Music
Meet South Africa's Red Bull Music Academy Participants
Producers Cornelius SA and Jakinda are heading to Berlin for five weeks of lectures, studio sessions and one-of-a-kind music events
In September, the world-traveling Red Bull Music Academy returns to the city where it all began in celebration of its 20th anniversary. A total of 61 music-makers selected from across the globe will converge on the German capital for five weeks of lectures, studio sessions and one-of-a-kind music events.
Every year, the Academy receives thousands of applications from artists hailing from around the world. A jury carefully reads – and listens – through each and every submission, resulting in a class that reflects the diverse styles, methodologies and cultural backgrounds of the applicant pool. This year, artists representing 37 different nationalities, including South Africa, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Russia, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey and Brazil, have been invited to attend the Red Bull Music Academy in Berlin, which takes place from September 8 to October 12.
Every Academy is a world of its own, offering new insights and perspectives on sound. During their time in Berlin, the participants will attend lectures and workshops with some of music’s brightest lights and work on music together in a custom-built, state-of-the-art recording environment. Concurrently, Red Bull Music will present a month-long festival of public concerts and club nights across the city. It all makes for a place where influential musicians meet a new generation, in a setting where both sides can learn from each other and celebrate music’s past, present and future.
Cornelius SA
© Chester Holme
This year two South African artists will be heading to the Red Bull Music Academy: Cornelius SA and Jakinda. Cornelius Mashilane, the self-taught DJ and producer popularly known as Cornelius SA, has emerged as one of South Africa’s most talented electronic musicians. With an abiding keenness for hypnotic house, Kenny Dope signed him and released his single “Heaven” in 2016. His subsequent records “Keep Your Mouth Shut” and “Boogie Woogie” are submerged in deep house vibes spiked with soul, Afro-house and just a twinge of techno. Like his emotive and in-demand DJ sets, they’re dark, delicious and deeply satisfying.
Jakinda
© Chester Holme
Producer and DJ Jakinda Boya describes his style as “afro-future electronica,” pitched at the meeting point of some of South Africa’s most vital dance scenes: Gqom, kwaito and hip-hop. As half of the Stiff Pap duo with rapper Ayema Problem, he told the story of an Umlazi teenager’s first illicit afterdark experiences on their 2017 debut EP, ‘Based on a Qho Story’. From the bass-heavy banger “Dlala” to the frenetic “Live From Eloxion” to the airy, blissful “Stiff Pap Forever,” its range is remarkable for a producer who had only begun his musical education two years prior, mostly self-taught from YouTube tutorials. This Kanye West and Culoe de Song fan, who once harbored ambitions to become a pro surfer, is situated at the heart of one of the most exciting scenes of the 2010s.
South African Red Bull Music Academy Alumni include Culoe De Song, Jullian Gomes, Black Coffee, Trancemicsoul, Behr, King Bruce, Yes In French & Selfir, showcasing the wide variety of local talent.
Trancemicsoul
© Pere Masramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Tracemicsoul highlighted the life-changing nature of the experience in his message to this year's participants. "Congrats and massive salutations to Cornelius and Jakinda for being chosen as the 2018 South African participants for the Red Bull Music Academy. A life-changing experience awaits, I hope you will absorb as much as you can. You will definitely come back home as a different person, full of life, innovation and the hunger to create. Please don't let that feeling fade away!"
Jullian Gomes
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
Jullian Gomes advised them to be true to themselves but open to new ideas. "To Jakinda and Cornelius, congratulations on getting into the Red Bull Music Academy. This probably going to change your life forever. The only advice I can give you is to be yourself, taking it in, experience it and never forget where you come from. Represent your sound, but be very open-minded to what's going on all over the world. You'll see that you'll come out very different and you'll have a very different outlook on music & life. I wish you the best, enjoy. Represent South Africa and have a good time!"
ABOUT RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY
The Red Bull Music Academy is a global music institution committed to fostering creativity in music. We celebrate music, its culture, and the transformative minds behind it. Begun in 1998, the Academy has taken the core principles that underlie its annual workshop for selected participants and applied this curatorial approach to events throughout the year. Red Bull Music Academy will host the next edition of its month-long music workshop in Berlin from September 8 to October 12, 2018.
More than 1,500 musical luminaries have participated in past incarnations of the Red Bull Music Academy. Former lecturers include Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Erykah Badu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, D’Angelo, George Clinton, Nile Rodgers, Frankie Knuckles, Giorgio Moroder, Questlove, Stephen O’Malley, Rakim, RZA, Steve Reich, M.I.A., and pioneering synth inventors Bob Moog, Tom Oberheim, Don Buchla, Roger Linn, and Dave Smith, among many others.
Plenty Academy alumni have gone on to become true figureheads of their scenes, like LA soul singer Aloe Blacc; experimental electronic music producer and beat music innovator Flying Lotus; Hudson Mohawke, the Scottish producer behind the beats of Drake and Kanye West; and UK singer Katy B, who championed the sound of London’s dubstep, funky and garage. Other notable alumni include Nina Kraviz, Sevdaliza, Jamie Woon, TOKiMONSTA, Jackmaster, Andreya Triana, Pan Daijing, Axel Boman, Evian Christ, Deradoorian, Objekt, Onra, and Krystal Klear.
The Red Bull Music Academy has been pairing music legends and emerging beatsmiths since 1998 in cities such as Berlin, Cape Town, Melbourne, Barcelona, Rome, São Paulo, London, Tokyo and New York City. This unique combination of old-school knowledge and new-school sounds is unrivalled for its creative exploration and achievement. Each Academy edition leaves behind structures to encourage musical collaboration and creative exchange for years to come.
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