quite frankly a certain amount of fear from a lot of people.

We won’t bore you too much with the business side of things. We met some great people, had some interesting meetings and went to a few conferences of which one of the best was on transparency in the music business. A topic rarely discussed but very central to many of us. But let’s focus a bit on the music now, yeah?

The first day:

Whenever you arrive too early at a festival you have a lot of time to build up expectations. When you combine that with the restless impatience of a coffee addict (guilty), you better be treated to something good when it all kicks off. Yours truly has been a fan of Einar Stray for quite a while, so when I heard the Norwegians were playing a semi-acoustic show on the outdoors Stage East, I had to go. The small venue is slightly odd with its limited visibility and tropical vibe (were those palm trees?!), but all the bands I saw there did quite well – Shiny Darkly being another highlight – in spite of the difficult outdoors conditions with the street contributing with quite a lot of potential background noise. Einar Stray himself sings in a somewhat withdrawn yet very present voice, with an airy, mysterious feel to it, which works well with the rest of the band’s backing vocals. The long instrumental parts are quite brilliant and somehow, meant in the best way possible, live up to the old cliché of the ‘Nordic’ sound.

Next up was Berlin-based band Mighty Oaks at the small and cozy Imperial Theater. The trio excels in their own personal interpretation of folk and Americana traditions. The band used to live in Hamburg and did indeed play like they felt at home. They put their acoustic guitar, bass guitar and electric mandolin (later exchanged for an electric guitar) setup to good use and occasionally combined it with singer Ian Hooper’s kick drum and tambourine with great effect.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I had to go see how Swedish youngster Amanda Mair had developed since the world first heard about her after signing to the strong Stockholm indie label Labrador. An interesting thing about her show at Schmidts Tivoli was the demographic diversity, underlining the broad appeal in her music. When her band finally entered the stage, it was, indeed, the band and not Amanda herself. Instead, she let the band kick off things before casually strolling in; despite her young age she knows how to make an entrance, and though not a diva she has the potential to become one of the more sympathetic divas out there. Her voice is still her biggest asset, but her songwriting is very mature for her age. A somewhat obvious example is the song House, which was the first she ever wrote and also her first single in Sweden. At times, the oft-heard comparisons with Kate Bush made sense, but Amanda Mair may very well be, well, Amanda Mair in all her underplayed theatrical glory.

One of my favourite venues at the Reeperbahn Festival is Café Keese, and the first band I caught there was one of Copenhagen’s finest bands, The Rumour Said Fire. Their folk-pop is based around the songwriting of Jesper Lidang who seems inspired by acts such as The Decemberists, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and other contemporary American bands. The band has evolved greatly and is now a wonderful live band, having added a keyboard player for their live shows. The band started with a couple of songs off of their first full length, The Arrogant, before playing new song Voyager from their forthcoming sophomore album, Dead Ends. They tested their new material successfully but, quite wisely, didn’t forget to play some of their earliest songs – of which the audience responded quite enthusiastically to the radio hit The Balcony.

At this point it was indeed time to test how quickly one could get from one end of the Reeperbahn to the other as I was only minutes away from missing the beginning of the Dad Rocks! show, an old NMO favourite. Born in Iceland, based in Denmark, Snævar Njáll Albertsson often plays shows alone but occasionally has up to eight people with him on stage. This time around there were four of them to accompany him and his trusted, acoustic guitar with which he never ceases to amaze his listeners with fingerpicking and clever chord progressions. Add some violin, trumpet, upright bass and a very competent backup singer, and what do you get? The best Dad Rocks! show yours truly has seen to date with a very attentive audience, supplying the room with a warm atmosphere.

Two days to go:

With so many people and so many shows, it can be difficult to keep up and get enough sleep. At this point we could simply conclude that we had a great couple of days following the first evening of concerts, but there are certain shows that I simply have to mention.

Another old NMO favourite is Ewert and the Two Dragons from Estonia who played at the aforementioned Café Keese on Friday. The place was packed – and with good reason. The show started with a steady beat that caught everyone’s attention, and the band simply didn’t look back. This is pop music with a folk twist, not the other way around. Ewert and the Two Dragons understand this important distinction and make it work to the fullest.

You know that need to be blown away by something loud though? That’s where I was at this point. Luckily, all I had to do was walk a bit down the street, turn right and follow the noise. Luxemburg’s finest purveyors of noisy rock and post-hardcore, Mutiny on the Bounty, played (as always) one hell of a show at Kaiserkeller. Pure power and ultra-tight, one couldn’t ask for friendlier noise!

But the best was yet to come: I’d be lying if I said that I expected my best concert at Reeperbahn Festival 2012 to be Spring Offensive, mainly because they haven’t yet released enough for me to be able to form a proper opinion. The Oxford-based quintet played in the small Molotow bar to a dedicated crowd eager to hear every single chord, sound, syllable and detail coming from the stage. The five band members could barely fit the cramped stage, but they somehow seemed comfortable, sending out one emotionally overwhelming song after the other. They don’t play math-rock per se, but you do sense that they’re hailing from that tradition (Oxford has had quite the math-rock scene the past six years or so). The set was incredibly tight and seemed, above all, sincere. The lyrics are an important part of the band’s identity, and the way in which the entire band sang along was a testament to the honesty manifested in their all-out aesthetic. The beautiful harmonies came to full force when the band played an acoustic, stripped-down version of Carrier in the middle of the crowd. Breathtaking.

Amongst the Saturday highlights were Foxes (UK) and Indians (DK). Whilst the former was pure pop pleasure for those of us with no time for feeling pop guilt, the latter was well-executed dream pop based on beautiful synths. No wonder 4AD snatched him up recently!

There were downsides as well, the luxury of not being able to choose between great concerts being one of them, whilst some problems were bigger: The big Stage West, outdoors, had horrible sound and seemed a difficult stage for many bands who had problems creating a good atmosphere. At the end of the day, though, The NMO had a great time at Reeperbahn Festival 2012. Thanks for everything, Hamburg, and see you next year.

text: Martin Hjorth, The NMO

NORDIC MUSIC EXPORT OFFICE SHAKE UP

2/28/2012

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Nordic Music Export (NOMEX) has been granted two million Danish Kronas from the Nordic Council of Ministers. This is following the presentation of the NOMEX strategy, Strength in Unity.

Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir, former MD of Iceland Music Export, has been hired to be the programme director of NOMEX and starts her job full time on February 1st.

Anna will be working alongside the Icelandic, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish export offices and focusing on strengthening connections across the Nordic market, while establishing a Nordic brand for music.

Anna will also be developing collaborative relationships with companies in the travel industry to benefit artists, promoters and music fans alike, as well as working on Nordic music in the Nordic media, building awareness of original contemporary music from all five countries.

Gunnar Madsen, head of Rosa The Danish Rock Council, is the chairman of the NOMEX board: "It's exciting to have funding to strengthen the Nordic collaboration. We have been working together informally for years so this is a very pleasing development, which compliments the work that we are doing at the export offices in all of the countries.”

“We welcome Anna in her new role. She has a great deal of experience, both from working as a music manager in the past and PR person and consultant for brands like Iceland Airwaves and countless projects, as well as her latest job as MD at Iceland Music Export. Her knowledge and insight into the Nordic music scene will be helpful in establishing this new programme, which brings Nordic music the kind of platform that Films and Games have had for years.”

Anna Hildur will be based in London where she has lived for over 20 years but will spend a lot of her time in the different Nordic Capitals over the next few months.

(source text: HERE)

Meanwhile, Music Finland’s Board of Directors has appointed Tuomo Tähtinen as the first Executive Director of Music Finland. Tähtinen will commence his new post on February 1st, 2012.

Tähtinen, 29, has been with Music Export Finland since December 2008, first overseeing marketing and communications, and managing operations in the UK and the USA, and later as the Acting Executive Director. Tähtinen joined Music Export Finland from Warner Music Finland.

“With this merger we’re creating an organization with exceptional and substantial skills and knowledge of Finnish music and the international music industry. It’s excellent that this top-tier team gets Tuomo as their leader. His energy, international expertise and co-operation skills will be instrumental in building the organization”, comments Music Finland’s Chairman of the Board, Pekka Sipilä.

“A whole new chapter is beginning as Music Finland starts getting into shape. The new organization is a wonderful combination of talent with international know-how and extensive knowledge of music and the music industry. We are now able to reach a wider clientele and offer a broader range of services to our clients and partners all around the globe. I’m extremely delighted and proud to be part of building Music Finland”, adds Tähtinen.

The operations of Music Export Finland and the Finnish Music Information Centre Fimic will be integrated into Music Finland during 2012. The founding members of Music Finland are the Copyright Society of Performing Artists and Phonogram Producers in Finland (Gramex), IFPI Finland, Finnish Music Publishers’ Association, Finnish Musicians' Union, Finnish Independent Labels Association (IndieCo), Finnish Society of Popular Music Composers and Authors (Elvis), Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society (Teosto), and the Society of Finnish Composers.

(source text: HERE)

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TALLINN MUSIC WEEK ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAMME

2/28/2012

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On March 29-31, 183 bands and artists from 13 countries will take over Tallinn for three days and nights to perform at Tallinn Music Week - the biggest talent festival in the Baltics. The grandest Tallinn Music Week so far will bring together the exciting and promising acts from Estonia and neighbouring countries to step up on 27 stages across central Tallinn. In addition to the established festival venues, TMW will surprise you with unexpected experimental environments – the “city stages”, where music lovers can enjoy special improvisational performances free of charge.

Within the city stage programme music lovers will have exclusive access to performances at the international headquarters of Skype, the suite of Nordic Hotel Forum, and the library corner of an Estonian LHV bank. Concerts will also take place at a wide range of spaces that include the tastemakers’ favourite record store Biit, the cosy café Must Puudel, the Gallery of Design and Architecture, and the children’s museum Miia-Milla-Manda. The Apollo bookstore, located at Solaris Centre, and the atrium space of Viru Keskus department store, will host an Estonian Music and Design Café equipped with headphones and furniture designed in Estonia to let everyone comfortably enjoy some cherry-picked homegrown tracks.

Daytime city stage shows will be free of charge. Festival passes allow access to all festival venues, and will be on sale starting from today.

The opening night of the festival on March 29th, held in the Rock Cafe, will host the debut album presentation of quirky singer-songwriter Iiris, with special guests Rubik, an acclaimed indie band from Finland.

There are 33 international performers from 13 countries playing this year’s festival programme. From Finland come Husky Rescue, Jaakko&Jay, The New Tigers, and Zebra and Snake, Lithuanian singer-songwriter Alina Orlova, Latvian art-pop sensation Instrumenti, Motorama from the Russian underground, Polish rock bandFonovel, the British sound wizard Napoleon IIIrd, Austrian indie-folkers Diver, Doug Tielly from Canada and a well known Latvian countertenor Sergejs Jēgers are just a few to mention.

Among the 150 Estonian artists on the lineup you’ll find our latest Pop Idol Liis Lemsalu, the talented singer-songwriter Vaiko Eplik, masters of deep house Rulers of the Deep, rock band Bedwetters, a folk-singer-songwriter Mari Kalkun and the beloved folk group Paabel. All this and more - doom duo Talbot have graced many European stages, and the talented young electronica wizard Sander Mölder will make an appearance. From a rich selection of Estonian composers, Mirjam Tallyand Tatjana Kozlova’s work will feature. Two highlights among many from the classical music programme, housed at the Estonia Concert Hall, will be mezzo-soprano Helen Lokuta and pianist and composer Rein Rannap.

As always, the festival programme features a full array of music styles and genres, put together by a team of key Estonian festivals and music promoters. We're proud to have curators from Estonia’s biggest outdoor festival Rabarock, the respected jazz festival Jazzkaar (who proudly celebrate their 23th birthday this year) and Viljandi Folk who are largely responsible for cultivating such a vibrant and varied folk and world music scene in Estonia. The contemporary classical music night is presented by the Estonian Composers’ Union and Estonian Music Days festival. The newest edition to the programme, the classical music showcase, is the fruit of a collaboration between the Estonian Music Development Centre, the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians and the Pille Lill Music Fund. The significant local indie-zine Rada7.ee will present a Friday night party at a legendary old cinema, formerly called Helios and now known as a cool indie-kids party spot Hoov (the courtyard).

There are also some exciting collaborations with international festivals and events this year. Positivus, the biggest festival in the Baltics, will present their own showcase at cinema “Sõprus”. UK indie label Brainlove Records teams up with international management & music consultancy Projekta and respected local indie-event promoter Odessa Pop to host a Friday night programme of emerging UK and Estonian talent, with Projekta and TMW having also founded an ongoing artist exchange programme that presents Estonian bands in London. And finally, legendary Finnish indie label Stupido co-hosts a must-see night with the World Clinic Estonian record store.

The TMW festival pass will give you access to all key venues of Tallinn – for three nights in a row, ticket holders will overrun the town’s best live venues and clubs, cool basement bars in 15th century houses, renovated Soviet-time cinemas, opulent theatres and cosy cafés and, for the first time, the grand Kultuurikatel (trans: “culture power plant”). This imposing old factory building will soon to become a vibrant creative centre of Tallinn, brimming with up and coming talent to watch.

As a new initiative, Tallinn Music Week has also teamed up with an internationally recognised start-up event Garage48. A special event Garage48 Tallinn Music will occur a week before the festival, with the aim of generating innovative music products and sound-related smartphone or web solutions.

“We want to take a step forward towards our local music fans and potential audiences by bringing music even closer to them," comments Tallinn Music Week organiser Helen Sildna. "Recent Estonian success stories like Ewert and the Two Dragons have proven both the need and the desire for good new music. It is indeed our job as a music industry to make Estonian music available to people in new and innovative ways. This is the idea behind both of the new additions to the festival this year – our city stage programme, and also Garage48 Tallinn Music – we want good music to reach people better.”

Tallinn Music Week 2012, the fourth edition of the ever-growing festival, will take place on March 29-31. As always, the aim of the music industry conference and new talent showcase festival is to present the most exciting and current Estonian and regional music, to introduce our strongest artists to international music press and industry, and to help local music entrepreneurs expand their activities to foreign markets. The TMW conference will take place on 30th and 31st of March 2012 in Nordic Hotel Forum conference centre, in co-operation with Estonian Music Development Centre.

Tallinn Music Week is thankful to the supporters and partners:
Nordic Hotel Forum, Skype, LHV Bank, Tuborg Music, Kultuurikatel, Estonian Air, Tallink, Hansabuss, Viru Keskus, Anne & Stiil, Postimees, ERR, Garage48, Velvet, Aku Collective, Eventech, RGB, Tolm Stuudio, Estonian Music Development Centre, EAS, the Ministry of Culture, Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department, Cultural Endowment, Tallinn City Enterprise Department, and The British Council.

More info:
www.tallinnmusicweek.ee
www.facebook.com/tallinnmusicweek
info@tallinnmusicweek.ee

Tallinn Music Week 2012:
27 stages
183 artists from 13 countries
33 foreign artists
52 artists perform at city stages

source text: HERE

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CRAVE THE DATE!

2/16/2012

The NMO is back! After a quiet year in 2011, we are back with a bang in 2012. With a new website, new staff, lots of new features, and plenty of new ideas, we look forward to being in touch with you again soon. In fact, our relaunch date is 29th February. The "extra" day is coming in most useful. Crave The Date!

COMPANY FOCUS: SLOW TRAVEL BERLIN

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH: BASTI WEINERT

THE NMO ESSAY: THE EP - AN EXCUSABLE PROJECT, AN EASY FORMAT?

REPORT: ICELAND AIRWAVES

COMPANY FOCUS: BOOGIE DRUGSTORE

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH: JONAS VEBNER (MUSIC EXPORT NORWAY)

REPORT: REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL 2012

NORDIC MUSIC EXPORT OFFICE SHAKE UP

TALLINN MUSIC WEEK ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAMME

CRAVE THE DATE!

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