The Red Bull Music Academy Sessions Lagos, the first ever session in West Africa, took place on the 14th and 15th of July 2017 at venues around Lagos. #RBMALAGOS hosted workshops, lectures, listening sessions and after parties and they were all a huge success.
The Red Bull Music Academy is a recognized global music institution committed to fostering creativity in music. The world traveling series of music workshops and festivals offers an exciting platform for those who want to make a difference in today’s musical scene.
On the 14th and 15th of July 2017, The Red Bull Music Academy teamed up with Eclipse Live to present the Red Bull Music Academy Sessions Lagos to host workshops, lectures, listening sessions and more. In attendance were 50 participants which included the likes of Tomi Thomas and the house was packed with great music enthusiasts, producers, vocalists and more.
The first session, hosted by Osagie Alonge, began with Nigerian RBMA Alumni, Dj Klem and Kraftmatiks, as they shared their experience at the Red Bull Music Academy in London 2010 and New York 2013 respectively. They had a bragging session about the household names in the music industry they met. Hats off to Kraftmatiks who met the most in New York including QTip, Quest Love, and Just Blaze. Their RBMA experience they both admitted were live changing experiences for them.
The listening session was an avenue to give critical feedback on unfinished music of the participants and to give advice on what they could improve on. However, the piece of advice that remained constant from one panellist to the other was – “to remain true to yourself and your craft.”
Seated in the room were young, vibrant artists with raw talent in Nigeria just waiting to be uncovered.
The panellists of the Beat FM listening session were DJ Jimmy Jatt, Chin Okeke and Gbemi of the Beat FM.
At this session, there were a lot of exciting notable moments of learning, fusion of musical styles and genres that were mind blowing and it was an atmosphere filled with creativity. Beat FM’s Gbemi made mention of seeing herself playing some of this music on the radio as they were!
The best of the music at the listening sessions will be added to the Beat FM playlist and shared with the world.
The Award-winning singer song-writer Nneka shared her story, the barriers she faced as a woman in the industry, language barriers and how she conquered to become the artist she is today. How people expected her to sing as she got on stage as a female artist but she would take the mic and then rap.
Blinky Bill gave a fresh perspective how he rose through the scenes and the influences that helped shape him to become the great artist he is today. This enabled the participants to have an insight into his world and understand his journey so far. Nneka’s lecture was hosted by CHiF while Blinky Bill’s lecture was hosted by Osagie Alonge.
After a full day of inspiration and learning, outdoors at Bogobiri was transformed into a block party with mood lights and strobes that were reminiscent of a night out in Ibiza.
Palm wine flowed and guests let loose on the dance floor almost forgetting that they were in Lagos. Blinky Bill expressed how excited he was to be introduced to Lagos nightlife and he couldn’t have had it any better. He was joined by Ekiti Sound System and then our favourite Lagos disc jockey, DJ Obi.
The workshop sessions took place on Saturday 15th of July 2017 at the ACI Studios in Lekki Lagos. It started out with Blinky Bill and Ekiti Sound System giving the participants production tips. They also sampled and created music first hand with Blinky Bill and Ekiti Sound System.
One of the key elements of RBMA is that it creates a collaborative community. Rumour has it that Blink Billy spent some time in the studio with CHiF (Ekiti Sound System) and also Nneka with Funbi and Poe, we are excited to hear what magic sounds like, when East meets West.
The Red Bull Music Academy was an exciting and innovative experience all together. It will foster the coming together of the underground sounds in Nigeria and the developing of a music culture for these music creators. The Red Bull Music Academy is annually and would be meeting for their 20th Anniversary in Berlin.
If you are a music creator, artist, producer, DJ, please be encouraged to apply for The Red Bull Music Academy Berlin 2018.
To apply for The Red Bull Academy Berlin 2018
The application form can be downloaded from the Academy website and must be submitted between June 15 and September 4, 2017.
Each applicant must also submit a musical demo, no longer than 30 minutes.
This can be uploaded at redbullmusicacademy.com/apply or mailed to us on a CD. The Red Bull Music Academy jury will announce the selected applicants in early 2018.
P.s help us spread the word by sharing this application with a fellow music lover!
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