The Red Bull Music Academy Sessions Lagos, the first
ever session in West Africa, took place on the 14th and 15th July 2017
at various 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 panelists 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 and songwriter 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, July 15th, 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.
