Summary 👇 

• Editorial
  • Highlights of Mundial Montreal
  • Ageism in music
• In depth with Hassan Elammouri, from ArteGanza Foundation (The Netherlands)
• Talk with Sharaf DarZaid from the Popular Art Center (Ramallah, Palestine)
• Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects
• A little bit of mine
• Open calls: Fira Mediterrània de Manresa, Budapest Ritmo, Folkherbts, and coming soon, SoAlive – BabelMusic XP opened the accreditations
• Meet me at ✈️

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Hello, how are you?

I hope well. I’m doing well, although I can’t stop being shocked by the political situation in my country. After all the awful things we’ve seen following the floods, there’s now a series of terrible corruption scandals. And when I look at the world, I feel like crawling under my bed and never coming out. But anyway…

The photo is from Montreal, where I was last week for Mundial Montreal. I truly enjoyed it, getting to see performances like those of Nimkii and the Niniis or the magnificent Due Perse-Inca, along with plenty of great conversations (the speed meetings with music supervisors in the frame of M from Montreal was another highlight) and walking all over the city. I was very lucky with the weather.

Now, I’ll spend a couple of months without business trips and will focus on booking concerts and refining work processes and strategy. Yes, in case anyone didn’t know, I don’t make a living writing this newsletter—I’m a manager and agent for musicians!

I’m really excited about the work for the next weeks, especially considering how the year has gone and what I foresee for 2025. For example, the new album from Hudaki Village Band. On that note, I posted a question yesterday on my Facebook page, which I’d like to share here and invite you to participate in. You can find it here and it says:

“I have a question for my colleagues working in the field of music. I see many festivals with the objective of increasing diversity in their lineups, and they mention things like gender, the presence of LGTBIQ+ people, people with disabilities, races… but I rarely see any claim about the diversity of ages (especially related to having older people). And I think that ageism is one of the biggest sources of discrimination in the field of music. What do you think?”

With Hudaki and with Vigüela I feel something in common. They are the last ones doing what they are doing. And right now, I think no one else is doing what they are doing. But as Juan Antonio Torres (on the picture) from Vigüela says, Aunt Marina la Chamarreta, from whom he learned so much, has passed away, and nothing has changed—the music continues, and music is music, and the melodies will stay. Those who want to learn it can do so, and those who don’t, simply won’t. I believe that if this is lost, we will be a little poorer. Juan Antonio agrees on this. It is sad that we will leave the art go. He has just told me that that it’s a shame that acorn-fed hams are no longer cured, and we settle for standard cured ham instead. I hope the metaphor is clear. And probably Sharaf DarZaid, one of the protagonists of this edition, thinks the same way we do.

My other protagonist today has shared some ideas that are a true lesson for anyone interested in organizing concerts—among many other things. He is Hassan Elammouri, founder of ArteGanza, and the interview is absolutely fascinating. Beyond this insight, we also get a glimpse into his life, and I personally feel quite connected to some aspects of it. I hope it moves you as well.

AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR:

HASSAN ELAMMOURI, FOUNDER OF ARTEGANZA FOUNDATION

AT: Why did you stay in The Netherlands?

HE: Netherlands was my home land. That’s all.

AT: How did you start to have any activities related to music? 

HE: Starting with music often begins with a small spark — a song that sticks, a melody that inspires, or even a particular feeling that comes when hearing certain sounds. For many, this initial pull to music happens early, perhaps through family, school, or friends. Maybe someone grew up in a musical household where instruments were always around, or they had a teacher who encouraged them to sing or play. For others, it’s the pure joy they felt when singing along with their favorite songs or the curiosity that led them to pick up an instrument.

Learning an instrument, joining a choir, or taking music classes are common first steps. Sometimes it’s as simple as playing around with the family piano, a friend’s guitar, or even learning basic production software on a computer. These small activities build confidence and skill over time, encouraging a deeper dive into music.

As interests grow, people often start experimenting with creating music, forming bands, or recording their first songs. Maybe they start attending more concerts, discovering new genres, or connecting with others who share the same passion. These experiences — playing music, listening to it, or sharing it with others — create a pathway from curiosity to genuine involvement, setting the stage for music to become an integral part of their life.

AT: Your foundation is called ArteGanza. What does it mean? 

HE: The name ArteGanza is a blend of the words arte (which means “art” in several languages, including Italian and Spanish) and extravaganza (which implies a grand, lavish event or celebration). Together, ArteGanza suggests a vibrant celebration of art and culture, highlighting creativity and diversity.
The foundation likely aims to promote the arts in an inclusive and inspiring way, celebrating various forms of artistic expression — from music and dance to visual arts and more. The name itself communicates a mission of bringing people together through the power of art, creating spaces where creativity is celebrated on a grand, engaging scale.

AT: Which is your team in ArteGanza? 

HE: My organizational team consists of several people. First of all, I have a board of four people: the president, secretary, treasurer and two more general board members. There are also two colleagues who deal with grant applications, communications and more.

In terms of execution, we have a producer who deals with preparations on all fronts (think contact with the artists, technique, permits with the local government, scheduling of volunteers, etc…). We have an enthusiastic volunteer coordinator and volunteer team with diverse backgrounds consisting of 20 permanent members.

Last but not least, I hold the position of the general and artistic director. I deal with programming and also managing the organization. I am a proponent of a platform organization. It works and communicates easily and decisions made (in advance) are implemented quickly.

AT: You make a festival, Musica Mundo, and you also present artists in different venues of the Netherlands during the year. And ArteGanza was born in 2007. It is curious: it is the same year as Mapamundi Música. Please, how have you perceived the development of the circuit or market of the world musics? You can answer specifically about The Netherlands or in general in Europe or the world, or about several of these frames. 

HE: Since ArteGanza’s beginning in 2007, the world music scene has gone through significant changes, both in the Netherlands and globally. The rise of digital streaming platforms and social media has reshaped how audiences discover, access, and engage with world music. In the past, people often discovered global genres through physical events, niche record stores, or specialized radio stations. Now, anyone with internet access can explore a vast range of musical traditions and artists from around the world with ease. This accessibility has broadened the market and increased interest, but it has also made it more challenging for artists and organizers to stand out.

In the Netherlands and across Europe, there has been a growing appreciation for diverse musical traditions and fusion genres, but this shift has also brought challenges. Cultural diversity initiatives and government support for the arts have increased opportunities for artists from different backgrounds, enabling a wider range of voices to reach audiences. However, competition for funding and resources has intensified, and the music industry’s rapid changes mean that traditional circuits and festivals have to innovate continually to stay relevant.

Many European cities, including some in the Netherlands, have established more festivals and concert series focused on world music. However, the sustainability of these events can be unpredictable, as they often depend on fluctuating cultural budgets and sponsorships. Festivals like Musica Mundo and initiatives by foundations like ArteGanza play a crucial role in providing a platform for world music artists, helping to build a dedicated audience and create meaningful experiences that transcend just music.

Looking ahead, as audiences become more global-minded and curious, there’s enormous potential for world music to keep growing. In the Netherlands, the increase in diverse communities and international exchange only deepens this interest. The challenge — and opportunity — lies in nurturing this interest through high-quality, immersive events and in continuing to foster a deep appreciation of world music’s cultural richness, bridging the gap between artists and new audiences.

This picture is the cover picture of Hassan’s facebook profile.

AT: Why did you call it “Musica Mundo”? It sounds like Spanish. 

HE: The name Musica Mundo indeed sounds like Spanish, and this choice was likely intentional to give the festival a warm, international, and accessible feel. “Musica” means “music” in several Romance languages, and “Mundo” means “world” in Spanish and Portuguese. Together, Musica Mundo translates roughly to “Music of the World,” capturing the essence of a festival that celebrates global sounds and cultural diversity.

The name evokes a sense of openness and inclusivity, suggesting that the festival is a meeting point for different cultures, traditions, and musical expressions from around the world. By using a name with a Romance language influence, it adds a feeling of warmth and familiarity, resonating with people from different linguistic backgrounds, especially in a multicultural setting like the Netherlands.

AT: Which are the main challenges you face to make the festival? 

HE: Organizing a festival like Musica Mundo comes with several significant challenges, especially when it celebrates a diverse range of global music traditions. Here are some of the main challenges:

Funding and Sponsorship: Securing adequate funding is often the biggest challenge. Festivals like Musica Mundo, which focus on world music, sometimes struggle to attract large commercial sponsors who may prioritize mainstream music events. Dependence on government or cultural grants adds uncertainty, as budgets can fluctuate and funding priorities may change.

Audience Engagement: Reaching and educating audiences about the value of world music requires effort. While there is a growing interest in global sounds, building a dedicated audience who will consistently attend and support diverse performances can be challenging, particularly in areas where world music is less familiar.

Artist Logistics: Coordinating international artists brings logistical complexities, including visas, travel arrangements, and accommodations. Different countries have varying requirements and timelines for visas, and any delays or issues can impact the festival lineup.

Venue and Technical Setup: Ensuring that venues have the right acoustics and technical setup for diverse musical traditions is critical. World music often involves unique instruments and sound requirements, so the technical crew must be equipped to handle these nuances to ensure high-quality performances.

Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Many world music genres have deep traditional roots, but audiences today may prefer fusion or contemporary interpretations. Balancing authentic representation with innovative programming that appeals to a broader audience is a delicate task, requiring sensitivity to both the artists’ integrity and audience interests.

Cultural Sensitivity and Representation: With a focus on world music, it’s crucial to present cultures respectfully and authentically. This means building relationships with artists and communities, understanding cultural contexts, and avoiding tokenism. Ensuring diversity without falling into stereotypes requires ongoing awareness and respect.

Sustaining Relevance and Growth: As with any festival, staying relevant is vital. Competing with other music festivals and entertainment options means that Musica Mundo needs to offer something unique and create memorable experiences that bring audiences back year after year.

Overcoming these challenges often requires creativity, adaptability, and a passionate commitment to the festival’s mission. By continuing to find new ways to connect with audiences and involve communities, Musica Mundo can thrive and create lasting impact.

AT: What do you feel when you see the concerts you organise going on and the public over there attending?

HE: Seeing a concert come to life — especially one you’ve organized — is an incredibly rewarding and emotional experience. Watching the audience connect with the music, immersing themselves in the sounds and energy, brings a profound sense of fulfillment and joy. It’s often a moment where all the hard work, challenges, and behind-the-scenes efforts feel worth it, because you can see the impact that the event is having right in front of you.

There’s also a deep sense of pride and gratitude. Pride in the artists for sharing their culture and talent, and gratitude toward the audience for showing up, engaging, and being open to experiencing something new. It’s particularly moving to see people from different backgrounds coming together, enjoying the performance, and discovering music they may never have encountered otherwise.

For many organizers, these moments also bring a sense of relief and peace, knowing that everything has come together successfully. It can be emotional to witness the magic of live music — the shared smiles, the movement, the applause, and the connections being made. This experience creates a lasting bond between the music, the artists, the audience, and yourself as the organizer.

AT: Do you consider that the world musics have any specific added value? 

HE: Yes, world music brings unique and powerful added value, both culturally and personally. It goes beyond mere entertainment by offering listeners a way to connect with diverse histories, languages, and traditions from around the globe. This form of music holds deep cultural significance, often rooted in centuries of tradition, storytelling, and communal experience, and this depth provides audiences with an authentic glimpse into the lives, emotions, and values of different cultures.

One of the most significant added values of world music is its ability to foster empathy and understanding. By listening to music from different parts of the world, people can appreciate the uniqueness and universality of human experience. World music often introduces audiences to unfamiliar instruments, rhythms, and vocal styles, expanding their musical horizons and encouraging open-mindedness.

Another added value is the preservation and revitalization of cultural heritage. World music keeps traditional sounds and stories alive, sometimes in the face of globalization pressures that can erode local cultures. By bringing these art forms to new audiences, festivals and artists help protect and celebrate cultural identities that might otherwise fade over time.

World music also nurtures creativity and innovation. Many contemporary artists draw inspiration from world music traditions, blending them with other genres to create new, hybrid forms of music. This cross-pollination enriches the entire music landscape, pushing boundaries and sparking fresh creative ideas.

In sum, world music has the unique power to educate, inspire, and connect people, bridging cultural gaps and fostering a richer, more interconnected world. It holds intrinsic value as a cultural artifact, while also offering emotional depth and fostering a global sense of unity and appreciation.

AT: How can the readers be updated of your activities? 

HE: Readers can stay updated on all our activities by subscribing to our newsletter, which provides the latest news on upcoming concerts, festivals, artist spotlights, and special events. Through the newsletter, we share insights into the artists we work with, behind-the-scenes stories, and exclusive offers for subscribers.

In addition to the newsletter, you can follow us on our social media channels for real-time updates, photos, and videos from our events. Our website also has an events calendar where you can find detailed information about each performance, ticketing, and venues.

By staying connected through these platforms, you’ll be the first to know about new programs and enjoy a closer look into our world of global music!

Feel free to follow their social media channels:
🔸Instagram of Musica Mundo Festival
🔸Facebook of ArteGanza
🔸Facebook of Musica Mundo Festival
🔸Youtube channel of Musica Mundo

AT: If you want to share any insights to the readers, please, do. 

HE: One insight I’d love to share is the transformative power of exploring world music. Engaging with music from different cultures isn’t just about enjoying a new sound — it’s a way to travel, connect, and grow as individuals. Each song, instrument, and rhythm carries a piece of a community’s spirit and history, creating a bridge between listeners and distant parts of the world.

For those curious about world music but not sure where to start, I encourage you to attend a live performance or festival if you have the chance. Experiencing this music live can be profoundly moving, and you’ll find that it brings people together in a special way. Listening with an open heart and mind, you may discover stories and sounds that resonate with your own life and expand your perspective.

World music reminds us that, despite our diverse languages and backgrounds, we all share similar emotions, dreams, and struggles. By embracing this diversity, we not only celebrate other cultures but enrich our own lives with the beauty of global connection. So keep exploring, stay curious, and allow music to guide you on a journey of understanding and unity.

Thank you, Hassan! 

TALK WITH 
SHARAF DARZAID FROM THE POPULAR ART CENTER (RAMALLAH, PALESTINE)

This a short video, one minute and a half, of Sharaf DarZaid dancing alone. It is a good context for the interview. Below you’ll find more videos, also with a dance troupe.

As I explained in the previous edition of the newsletter, in October I attended the Fira Mediterrània in Manresa, where I made an interview with Sharaf DarZaid from the Popular Art Center of Palestine. Sharaf was performing at the Fira and he also participated in a panel called “Artistic Diaspora and Cultural Rights”.

I want to thank Paula Ten from the Associació Catalana per la Pau, because this organization was hosting a project with Sharaf, and I understand they served as the connection with the Fira too. I didn’t know Sharaf before and I had no idea about the Popular Art Center. Their story is really worth to be told to the world.

To learn about Sharaf and the Center has one of the highlights for me from the Fira Mediterrània. Another one was the interview with Laia Canals, that I already published in the previous edition of this magazine.

Thinking about what is happening stirs up a lot of emotions in me. Two years ago around this time, I was in Israel. I often think about the people who organize that event, the showcase I’ve attended three times, where I saw, for example, Gulaza, with whom I later worked. It’s also where I met Eyal ElWahab from El Khat, who has now emigrated to Germany—a decision I find understandable, yet also sad. I think about how the people who organize the showcase don’t wish for the destruction of others. I think about how we are at the mercy of madmen and large-scale murderers. I think about how they treat people like pawns. I think about how some people find strength and hope amidst despair and the lack of freedom. Attending the Fira would have been worth the effort even if it had been just to learn about the existence of the Popular Art Center in Ramallah.

I have nothing more insightful to say about this. So I will simply share the interview with Sharaf, to whom I am infinitely grateful for those minutes he gave me after the panel.

Araceli Tzigane: Please, could you explain to me briefly what is the Popular Art Center? When was it created?  

Sharaf DarZaid: The Popular Art Center was founded in 1987, in the first Intifada, in the time when the Israeli occupation was just not looking to occupy land, but also to steal our heritage and our identity and our culture. And even the colours of our Palestinian flag were forbidden. And if any Palestinian tried to raise their Palestinian flag, they would arrest him or her. In this kind of situation, the Popular Art Center came established in order to save culture, identity and dabke. And to create a dance school to teach to children, from 5 years old until 16 years old, dabke, the pure traditional folkloric dance. And not just to teach them the technique of the dance, but also the importance of the dabke dance and the story behind it and why we are doing it and how it’s related to our heritage and how we can use it to express ourselves.

We started with the Heritage Festival to keep the dance groups alive and to have the space to present their creation to the audience. And of course, all kind of dabke dance production is always talking about resistance, about Palestine, its history, about reigning, about Palestinian agriculture, about fighting, about Palestinian animals that we use, whether in agriculture or in the fights, sharing different stories. And we also have one of the programs that we called “outreach program”, where we go to different villages and refugee camps to work with children. Especially at the second Intifada, those children faced a lot of harms and problems due to the occupation. And what we actually do is to go and establish dance groups or to develop dance groups that they already established there in these places.

We don’t do like branches for the Popular Art Center, no, we build partnerships with organizations with community-based organizations, because we believe that everyone is in their own city, they are stronger. So it’s not a business thing, it’s a non-governmental and non-profit organization. And we established hundreds of dance troops, and the Heritage Festival is a place for them to present and to perform, not just in Ramallah where we live, and also in other cities in Palestine.

We also started in 1993 the Palestine International Festival, where we are trying to invite local and international dance and music troops to perform, in Ramallah and also in other cities to present their own culture, their own art, and to share it with Palestinians and also to see Palestine with their own eyes and to experience passing through checkpoints, through apartheid, the separation wall and also to visit villages and refugee camps to see what’s going on in Palestine. And this is also to build cultural bridges with the whole world.

Also one of the group programs that we worked on is to record old songs and traditional music, to record them and to put them available for artists and groups from all over Palestine, to come and to listen and to produce new productions inspired by the folklore. There are our roots and this is our heritage, this is our culture, this is our identity, that we are presenting, and keep them alive and share it with people. We don’t want this kind of art to stay just in the museum: we want it to be spread out and to be all over the word. This is like one of our missions in the Popular Art Center.

AT:  So you are building an archive of recordings. Is it available somehow for people from abroad, on your website?

SD: You should come and listen to it in the Center.

AT:  Ah, so we have to visit you if we want to listen to it. Do you have any plan for putting it available for the world online?

SD: We do have plans, but we still are stuck in some technical issues and also the copyright, because we don’t have the copyright to put it on the website. We just record them and archive them, so people can come, listen, and produce their own. If I want to put it online for people all over the world to use it, I need copyright.

AT:  Is this your job? Can you make your living with this?

SD: Yes, this is my job but actually I do art management and I do dance, so I’m not just professional dancer. I wouldn’t have enough money to to live just as a dancer, because being a dancer it’s a bit risky in in Palestine: if there’s a project, you work. If you don’t have a project, you don’t work. And actually, in our dance troupe I’m a volunteer, I dance as a volunteer, I train as a volunteer and I also choreograph as a volunteer. And I travel abroad with the company as a volunteer. I don’t take money, and I don’t want to take money, actually. Even if they had money I would ask them to save it, in order to create new productions. So we are more than 100 members in the dance troupe, but all of us are volunteers. And this is basically one of the very important things that makes the organization keep going and keep alive and not stopping, because it’s volunteer-based.

How we define professional? For us, a professional dancer it not about taking money from the dance. For us, professional means that you are loyal towards the idea and to have a common mission with the dance troop and to present Palestine, especially due to the current circumstances, the situation that we are living under occupation, and to be on time, to give all your effort, put all your energy, power… This is professionality for us. It’s not about money at all.

AT:  You are very young, so you didn’t found yourself the Popular Art Center. You said it was founded in 1987. 

SD: I was born in the same year. The Forum Dance Troupe was established in 1979. And in 1987 they decided to establish the Popular Art Center because they didn’t want their dancers to be, as I told you, paid as dancers. They wanted to keep the volunteer-based work. And at that moment they thought about having their own dance school. Then, their members and Forum Dance Group could be paid trainers, professional trainers at the Popular Art Center. So, they are actually two organizations: one is producing art volunteer-based and the other one is presenting art and teaching art on a professional level.

So personally I do dance voluntarily but, at the Popular Art Center, I work as a manager as my every day I have office work from 10 to 18. Dancing comes before, we have a studio upstairs in the building. I dance like 2 hours before my work starts and, afterwards, after 6, I dance with Forum Dance Troope. But I have eight hours a day to work, because, you know it is a bit risky to work just as a dancer and we don’t have an insurance even. If you fall, for example, on your leg and you can’t dance anymore, no one will give you a wage, a salary. And I think this is not just in Palestine, I mean, it’s everywhere, but in Palestine it’s much more difficult, because we don’t even have support from a cultural ministry or from the government. We need to have our own funds and in the Popular Art Center we refuse to take funds from Sweden, from the EU, from the United States, from the British Council. All the funders put political conditional funds. So we decided not to take money from them. And from those who give the right for Israelis to start their genocide in Gaza we also decided not to take a money from them.

In this so beautiful video you’ll see Sharaf performing with the El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe:

AT:  So how do you keep the organizations going on economically? How can you found your own salary?

SD: Our society helps.

AT:  You mean the Palestinians… they buy tickets…

SD: They buy tickets, they are participating in the dance school, they support us, they help us… It’s not a problem.

AT:  I have one last question. You are talking about dabke. It’s not only in Palestine, but this dance is also in other countries too. Are you able to bring also foreigner dancers to dabke dancers from other countries?

SD: Yes, of course. As I told you, we organize the Palestine International Festival where we annually invite different dance and music artists from all over the world to come to Palestine, and to perform as well, and to work with the Palestinian artists. We also work on a project at the Popular Art Center: our dance students travel and they do exchange programs. Last year, nine of our students went to Poland and they worked with different students who are learning dance and they teach each other their own culture. Last summer, ten of our students went to Morocco to learn about Morocco and their dance and also to meet other children from different countries, to share experiences together and to teach each other’s dance. And they bring this experience back to Palestine and we give them the space to develop it more and more.

AT: I have one last question. You are talking about dabke. It’s not only in Palestine, but this dance is also in other countries too. Are you able to bring also foreigner dancers to dabke dancers from other countries?

SD: Yes.

AT: So you can go to the Consulate of Poland or Morocco and you apply for the Visa and if you are given a Visa for Poland, you have a Visa for the Schengen area. 

SD: Sometimes they give it just to Poland but recently they do the Schengen Visa. I have a Dutch Schengen Visa that I can travel with. I came here with my Dutch Schengen Visa.

AT: Is it more or less easy for you?

SD: Not for all, it depends to whom they give it. Just last week, a colleague of mine who has a US citizen passport, but he lives in Palestine, he decided to go to the United States to give dance workshops with a dance troupe and on the border they didn’t allow him to travel. Even he is a US citizen, but still they didn’t allow him to travel. And other dancers have been kicked out of the country, so it depends. And others apply through offices to apply for a couple of countries in the EU and because, you know, sometimes the official office is in Jerusalem, and we can’t go to Jerusalem. So they open an office in Ramallah and we go to that office to apply. But of course they ask for a lot, a lot of papers, so, so many…

AT: I think it’s a huge issue, the visas, many documents, you have to pay a lot of money… OK. I saw you have a website, so the people can visit your website and check everything. I saw about the Heritage Festival on Facebook.

SD: Facebook, Popular Art Center on Facebook.

AT: I think it’s a huge issue, the visas, many documents, you have to pay a lot of money… OK. I saw you have a website, so the people can visit your website and check everything. I saw about the Heritage Festival on Facebook.

SD: Yes, there’s a website it’s a bit old, but yes, you can know about the Center through the website and also through the Facebook.

On the Youtube channel of the Popular Art Center there are some old videos in which you can see the lessons and other events.

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

🔸Mundofonías: the three favourite of the months are the albums Caracoles by Orquesta Akokán, Le concile des oiseaux by Hadouk and Le rêve de Polyphème by Polyphème / Wassim Halal & Gamelan Puspawarna.

A LITTLE BIT OF MINE

Listen to some pieces of the future album by Hudaki Village Band:

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.

🔸Note that the SoAlive Music Conference is announced for 14-17 October 2025. It will take place in Sofia, as the previous editions. The open call for bands will be announced in December.

🔸And note that Babel Music XP, which will take place from 20 to 22 March 2025 in Marseille has open the accreditations (the early rate is right now in 132,60 euros) and the booking of stands (early rate, price from €550 excl. TVA).

🔸Who is it for? 
“Music, performing or street art, folk culture and association-related proposals that are based on traditional roots as a driver of creativity and speak to us in the present.”
Note also that:
“The programme of Fira Mediterrània is divided into three main itineraries:

• Music, featuring the world music and traditional roots music scenes.
• Dance, with a dynamic perspective on traditional roots and folk culture.
• Memory, llegacy and oral storytelling, with performance and outdoor arts offerings, particularly theatre and circus, which draw on folk culture.”

🔸How to apply? 
The application is free and you can do it through the website. Deadline: Thursday 23 January 2025 at 12.00 a.m. CET.

🔸To learn more:
“Fira, as a performing arts fair attended by sector professionals (1,140 registered delegates), will agree a financial contribution with companies and groups.” Check all the conditions, on the official website.

🔸Who is it for? 
Bands and artists from the world music scene, from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Western-Balkan countries, Eastern Partnership countries, Baltics, Hungary’s neighboring countries, ready to step on the international stage.
🔸How to apply? 
The application is free and you can do it through the platform gigmit, until midnight on December 22. This is the direct link for the call in gigmit.
🔸To learn more:
Check all the conditions, on the official website.

🔸Who is it for? 
Participating artists must have their residence in Europe.
They must engage with folk music in the broadest sense in their musical performances – everything from traditional to crossover is welcome.
In case of a nomination for the Eversteiner award, FolkHerbst participants need to keep the award – ceremony date available (31.01.26).
🔸How to apply? 
Applications must be submitted informally by email to kultur@malzhaus.de by January 15, 2025. Send 3 music pieces (preferably videos in good quality, preferably live), along with a press text and a press photo.
🔸To learn more:
The official document I have received from Christian Dressel is this one.

WHO WE ARE AND SISTER PROJECTS 

Mapamundi Música is an agency of management and booking. Learn more here. Check our proposals at our website.

We also offer you our Mundofonías radio show, probably the leader about world music in Spanish language (on 50 stations in 18 countries). We produce the Transglobal World Music Chart with our partner Ángel Romero from WorldMusicCentral.com.

Feel free to request info if you wish. For further information about us, get in touch by email, telephone (+34 676 30 28 82), our website or at our Facebook. 

Summary 👇 

🔹Editorial
Drops of Fira Mediterrània de Manresa and WOMEX

🔹Talk with Laia Canals, director of Tempi (and much more)

🔹Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects

🔹A little bit of mine

🔹Open calls: Budapest Ritmo, Folkherbts, Transglobal World Music Hall of Fame DEADLINE TOMORROW 31ST OCTOBER

🔹Meet me at ✈️ 

➡️ This is the link for subscription

Hello, how are you?

I hope well. I’m doing well, although somewhat sad about the catastrophe in Valencia and nearby provinces. News about these situations, which can literally end you, triggers a strong internal debate within me between the temptation to indulge in hedonism and the urge to keep striving to leave a better world for when I’m no longer here. For now, the latter tendency still prevails. I imagine this happens to almost everyone.

As I write this, the storm has moved toward Andalusia, mainly affecting Seville and Cádiz, and I hope they’ve had enough time to prepare better than those impacted yesterday. I’m still waiting for news from a couple of people in Valencia, but I trust they’re safe and only experiencing power outages, which I know has happened in several towns, and with no battery on their phones. I trust.

This October has been a very busy month for me. I attended the Fira Mediterrània in Manresa, where I made an interview that I’ll publish in the next edition of this newsletter, with Sharaf DarZaid (in the picture) from the Popular Art Center of Palestine. I shared some additional insights about the Fira in this edition of Mundofonías. Listen here.

I also had a long interview with Laia Canals, director of Tempi. You can find it further down. She is the protagonist in this edition.

And, of course, I’ve been at WOMEX. I’ve been attending since 2011, and this time I had my fourth artist showcasing, the fifth chosen for the official selection (in 2020 Vigüela were selected, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic). This time it was Ali Doğan Gönültaş, and it was a success. I’m still receiving congratulations, ever since last Friday. I am especially moved by the words of some colleagues. I believe none of us who attended will ever forget it. In the photo, you can see us both just minutes before his performance.

AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR:
LAIA CANALS, DIRECTOR OF TEMPI – ROOTS MUSIC DENMARK

Rachid Taha included a version of “Ya Rayah” in his 1998 album Diwân. I think this was the greatest hit of his career. The song was originally written by the Algerian artist Dahmane El Harrachi in the 1970s. It speaks about migration, nostalgia, and the challenges of leaving one’s homeland. It is a powerful symbol of the immigrant experience and cultural identity, particularly for North Africans in Europe. Here below you have the videoclip of Taha. And you can listen to the recording by El Harrachi, here.

AT: What was the record label called?
LC: Post World Industries. It was home to artists like Filastine, Maga Bo, Copia Doble Systema, and Alo Wala—many of whom performed at WOMEX and gained significant recognition. We collaborated with Enchufada, Buraka Som Sistema, and even Major Lazer. It became a cult label. As many of our artists started gaining popularity, they often lacked management representation.

👉 Check more about Post World Industries, on their BandCamp

AT: You were still in Barcelona?
LC: Yes. Many of the artists didn’t have representation, so I gradually began managing and booking several of the label’s artists. As the daughter of a businessman from Spain, I learned a lot from my father, but I had never really connected music and business until I started the record label. It came naturally to me, and I found great enjoyment in blending business with music. That’s when I realized this was my true passion.

Of course, there wasn’t a music management school back then—and I don’t think there still is. For me, it’s an art form, a craft. I refer to it as the craft of being a manager. That’s when I discovered the role I wanted—I found my joy!

I worked in artist management for over 15 years, developing many artists who are well-known today. I also traveled to Denmark frequently to DJ, receiving calls from the venue Vega, which flew me from Barcelona to perform once a month. That’s how I got to know the Danish music scene and industry. Eventually, I moved to Denmark and started working with the local music landscape and the people here.

Then I had two children. Artist management is a 24/7 job, and with two babies, I realized I couldn’t continue in that role. So, I had to move on from my agency. The organization I work for now, Tempi, was seeking to establish a strong international network, and as a manager, I specialized in artist internationalization and export initiatives. I’ve been attending WOMEX for 17 years and Eurosonic as well, because I worked in mainstream markets too, not just world music. However, I’ve always promoted global music, even in mainstream contexts. For the past seven years, I’ve been leading the export initiatives for Danish roots music.

To close this part about Laia’s career before joining Tempi, the organization where she has been working for the last 7 years, I’d like to bring here one of the artists she mentioned and which I had the chance to see live at WOMEX in 2013: Filastine.

AT: Which kinds of music do you work with at Tempi?
LC: Roots music, folk, global music, Chamber Folk Music, Americana and Country, Blues, Afrobeat, all play a significant role in our landscape. We have a strong tradition of singer-songwriters, and even in mainstream music, elements of roots music are blending more than ever—just look at artists like Rosalía. Many Danish artists in the mainstream are now incorporating Colombian and Kurdish influences into their music.It’s like the coolest office in Denmark because we get to work across so many genres: jazz, classical music, electronic music, hip hop, rock, and more. As the director of the office, I have the opportunity to work both nationally in Denmark and internationally.

AT: What are Tempi’s goals? To internationalise the artists as much as possible?
LC: Tempi primarily focuses on national objectives. We participate in three festivals and two music conferences each year. Additionally, we create artist accelerators, mentorship programs, sync conferences, writing camps, and data collection projects. Beyond functioning as an export office, we manage a mobility fund that artists can apply for to cover both national and international travel expenses.
For instance, if an artist has a tour to promote an album, they can seek funding to cover their travel costs. We also provide various forms of support. If you’re starting a festival, we can assist with fundraising, offer advice, and help in any way we can.

We also facilitate the participation of international delegations at events like the Resonator Festival, Spot Festival, Nordic Folk Alliance, and Tønder Festival. Essentially, we’re deeply involved in the entire Danish and international roots music ecosystem.

AT: And you have three of your own festivals, which are those?
LC: It’s always about partnership. We don’t run the festivals ourselves; instead, we handle the coordination and fundraising at specific stages. It’s a collaborative effort. For example, we work on the Resonator Festival, which is gaining recognition, as well as the Nordic Folk Festival, which, while niche, is popular within Nordic music circles. We also collaborate on the Rosenthal Chamber Folk Festival, which beautifully blends folk and classical music. In the Nordic countries, this intersection of genres has a strong identity, exemplified by bands like Dreamers’ Circus and Stundom, who thrive in that classical-folk crossover niche.
Additionally, we’re involved in two conferences: the Nordic Folk Alliance, which we produce, and the Spot Festival, which is Denmark’s equivalent of BIME or Eurosonic. At these events, we contribute by curating and funding the global roots music and folk music stages.

AT: And what would you like to develop within Tempi that hasn’t been done yet?
LC: My obsession is to leave a structural impact in the industry. Denmark has incredibly talented musicians, thanks to the excellent music schools and the economic support to the artists, as well as great music conservatories. However, once they leave these institutions, there’s a lack of industry. We don’t have booking agents or management within our music genre, and that pulls the brakes on the artists careers and the whole tapestry of our music genre in Denmark.

What we are working on is attracting the existing labels and independent booking agencies that are independent but still considered mainstream into our niche. And it’s working—we’re seeing the industry grow more and more, and making contracts with Roots artists.

As the director of Tempi, I hope my legacy will be the establishment of a robust infrastructure that provides sustainable career opportunities for artists in roots music. Currently, we have a major project focused on block booking networks, where concert venues collaborate on artist bookings. We’re also partnering with festivals. My goal is to leave behind a more developed music industry with a solid infrastructure when I eventually move on from Tempi.

Under this video we will continue talking about Laia’s work in Tempi and other of her activities. But before, let’s listen to one of the Danish bands she mentioned: Stundom. 

AT: Is all of this work at Tempi funded by public money?
LC: Yes, at Tempi, we get around 5 million kroner from the Ministry of Culture and the Danish Arts Council. We also apply for funds from private foundations. While fundraising is a big part of what we do, a core portion of our funding is a fixed amount from the state, which we then distribute across national projects, international initiatives, and our mobility fund.Another thing I’m really passionate about is board work. I sit on a number of boards and see firsthand how limited representation is at this level. Having diverse voices here is so important for driving real change in the industry. I’m involved with the Nordic Folk Alliance and the Nordic Folk Council, which is similar to the European Folk Network but focused on the Nordic region, and we’re also part of the European Folk Network.

I think boards are where big shifts can happen because they’re all about strategy. We don’t talk enough about the impact boards can have, but when there’s a clear vision, they can make a real difference. I’m genuinely passionate about it because I see the potential for change when we’re intentional about how we approach it.

AT: But you also have that vision. It also happens that, often, this type of non-commercial music excludes itself.
LC: For me, beyond any commercial value, we hold an incredible democratic value.

AT: Of course, that’s part of the legacy of the peoples.
LC: That’s exactly what the European Union resonates with and needs: our message of community, unity, inclusion, diversity, openness to new cultures, and creating a safe space for marginalized voices…

AT: Exactly, but we sometimes excluded ourselves, as if we don’t believe that we belong in that space.
LC: Yes, I agree—we often lack confidence in our own value, in saying, ‘This is what we’re worth.’ But we’re taking steps to change that.

AT: It’s also about global justice. Why are there cultures that are completely outside of the “industry”? Because there are countries that don’t invest in this.
LC: There are real differences in privilege. I’d love to mention that I’m the chairperson of Another Life Community, an organization in Denmark that advocates for marginalized groups within the music industry. It’s incredibly interesting work—we gather data through surveys and publish an annual report to keep a pulse on industry inclusivity. Our work spans LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and gender balance, always assessing and aiming to improve the landscape. Alongside the report, we also run workshops and even organize a festival each year.

I love this specific work. It’s where I can bring on my activism.  

👉 Check more about Another Life Community, on their website

AT: And what about ageism, is that included?
LC: Yes, I find it very important.

AT: Whenever I see projects that are for people under 35… how many super marginalized people over 50 are doing truly emerging things?
LC: Like many others, people often start their entrepreneurial journey young. But why should starting under 35 open doors to funding, while starting at 45 is overlooked? Entrepreneurship isn’t limited by age—you don’t have to be young to innovate and build something new. I believe it’s important to offer incubators and accelerators for all ages.

AT: The people I know who are deeply committed to music end up seeking the real roots. It could be flamenco, traditional music, or whatever, but intermediate substitutes eventually aren’t enough.
LC: They definitely serve a purpose, but for me, it goes beyond that. I can still enjoy a great night at a club listening to Baiuca or Bomba Estéreo—I’m always the first one on the dancefloor

AT: Yes, yes, because I think it’s a world where people are very decent, in the sense that they’re very respectful. It’s even healthy in the sense that the drugs consumed aren’t hard drugs. It’s a healthy vibe in every way, with a general sense of respect.
LC: I believe we have a lot to contribute on a democratic level—that’s our strength. And on a community level as well, since folk music is deeply connected to local communities and community work.

AT: Yes, and to participation.
LC: A partner once asked, ‘What are the ticket sales? What’s the audience size?’ But that’s not the right approach. The real question is: ask the community—is this platform meaningful to them? Is it a good investment? We’re not mainstream.

AT: Right, and it’s public money. You have to show returns, but you need to show social returns, not just economic ones, because these are taxes. If that’s your world, go into the private sector and don’t mix taxes into it because you’re competing with private business.
LC: The same applies to public radio stations—they’re cutting folk programs. The question is, ‘If you don’t support us, who will?’ We may not generate the audience numbers that Spotify or private radio stations seek, but abandoning us isn’t the solution.

AT: But public money shouldn’t compete with private companies. That’s unfair competition. If a private company needs to do commercial things to survive and Spanish Television does the same with taxpayer money… Then shut it down, don’t spend millions a year doing that. You have to cover what the private sector doesn’t cover. That’s something that astonishes me because the EU tries to prevent governments from distorting market competition. But they keep doing it with culture, using it for propaganda and advertising…

We kept talking for quite a while longer, but that’s a story for another time 😊
Thank you, Laia!

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

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🔸#1 for Transglobal World Music Chart in October of 2024 is:  the homonymous album by Buzz’ Ayaz (label: Glitterbeat)

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🔸Mundofonías: the three favourite of the months are the albums Mute by El Khat, Svängo Nuevo by Sväng,  and Gyezz by Söndörgő.

A LITTLE BIT OF MINE

Let me share a bit of joy from me. After so much work, investment and expectation, I can’t keep for me the words I have been receiving the last days about the showcase by Ali Doğan Gönültaş:

🔸”It was AMAZING”
🔸”A wonderful artist and group”
🔸”I enjoyed it enormously – what an amazing talent!”
🔸”Congratulations again for a great showcase. It was one of the highlights for sure”
🔸”Ali, your concert was the best I’ve heard at this year WOMEX”
🔸”I was truly touched by the show”
🔸”Ali Doğan Gönültaş was in my top 2 of best performances at WOMEX”
🔸”It was a glorious concert 😎”

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.

🔸Who is it for? 
Bands and artists from the world music scene, from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Western-Balkan countries, Eastern Partnership countries, Baltics, Hungary’s neighboring countries, ready to step on the international stage.
🔸How to apply? 
The application is free and you can do it through the platform gigmit, until midnight on December 22. This is the direct link for the call in gigmit.
🔸To learn more:
Check all the conditions, on the official website.

🔸Who is it for? 
Participating artists must have their residence in Europe.
They must engage with folk music in the broadest sense in their musical performances – everything from traditional to crossover is welcome.
In case of a nomination for the Eversteiner award, FolkHerbst participants need to keep the award – ceremony date available (31.01.26).
🔸How to apply? 
Applications must be submitted informally by email to kultur@malzhaus.de by January 15, 2025. Send 3 music pieces (preferably videos in good quality, preferably live), along with a press text and a press photo.
🔸To learn more:
The official document I have received from Christian Dressel is this one.

The Transglobal World Music Hall Fame celebrates excellence in the world music field. The Hall of Fame includes three categories: 1) Artists, 2) Professional Excellence; and 3) In Memoriam. Would you like to submit any individual or organization?

The period for proposals for 2024 is open until 31st of October 2024. Submit your proposals through the form at the bottom of this website. Check the previous inductees, in the website.

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. They are international events to which some of the readers may attend. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 19-22 November: Mundial Montreal (Canada).

Summary 👇 

• Editorial:
  🔸A few insights from the 5th Annual Conference of the European Folk Network 
  🔸Relocated identities
• Birgit Ellinghaus’s Speech At The 5th Annual Conference Of The European Folk Network
• Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects + WOMEX 20 Top Labels
• Open calls: Transglobal World Music Hall of Fame
• Meet me at ✈️

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BIRGIT ELLINGHAUS’S SPEECH AT THE 5TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN FOLK NETWORK
ON THE PANEL “NEW EUROPEANS – ACCOMMODATING AND SAFEGUARDING THEIR ICH”

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

🔸Mundofonías: the three favourite of the months are the albums Exils, by Ruşan Filiztek, Cuckoo, by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra and Daou ribl by Le Bour-Bodros

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. They are international events to which some of the readers may attend. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 10-13 October, Fira Mediterrània de Manresa.
• 23-27 October: WOMEX in Manchester (UK).
• 19-22 November: Mundial Montreal (Canada).

Summary 👇 

🔸Editorial. Back to school!

🔸The educational offer by Muziekpublique, with Marie Devlieger, coordinator of the academy and Peter Van Rompaey, artistic director

🔸Juan Antonio Vázquez brings his Mil Mundos to Radio 5 – National Radio of Spain

🔸European Folk Network annual conference: the complete program

🔸Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects 

🔸Open calls: European Folk Day update, Afro Pepites

🔸Discover the first moving images of Spanish dance: espefically, jota

🔸Meet me at ✈️ 

➡️ This is the link for subscription

Hello, how are you?

I hope well. I am very well. This picture is from Thursday 22nd of August in Plasencia, on the occasion of the concert by Vigüela in Folk Plasencia. And he is Wafir Shaikheldin, musician from Sudan, settled in Spain for more than half of his life.

I have explained on several occasions that the first concert sold under the brand of Mapamundi Música was by Cherno More, the trio with the brothers Nasco and Ivo Hristov and Wafir. We haven’t met in person since before the pandemic. Wafir performed with Tamar Ilana & Ventanas. It was really nice to see him again.

Back to school! Learning the traditional music

And back to the topic of the subject. I talked with Peter Van Rompaey before. There is an extensive interview with him in this previous edition. The last weeks I started to see their posts about the educational offer of music and dance from Muziekpublique. Peter and his team have all my admiration, and I wanted to learn more about their educational approach. Below, you’ll find their statements on the subject.

A couple of weeks ago, Juan Antonio Torres from Vigüela was telling me about a very special experience in Almería with Antonio Mirón, who teaches in the villages around his house, which is here. Mirón is a farmer, plays and sings, and also makes instruments. He doesn’t live in the town itself, but in the “rambla” of Oria. The “ramblas” are dry riverbeds, paths formed by water when it rains, which is rare there. Normally, these ramblas are used as roads, and communication between localities often takes place along these ramblas, beyond the small formal roads. I invite you to take a look on Google Maps and use Street View. For example, here you can cross the locality of Los Cerricos. This is more or less the center of the locality:

Juan Antonio told me how he accompanied Mirón through ramblas to teach traditional music to children in several villages, and how in some of them there isn’t even a formal classroom. They hold the class in the village square. In Los Cerricos, an old lady from the village went to dance during the lessons.

Almería is known for its tourist spots on the coast, but the interior is rugged and dry. Every milliliter of water is used to grow vegetables in the orchards. Mirón explained to me that their area is like an oasis because it is irrigated; there is water for irrigation, but the surrounding environment is almost desert-like. The use of water in Spain has a history spanning millennia, just like traditional music and the rituals often associated with it. In this region, around Murcia, southern Albacete, and Almería, traditional music has a significant ritualistic connection, with pre-Christian origins that were later instrumentaliced by the church. I believe this is a process that has happened in many other places.

This is Mirón’s cover picture of his Facebook profile. I met him on the occasion of a dance workshop so here he is how I met him: dancing. 

I met Mirón in Riopar, on February of 2020. Yes, shortly before the pandemic. I never forgot a phrase from him: “Now they form cuadrillas that have no ritual”. The cuadrillas are groups of people who join to play and sing. In the tradition, the cuadrillas are connected to a ritual. Mainly around Christmas. He explains that there are cuadrillas that just play one mass in the year. Nothing else. That mass is the purpose of the cuadrilla. In the tradition, the cuadrillas were connected to ritualistic events, not to make concerts on the stage. Mirón is not a religious person. All this is not about religion.

Mirón has explained to me that he teaches in 6 locations of 4 different municipalities. Some of the local governments support economically all the cost, others support it partly. Mirón makes this to transmit the tradition to the newest generations. He has students even from 5 years old. He explained to me that there is a huge generation, who are now around 60 years old, who haven’t experienced the tradition, and it is meaningless for them. Nevertheless, he is managing to keep these groups of pupils.

A few months ago, I learned that Codarts, the renowned Rotterdam school known for its world music programs, might close its world music department. In April, they announced a redesign of their world music offerings, as detailed on their website of Codarts News. In recent years, they have been offering training in Latin, Turkish Music, and Argentine Tango. Previously, they also provided training in flamenco and Indian music, among other genres. However, in the upcoming academic year, they will not be accepting new students for any of these specializations.

A few weeks ago, I discussed with a musician from outside Europe the rationale behind studying the music of her homeland in Rotterdam rather than in her own country, where there are likely more masters of the tradition. She explained that, for an musician of her origin, coming to study in Europe opens many doors for her professional future. My question then was: What sense would it make for an European musician to study flamenco in Rotterdam instead of, for example, in Jerez de la Frontera?

What is the process of teaching a traditional musical style in a place like Codarts? I don’t know. What I do know is that learning in the traditional way takes years if you haven’t grown up with it. Even if you have grown up with it, it still takes years, but it develops more naturally—though excellence cannot be achieved without great dedication.

In any case, I believe there is interest in learning this music… I’m not sure what to call it. Folk? Juan Antonio from Vigüela has been offering themed workshops, and over the past few months, he has repeatedly worked with groups that already had a prior interest, as they are amateur ensembles with a strong desire to learn. His approach to music is the closest to tradition that you can imagine. During the years, he has developed his own methodology and terminology to be able to teach the musicians who join the band.

On the other hand, the Escuela de Música Creativa, a higher education institution, is offering an Official Master’s Degree in Folklore Performance of the Iberian Peninsula. However, I would change the word “Folklore” to “Folk.” I understand the concept of “folk” as more urban and with an artistic goal in itself. Folklore, at least in Spain, doesn’t have as much of an artistic purpose but rather serves as a means of social articulation. Many of the instructors of this Master’s Degree come from the music industry rather than from traditional music or folklore and their musical language is the one of the modern music, not the one from the traditional music.

To complicate matters further, Juan Antonio from Vigüela explains that the way we hear music is biased by the music we listen to all the time, which is created from a rhythmic perspective. I have witnessed for more than 10 years the process of learning a new interpretive language—the language of traditional music (different from that of academic music)—that the group has gone through once they realized this. So, is it possible and realistic to learn traditional music then? I don’t think I have the answer. What I do know is that, despite the difficulty, music captivates, generates passion, and many people are not content just consuming it. They want to be part of the performance, even though many of them have no intention of becoming professionals.

Going back to Muziekpublique’s offerings, I think it’s wonderful that they have 53 disciplines and have students for all or almost all of them. Oops, that’s a bit of a spoiler for what Peter Van Rompaey shares below. I won’t go on any longer and I’ll let you hear from him.

THE EDUCATIONAL OFFER BY MUZIEKPUBLIQUE

With Marie Devlieger, coordinator of the academy and Peter Van Rompaey, artistic director of Muziekpublique

The entire philosophy of the academy ties in with our name, Muziekpublique. We try to create a direct link between the music (musicians) and the audience. If you learn to play an instrument from a certain culture, you get much more than just the music. It is simply a privilege to receive lessons from such artists, who give you a vision of life, countless experiences, a unique view of their culture, etc. Moreover, you gain much more insight into musical traditions and instruments. For example, our duduk students from Vardan Hovanissian listen to Armenian music in a different way than non-students. The academy is also a way for us to create an audience for our concerts. Finally, we give work to artists who cannot find work in regular education. It is not easy to make a living as an artist from concerts alone. Teaching provides an additional income and you also create a bit of a fan base. The students are the best ambassadors of their teacher.

These pictures, by Jean-Jacques Saive, are of the end of Season Festival, the festival of the classes

NEW SPACE FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF WORLD MUSICS

Juan Antonio Vázquez Brings His Mil Mundos to Radio 5 – National Radio of Spain

 Juan Antonio has been doing Mil Mundos (A Thousand Worlds) on Radio Clásica, the classical music channel of the national radio of Spain already for three seasons and he will start again in October. You can check all the previous editions, here.

The news are that Mil Mundos stays in Radio Clásica and that a new small show will have place on another channel: Radio 5, the channel dedicated to news and general information. There will be two weekly editions where Juan Antonio will have a window to the general public.

This is the description of the new show:

“Mil mundos that aren’t a thousand, because they are countless. An invitation to discover and enjoy the music of the world’s cultures. The roots and the new territories to be explored, created by the most restless and authentic musicians. A sister program to Mil Mundos on Radio Clásica.”

EUROPEAN FOLK NETWORK ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The complete program

I already talked about this in the previous editions. Now you can check the complete program and the registration’s deadline is Monday 9 September at 17.00 CET.

I am very excited about this. Some of the panelists have been interviewed here. For instance, Alan Ibrahim, from Music for Identity (interview here); Birgit Ellinghaus (interview here).

Check all the details, here.

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS

• Mundofonías: we have been on holidays during August, so no favourites this month. 

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.

• European Folk Day again in 2024! Already present in the newsletter before + update

Right now there are 62 events registered in 11 countries already on the website of the European Folk Day. The participation is open to anyone, like in the first edition. There are many ideas on how to participate, on the website.

And the Music Repository is been developed again for this 2024 edition. To submit the music, the artists or label can send a song or tune in mp3 to media@europeanfolkday.eu. Tell them your name, where the piece is from and a statement that you have the rights and you allow them to share it on the website www.europeanfolkday.eu

THIS EVENING…

Discover the first moving images of Spanish dance: spefically, jota

According to Tina Paterson in this post on X (https://x.com/latinapaterson/status/1825888162083696668) , “Alexandre Jean Louis Promio (Lyon, 1868-1927), the pioneering cameraman for the Lumière brothers, recorded the first moving images of Spanish dance in history. It happened in Vicálvaro (Madrid) between June 12th and 22nd, 1896, while filming views of military maneuvers.”

Whether or not maneuvers took place, what we do know is that they performed some jotas. Today, Wednesday, September 28th, Vigüela will perform in Vicálvaro, 128 years later. The jota will be played, and if you wish, danced! We hope to see you there!

I made this symple edition of the video and it has already 64 thousands of visualizations and more than 300 sharings.

Thanks to Tina for spreading this and to Juan Antonio Vázquez for showing it to me.

Click to watch it:

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. They are international events to which some of the readers may attend. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 24-25 September: Kaustinen. Finland. Annual meeting of the European Folk Network.
• 10-13 October, Fira Mediterrània de Manresa.
• 23-27 October: WOMEX in Manchester (UK).
• 19-22 November: Mundial Montreal (Canada).

WHO WE ARE AND SISTER PROJECTS 

Mapamundi Música is an agency of management and booking. Learn more here. Check our proposals at our website.

We also offer you our Mundofonías radio show, probably the leader about world music in Spanish language (on 50 stations in 18 countries). We produce the Transglobal World Music Chart with our partner Ángel Romero from WorldMusicCentral.com.

Feel free to request info if you wish. For further information about us, get in touch by email, telephone (+34 676 30 28 82), our website or at our Facebook. 

Summary 👇 

• Editorial
• Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects. 
• European Folk Network annual conference: Kaustinen, Finland, 24-25 September. 
• Open calls: European Folk Day, Polyglot, Afro Pepites… Summertime so no many news!
• Meet me at ✈️ 

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Hello, how are you?

I hope well. I am very well. This picture is from Friday 5th of July in Førde and the gentleman is the outstanding painter Oddvar Torsheim. I could tell you that we agreed on the colours to make this picture specifically for you, but the truth is that it was totally spontaneous. We met in the street dressed like this.

Red and black is always a winning combination, and I believe that both Oddvar and I prefer to dedicate our effort to decisions that are not about coordinating our outfits. We have it decided by default for most occasions, saving mental energy. At the same time, this creates a recognizable personal image. I’ve been thinking about such matters lately. For example, personal branding, especially for artists. I follow a marketing expert, Neus Díez, and she recently said in a video that an artist’s personal brand must be drawable.

Last Saturday, we learned of the passing of Mísia. She was very drawable. I think she is a paradigmatic example of this issue. Mísia created a distinctive image: sexier, more mysterious, darker, with a modern elegance, different from what was usual in fado. I’m not sure if she would have defined herself as a fado singer, given her diverse background, which manifested in her artistic career. The fact is, she has passed away. The funeral will take place on August 6th in Lisbon at the Basílica da Estrela. I am sure that many art professionals will attend to pay tribute to her. She wasn’t the best singer, but with the entirety of her proposition, she managed to expand the reach of her music and Portuguese popular music in general. Florenci Mas will surely discuss these topics in his course, which we talked about in the previous edition. If you didn’t read the interview, here it is.

Toumani Diabate has also passed away. I have thought about the people deeply connected with him, those behind the scenes, like Saul Presa, his manager, or Lucy Duran, who can be considered his discoverer. What a loss.

In this edition, I don’t have an interview. The person I had scheduled had personal issues, so it wasn’t possible. This edition is a bit lighter, but I’m sure you haven’t read the nearly 100 interviews I’ve already published. You can find them all here.

Remember: if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know. Thank you very much for your attention.

Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música | +34 676 30 28 82 

While you read the rest of the content, you can listen to the album “Songhai”, released in 1988, featuring the Spanish group Ketama, Toumani Diabate, and the British bassist Danny Thompson. I believe this album changed the lives of Ketama, certainly of many others, and possibly opened many minds and created new paths.

EUROPEAN FOLK NETWORK ANNUAL CONFERENCE

I will start quoting the text from the website:

“A host of superb speakers, sessions and discussions of interest to everyone in the traditional arts, unique Finnish music and dancing for three days – don’t miss this opportunity to network in the remarkable rural setting of Kaustinen in the heart of Finland.”

This sounds exciting and indeed it will be. An outline of the full schedule is HERE.

To tease you more, these are some of the topics that excite me specially and that will be discussed there:

• New Europeans
• Branding for Professional Folk
• Traditional Arts Cultural Tourism
• Safeguarding and Promotion of ICH and Traditional Arts

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

• Mundofonías: the three favourites of the month are so diverse! Jyotsna Srikanth’s Carnatic Nomad, Vigüela’s We and the collective album of Bhutan Balladeers’ Your face is like the moon, your eyes are stars.

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community

• Polyglot. Open until July 31. 

These two phrases will give you an idea of this project:

· If you’re a songwriter who has a hit at hand, a potential chart-topper ready to conquer new audiences, apply!”

·”Songs in their original language are translated and promoted in other European languages by our seven partners”.

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. They are international events to which some of the readers may attend. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 2 August: Jerash Festival. Jordan. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş.
• 24-25 September: Kaustinen. Finland. Annual meeting of the European Folk Network.
• 10-13 October, perhaps at Fira Mediterrània de Manresa but if I don’t go, you can go anyway! It is a enjoyable event where to discover many artists.
• 23-27 October: WOMEX in Manchester (UK).
• 19-22 November: Mundial Montreal (Canada).

Summary 👇 

• Editorial
• Shortly about  Mapamundi Música’s latest news
• Talk with Florenci Mas, founder of PTW Music
• Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects
• Open calls: European Folk Day, Polyglot, Babel Music XP, Afro Pepites
• Meet me at ✈️ 

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You can listen to Vigüela’s We, here.
Enjoy the raw and warm music from the center of Spain while you read! 

This journey started somewhat with the album “Kiğı” by Ali Doğan Gönültaş, for which I handled the physical release. “We” by Vigüela is the third release from Mapamundi Música as a record label and it won’t be the last. I have started a path that I want to continue.

Remember: if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know. Thank you very much for your attention, << Test First Name >>.

Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música | +34 676 30 28 82 

SHORTLY ABOUT MAPAMUNDI MÚSICA’S MOST RELEVALENT NEWS

· THE THIRD ALBUM OF MY LABEL HAS BEEN LAUNCHED: VIGÜELA’S WE

My first collaboration with Vigüela was in 2012, for the Portuguese festival Bons Sons. But it wasn’t until early 2014 that we began a much deeper relationship, articulated through countless conversations with Juan Antonio Torres, the group’s founder and musical director, who continues to be a teacher and an inspiration to me. It is an honor to have handled everything necessary to launch the album, except, of course, singing, playing, and recording. You can find the album on Spotify, Youtube and almost all of the digital platforms.

Until next Friday we are making a context on Instagram to give a CD. You can find the information and instructions to participate, here.

Taking advantage of what I have learned in this process, I have what it takes to offer some services related to launching music to other artists.

· ALI DOĞAN GÖNÜLTAŞ WILL PERFORM AT WOMEX

AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR:

FLORENCI MAS, founder of PTW Music

Florenci Mas is the founder of PTW Music. He was the producer and manager of Nass Marrakech when they were active. I remember taking a picture of him on stage before their concert at Etnohelmántica, in 2001 or 2002, I’m not sure. I remember that man there, with his curly grey hair. The boss. Before the concert began, he would leave the stage. Many people wouldn’t notice him, but I had the intuition that he was kind of the heart of it all. I love the magic of art, the magic of music. And I equally love the magic that happens behind the scenes. That day, I thought about that man, about his role, with such appreciation.

A few weeks ago, he contacted me, telling me about his latest initiative: a Training Course of Management and Production for the Music Industry.

He has a huge experience and he is preparing something useful for all who wants to get into this path, the one he took and the one I took later too.

Taking advantage of his contact and generosity, I asked him a bunch of questions that I believe will be of great interest to both those with experience and those who are newer, for artists as well as for other roles involved in music-related activities.

This is the program of his course, that will begin in October. For the first edition it will be in Spanish. For more information, check this website.

While you read, you can listen to this piece by Nass Marrakech, the band with which I met Florenci Mas many years ago. The piece is in an album from 2000, released by Alula Records, which, by the way, was founded by Ángel Romero, from WorldMusicCentral and from Transglobal World Music Chart.

ABOUT YOUR TRAINING COURSE AND ADVICE FOR ARTISTS AND PROFESSIONALS

Mapamundi Música: One of the sections of your training course is about ways to monetize the arts. I want to ask specifically about music. As an artist manager, I am very interested and I think many of the readers will be too. If you had to mention just one monetization way that we are almost all underutilizing or should strengthen, which would it be?

Florenci Mas: The intention behind that entry was for us to make a deep reflection over the different ways in which the different arts are exploited. And, departing from the analysis of different forms of monetization according to each artistic discipline, generate ideas for possible new formulas, that allow music artists to have (or increase) incomes.

A form of monetization that we are currently underutilizing? Perhaps we are not sufficiently exploiting the “complicity” that social networks and the Internet in general allow us, and the possibilities we can create based on exclusive content for fans. I mean: are we generating enough “exclusive or interesting information” for those interested in that particular musical style? Almost everything I see being done in this field seems to be done either with a certain reluctance or with a desire to impress with their successes. And both ways, tend to fatigue the receiver of the message. So, where is the “interesting information” that doesn’t seem that wants to sell something? (used extensively today in marketing techniques).

Curating is also something else that the current boom of AI and algorithms is devaluing. To give an example: For an AI, is not understandable that someone of my age and background listens to Lou Reed and do not want to listen to Queen? For the AI, they’re both “classic rock”. Or Leo Ferre and not Gilbert Bécaud? Why not?, if they are both “French singer-songwriters of the 60s”. It’s fun because for me and for many other people, this choices are so easily understandable, that need no explanation. But it seems that the algorithm of Spotify cannot understand the sentence: “…Pour la prise de la Bastille, Même si ça ne sert à rien, Thank you Satan…”

The algorithm, works on “labels and data”, as any spreadsheet, so he -probably- thinks: “what the f… is happening with this guy? How can he be so “picky”?. With the time, I’m sure the algorithms will be able to generate new models for people like me, and others. But I doubt that poetry could be included on the database… “if the taking of the Bastille was useless, why say thanks for it?”

The opposite of this algorythm-thinking is curatorship. And the question is: do we do enough to recover the prestige of the specialists? Specialists are a guide, someone that have much more knowledge than you and that you trust. I don’t want to be misunderstood: freedom of expression and opinions should exist to the maximum degree, but internet today has open the door for everybody to speak, which is good regarding opinions, but not so good, when you see people with a very little knowledge, pontificating with their big crocodile’s mouth.

If something hurts me, I go to a doctor. Someone who (theoretically) knows how to cure a disease. In the same way, if you want to know things about a musical trend, you should go to a specialist. And yes, you have the right to decide which specialist are you interested in, because of their previous opinions. But there’s nothing wrong with seeking advice from people whose job it is to stay up to date and get to know a certain style of music or artist. That’s something that -in my opinion- we must work on, We must increase the trust in persons, instead of relaying in a CRM on steroids.

MM: And regarding the artistic proposal itself, which is also a topic you address in depth in your training, tell me: in the world of folk or world music, what do you think are the most common weaknesses of artists and bands?

FM: Much depends on each artist or group. But probably weaknesses are common in different music styles. One artist think that because he plays perfectly on time and on tune (something that depending of the instrument, can be very difficult) it’s all the job done. And it’s not, it’s just the starting point for an artist. Others believe that, as they sound “modern” fusing electronica with wood instruments or traditional voices, it’s new, and everybody will love-it. Others… The list can be very long.

Perhaps the most common weakness is the lack of self-criticism and the lack of discourse. If you -as an artist- are not able to see your music with an external vision, hire someone to do-it. Ask your manager, or find a producer. Not an arranger, a real producer.

Artists need also a discourse that explains who they are. They must create a public persona that communicates what they do and why they do it. And that persona has to be interesting, it has to have something that engages. I think that’s very important nowadays, especially in non-commercial music. We have an intelligent and informed public, an “active audience” and we need artists who “tell something” to this audience, not just perfection in performance.
In my course I give a lot of importance to these concepts, when “creating an artist”. We don’t go anywhere with so-so sounding music and studio photos. The only thing that can captivate non-commercial music audiences is “militancy”, having an exciting discourse, and promoting it from the knowledge that we are small, but very different. Specially, if you’re not a big star in your country of origin.

We must say that correcting weaknesses, it’s a producer’s job. Producers are not highly valuated in world music, they are usually the guys that arranged the record deal and sit nooding, in a corner of the studio. But they can be crucial providing an external vision, that it’s impossible for an artist to have, because artists are inside the music. As producers are outside, they can see the whole thing.

BONUS: here are 3 things that immediately come to my mind when we talk about weaknesses, on a live show:
1) Start a concert with the musicians going on stage, tuning instruments, testing if a drum still sounds, with a “being at home in pajama” attitude for 5 or 10 minutes… NO PRO!. (unless the stage is in Sevilla near the river, in summer, at 99 % humidity and 40 degrees. Then you’ll have to tune many times during the show…)
2) Lack of dinamics: Some artists forget about dynamics. A good moment of dynamic (gradually reducing the intensity but keeping the tempo) followed by a “crescendo”, creates a feeling of “High” in the audience. And this looks very pro. Please: no more than two times during a show, always remember Paracelsus: “The only difference between a remedy and a poison is the dose”.
3) Ending live songs with fade out: Oh No!: leave fade-outs for the studio!

Savina Yannatou is one of the artists with which Florenci has collaborated. He will mention her later in the interview.

MM: What advice would you give to an artist or band that is looking for a booking agent or a manager, to make it easier to achieve this?

FM: First of all: understand the different roles. Are you looking for a manager? (someone who helps you to develop your artistic career) or for an agent? (someone that find you gigs). This are 2 different jobs, don’t expect to find someone doing both perfectly today. Although at the beginning of an artist’s (or manager’s) career it’s possible… it’s not the best thing to do.

Once you decided if you want (or not) to share decisions about your career with another person (the manager), go for an agency. If possible: someone that you know it’s serious and it’s currently working with artists, on your musical style, but not in direct competition. They will find you gigs. And having gigs will help you to keep the band alive and rehersing, which will increase your quality, which will increase your recognition…

Think of this business, as a marathon, not a sprint race…

MM: For me, when I receive an email from an artist or band that offers themselves, there is something that is the most important thing that I need to have in the email. What would that be for you? When you tell me, I’ll tell you what mine is, to see if it matches.

FM: For me: all. It’s easy: all aspects of communication must reflect your current position and goals. Communication is verbal and non-verbal. So being a band that just started, and trying to “look very much stablished” in your emails, can be even “creepy”. Information it’s everywhere today. Anyone will know very fast, that you a have a “solid base of 27 followers” in this or that platform. No, please: if you just started a project say “I just started a project”. Ask the manager’s or agent’s opinion about. And also, tell us about where you want to go, artistically speaking. That’s something interesting for us, really, very interesting.

You know, world music agents or managers, usually are people who still love music. We started that world music stuff only 40 years ago, mainly because we believed that the earth will be a better place if everybody where able to know how the “others” sing. And, by the time, we were as amateurish as you are today. So, no problem, just keep us posted about you inner thoughts. The real stuff, who are you?, why are you singing or playing? (We’re not interested if you filled up a theater of 400 seats in your village, with all band members grandmothers and cousins). Maybe we will not be able to work with you today, but who knows in the future… Again: think in a marathon…

MM: Related to the above, does it make sense for a band or artist to actively seek a booking agent or a manager? In my experience, the artists with whom I have developed more than just a one-time collaboration, either I sought them out, or it came about through a contact over time, in which we had specific interactions or collaborations and the relationship progressively strengthened very organically. Hence my question.

FM: I think an artist, must actively show his work to anyone that can be interested in. General public and industry professionals. How to do-it? It’s usually complicated and an artist (as an agent), will always think they don’t do enough. The same feeling that you have with your music if you’re a real artist.

Artists must understand that sometimes an agency or programmer, simply are “not interested”, other times we “need” your specific kind of artist, and sometimes we just “find someone we like a lot” (it happened to me with Ayub Ogada, or Savina Yannatou) and start working with… But there is no way – being outside this particular agency- to know-it, so you must contact everyone available. And wait answers. As in any other sales activity… We’re selling emotions and experiences but the money for the rent, comes from selling gigs or records. Do a marketing course, or do my course: learn how to make a good proposal, how to look interesting…

Ayub Ogada is one of those artists that Florenci likes a lot. The Kenian artist was deceased in 2019. Let’s tribute his memory listening to this piece, Kothbiro.

MM: What do you think are the most common mistakes artists make when they go looking for these types of professionals to collaborate with?

FM: Sometimes the problem is that some people are too urgent contacting the industry. Motivation or lack of money, can lead artists to be even “rude”, when contacting an agent or a programmer. (I can tell you about festival directors that have been almost threatened for not accepting an artist for a particular edition of their festival). So, before a phone call, always ask your grandmother about how to speak to clients… she knows…

MM: In relation to the above, how do you think artists perceive people like you or me, I mean, people who have done with artists what you did with Nass Marrakech, which ranges from shaping almost the band’s own image, getting them an album, selling concerts, doing all the tour production…? 

FM: Don’t know… really. It was another time, 30 years ago, things have been changing a lot from that time. At the time, it was the only way that I could see to do-it. Take care of everything because if you don’t, nobody else will. And despite the fatigue it was really fun, and creative. Obviously today it’s not the same, it’s like I said before: today there are clearly, different jobs and you must specialise in one area.

Perception from the artists of our job, is…  depends on each artist. Let me say that I believe that the managers/artist relationships must be necessarily schizophrenic. Each part must look at his side of the music, or things will stop running. So, there must be conflicts between the parts. I think this conflicts, are even healthy. It’s like the joke of the two blind persons, asked to describe an elephant, so they start touching the elephant.  The one who’s touching the leg, describes elephants as columns, while the other that’s touching the trunk, describes elephants as similar to a snake…

Artists and managers look at different parts of the same fact: the emotion that listening to recorded music gives you, or the magic that happens on a stage, where artist becomes – by delegation of the audience – a “shaman or mahlem”, that conducts the emotions of the audience. An experience that -as in the gnawa trance rituals- makes the audience feel better. Both actors (artists and industry) are necessary for this to happen.

MM: Could you give a general advice, in relation to working in the music industry? And for the world music scene?

FM: 40 years ago, nobody knew anything about music business. Nor about business. (well, only the “majors”). So, my experience started just organising concerts for bands that I liked. A young guy, finding a place for the show, making posters, gluing-it on the street, and most of the times: loosing money. As usual… Later I was the programmer of a jazz club. Later, I started working on one of Barcelona’s big music agencies, then later I create my own agency. Later I create a cultural production company that it’s currently involved in cultural projects on rural areas. Later (when the pandemics) an online cultural magazine… now the course… and I’m still there. So: starting on management or production, looks easy… isn’t it?

But I know today, that I did a lot of mistakes during this 40 years. A big bunch of crap, that obviously costed-me a lot of money and bad feelings (not all is based on money). So my advice must be: Learn, be an avid learner. Learn all that you can, about music, about society, about business, marketing, about everything. That’s the main reason I started doing this course: enabling students to start a career from a much higher level of knowledge than I had when I started.

And specifically speaking about the world music circuit, I would like to say that I don’t see World Music as a very different music scene. All music genders have their own specifics, but if you go to the MIDEM (the main commercial music fair, where all the sharks are) or to the WOMEX (the main world music fair, with no sharks, but piranhas) you will notice a certain difference in outfits, but all this people is doing the same thing: promoting their artists and trying to get them a better deal. Let’s think in Youssou N’Dour, Khaled, or Cheb Mami: they where world music acts (outside their original country), but they where marketed exactly as pop stars. Obviously if you’re marketing a sufi music concert, you will work differently than if you’re working on Carlinhos Brown shows. Each will find concerts in very different places, from small concert halls to big street parades, so, you’ll have to access different types of clients. But essentially, the process of bringing these artists to perform is the same.

MM: I often have bands and artists come to me asking me to ‘help’ them or to find them gigs. I feel that few understand what they are asking me, which is to start working without guarantees of compensation, with a virtually unknown project with little commercial interest, by people who I don’t know, investing my time and money. It is still shocking for me to think they could have any hope on this. Do you have or have you had that feeling? Have you noticed any improvement, is it beginning to be better understood what this part of the work entails? In my case, sometimes I think they are not even willing to make that investment they are asking me to make. I try to be educational in my response, nevertheless.

FM: It’s all about understanding that we (agents, managers, even labels) are in it, “not only for the money” (thanks uncle Frank, wherever you are). So, for one side we would like to help everybody doing music that we like. But for this, we should have opened a Foundation, better than a company. Anyway, we still feel “guilty” in some ways, for no being able to help them. On the other side, we need to pay rents, food, etc. as any musician. So we must choose where to put our efforts, it’s normal. And musicians must understand this. But there are always this schizophrenia -that I mentioned before- that makes things a little more difficult… Anyway, if I survived to this, you’ll do-it too. I’m sure.

ABOUT THE SITUATION OF WORLD MUSIC 

MM: You have experienced world music since it began to generate activity, (at least in Catalonia, perhaps it was earlier in other places in Europe) which was at a very different moment than now, of economic boom and openness to the world. In 1992 the Olympics were held in Barcelona, you yourself explain the situation very well in this post of your blog. I believe that North African immigration was just beginning, as well. There was a boom from then until, I believe, the mid-first decade of the 2000s, and then it began to decline. I have a rather critical view of the sector itself, of how artistically mediocre proposals occupied attention, sometimes because of a search for exoticism or sometimes because the programmers or agents were giving more value to extra artistic aspects, so I attribute part of the blame for that loss of space to those involved themselves. But I believe there are many other aspects that caused it. How do you see it, what factors do you think contributed to the fact that world music continues today in an inferior position compared to other styles or that it has not managed to break out of the niche, except for occasional exceptions, and enter into the concept and circuits of music, let’s say, general?

FM: As a short abstract: in Spain all started late 80’s. Probably 5/7 years after it started in Uk, France or Germany, countries that had a much more established immigration from outside Europe. It started in Spain with the pre-olimpics cultural events, that opened the door for artists of all genres. At this time, we where only 4 or 5 agencies in Spain working in WM. And we – toghether with festivals directors, journalists and programmers- managed to create a scene in 4/5 years.

I think because of the prestige generated by the presence of “diverse” artists in the Barcelona’s Olimpic Games, the Madrid’s European Cultural Capital and the Expo92 in Sevilla, (I can’t remember how many times I did this route by van in 92…), many other programmers felt compelled to program world music too. You know, “…if this big cities are doing-it, we must do-it too…”. At this time, also appeared the concept “Festival” as we know-it today. In a Festival you’re no only selling artists, but an “ambiance”, a collective experience. Adding to the concerts, street activities as markets, circus or children games, movies, lectures and debates, made WM festivals reach 6 digit audience figures.

I’m really not sure if we can talk about a “loss of space” for WM in Spain today. When I started, in 92, the most common answer to my artistic proposals to programmers where: “what are you talking about?”. Now, you can find concerts of -so called-world music in lots of medium cities cultural centers. Obviously there are many more artists today, so the existing spaces must be shared, but in general, the level of acceptance of diversity is much better than in 92, even than in early 2000’s.

About the “mediocrity” you mention: I don’t think it’s something exclusive of WM. Other styles are suffering the same problem. Maybe it’s just a “temporal sickness”, caused by the emergency of an artists generation that are very well prepared in terms of technical skills, but need time to find their own language and discourse. So -in the meantime- they are just playing well (or not so). Back again to what I said before: an artist must have a “why”. Technical excellence is good, obviously, but only technical excellence, without a meaning behind-it, can be boring. And we, agents, managers, labels, were -before being part of an industry- music lovers, as the audiences are. So we all need music that touches our hearth, even if it’s not perfectly played. Let’s remember Beethoven: “Playing a wrong note is insignificant. Playing without passion is unforgivable”.

Anyway, we cannot expect from a country where the youth mainly listen to only one kind of music, that it will be filled with “exotic music concerts” whether it’s jazz, flamenco, world music or classical contemporary music. It’s one of the problems of non-commercial music in Spain.
As an example: four years ago, I was in a summer garden party in Cabo de Gata, with lots of French people of my age with their sons. Young teenagers. At one point in the evening, the “teens” occupied the sound system, while we (the “olds”) where talking and drinking. The fun thing was that they start mixing the latest reguetón hits with Salif Keita, James Brown, even Sonic Youth. In such a natural way that it made me feel very envious. That would be very rare to see in Spanish teens. I asked one, about if they were combining different music to please their fathers. The answer was: “we don’t care about the olds, that’s our usual playlists…”

So, I think there are other problems for non commercial music in Spain, but -probably- this is not the place to mention them. You better organise an online debate, with different actors from the music business: artists (africans, orientals, spanish folk or flamenco), journalists, agents and programmers. 5/6 hours probably will be enough. Later we can edit-it, and publish: “PASSION AND HATE: The World Music Soap Opera”.  In 12 episodes of 30 mins each.  Could be a success 🙂 (©Florenci Mas for the idea…).

ABOUT YOU IN GENERAL

MM: Besides launching this training in October, what else are you doing now?

FM: Basically the regular work of an agent. Trying to find late concerts to complete a tour, planning logistics, etc. Also we’re starting to plan a big concert in Madrid for September, with a couple of Spanish folk bands, and some luxury guests. And a marketing campaign to propose sponsorships and soft skills courses, taught by artists, to businesses… campaign that I never have in off time to start…You know, just regular agencies work…

MM: Do you want to tell us anything else?

FM: This edition of the course is made in Spanish, and the target is Spanish speaking people. Why? Because I have more control over the Spanish language, so I can express better, the concepts. So I think it can be interesting for Spanish speakers who want to increase their knowledge with a 360-degree view on music as a profession. Doing-it in English for an international audience ( as you suggested)? It could be, but I will need time to translate, adapt and prepare it. I don’t think it will be before one or two years…

Thank you, Florenci, for the interesting conversation and for the initiative of this training course! Success!🥂

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

• Mundofonías: the three favourites of the month are New Orleans Klezmer All Stars’s Tipish, Ali Doğan Gönültaş’s Keyeyî and Bassekou Kouyate & Amy Sacko’s Djudjon, l’oiseau de Garana

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap.

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community

• Polyglot. Open until July 31. Not new but there is an update.

These two phrases will give you an idea of this project:

• “If you’re a songwriter who has a hit at hand, a potential chart-topper ready to conquer new audiences, apply!”
• “Songs in their original language are translated and promoted in other European languages by our seven partners”.

In the official website, on Open Call, it says: “We are looking for songs written in the official or minority languages of the seven participating countries (Catalonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine)”. Following what I mentioned in the previous edition, Balázs Beyer told me that “any official minority language coming from artists residing in the partner countries (that is Portugal, Spain, Poland, Italy, Latvia, Ukraine, Hungary) is eligible. ”

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. They are international events to which some of the readers may attend. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 3-5 July: Førdefestivalen. Norway. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş.
• 2 August: Jerash Festival. Jordan. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş.
• 24-25 September: Kaustinen. Finland. Annual meeting of the European Folk Network.
• For later in the year, I will attend WOMEX in Manchester (UK) and Mundial Montreal (Canada)

WHO WE ARE AND SISTER PROJECTS 

Mapamundi Música is an agency of management and booking. Learn more here. Check our proposals at our website.

We also offer you our Mundofonías radio show, probably the leader about world music in Spanish language (on 50 stations in 18 countries). We produce the Transglobal World Music Chart with our partner Ángel Romero from WorldMusicCentral.com.

Feel free to request info if you wish. For further information about us, get in touch by email, telephone (+34 676 30 28 82), our website or at our Facebook. 

Summary 👇 

• Editorial
• The second album of my label has been launched and the third is on the way
• Talk with Marisa Segala, founder of Crossover Frequencies
• Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects. Change in my role in TWMC
• Open calls: European Folk Day, Polyglot, Babel Music XP, GlobalFest, Afro Pepites
• Meet me at ✈️ 

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Hello, how are you? I hope well. I am ok but exhausted again. Much work and many trips… Thrilling and motivating too!

Let me tell you about the picture. A couple of weeks ago, I received this t-shirt, along with the latest CD by Miquel Gil. It says “We will all walk the path to hell.” You can listen to it here.

Miquel is great. I don’t work with him but we’ve been very good friends. I’ll never forget arriving at the office of the record label Sonifolk (extinct and missed, check some of the catalogue here) in the Moncloa neighborhood of Madrid to interview him after the release of his album Orgànic in 2001 (you can listen to it here). The inteview was for Planeta Ritmo magazine. It lasted 9 issues and was the Spanish edition of the Australian magazine Rhythms. And I wrote a lot in every issue starting from the second one.

Miquel was there with Lluís Puig. Lluís was the director of Vesc, the management agency that worked with Miquel at the time. Lluís did wonderful things for world music back then, and we shared moments at concerts, sometimes with almost no audience except him and me. Even back then, we faced setbacks like that… But he got into politics and had to sell his company to his employees. Lluís is now in Belgium. Let me explain. This is Lluís:  https://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/former-minister-appears-before-belgian-judge-for-third-extradition-attempt. This week we are in, the Amnesty Law will be voted on, which will likely allow Lluís to return to Spain.

Last Monday, I had a long conversation with Florenci Mas, another essential figure in this circuit from Catalonia. This is his agency. Florenci is a producer and manager, and I met him around the same time as Miquel and Lluís, in the context of his work with Nass Marrakech (you can listen to them here). At that time, I was fascinated by any music with an ethnic flair, let’s say. And I was amazed by the idea that there were people who worked as managers for something like that. It seemed to me that their lives had to be incredible. Now, when I think about him and other pioneering colleagues, they seem like heroes to me. Florenci will be coming through here soon with his own voice. Don’t miss it!

Florenci is preparing a very extensive course on music production and management. He has sent me some texts, and I think it’s going to be really useful. His experience is vast, and I am sure he will open up completely in this training. It will combine asynchronous content with real-time telematic classes. For now, he won’t be doing it in English, but I hope it goes well for him and he can translate it.

The protagonist today is a very interesting lady with a thrilling career and initiative. I am sure you’ll like to know more about her if you already know her and you’ll love to discover her if you don’t: Marisa Segala.

Enjoy!

Remember: if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know. Thank you very much for your attention.
Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música | +34 676 30 28 82 

THE SECOND ALBUM OF MY LABEL HAS BEEN LAUNCHED AND THE THIRD IS ON THE WAY

As I mentioned some time ago, I created a record label, Mapamundi Música, to physically release the CD “Kiğı” by Ali Doğan Gönültaş. His album had already been released in digital format and no label wanted to re-release it to create a physical version, so I did it myself. We made 300 copies and had to make another 200 later. And now I have very few left.

Now we have the second work, “Keyeyî,” ready in our hands, and we have sold some CDs at recent concerts in the Netherlands and in Hannover. During the stay in Nijmegen for the performance at Music Meeting, the trio recorded for VPRO television for its superb series of live performances. Here is the video below.

I also want to mention this review of their concert at the festival, and highlight a phrase that moved us all: “The world needs more people like Ali Doğan Gönültaş.” Curiously, a colleague whom I value very much told me those exact same words about myself a couple of days ago.

The third release will be Vigüela’s 10th album, “We”. After the last three albums released with ARC Music, this new one will be released by Mapamundi. I have already listened to it and, like each one, it is unique and a step forward; they always take a step forward. They have infinite dedication and energy.

I am in the process of defining a value offer for more artists who need support with issues such as distribution, manufacturing, promotion, content writing, etc. I will provide updates as it progresses.

This video was recorded at @MusicMeetingAllEars / Festivalhuis Nijmegen 2024 for VPRO Vrije Geluiden: music program made by the Dutch public broadcast organization VPRO.

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AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR: MARISA SEGALA, founder of Crossover Frequencies

Marisa Segala is a figure present at many international world music events. I don’t know exactly when we met, but we’ve run into each other many times. Maybe you have too. I believe the last time we crossed paths was in Veszprém, at the BALKAN:MOST festival.

A couple of months ago, I started seeing information about Crossover Frequencies from her Facebook profile. I had previously associated her with the brand Second to the Left, so I wanted to learn more about this new brand and share it with our readers.

So, Marisa established Crossover Frequencies, which is a booking agency and presenter based in Denmark.
She has produced over 30 European tours, with over 200 concerts in 24 countries. She is co-producer of the festival RESONATOR. Marisa brings over two decades of artist touring, booking and production expertise and has worked with international artists from Asia, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Europe.

Mapamundi Música: We have met many times before, in several countries and events. And one thing now called my attention. You are introducing “Crossover Frequencies”. This is new, but you are not new in this business. Can you explain what is Crossover Frequencies and why did you start in? 

Marisa Segala: The very first project I embarked on under the name ‘Crossover Frequencies’ took actually place before the company got officially reigistered. I was presenting a podcast produced by Ankur Malhotra, also known as SpinCycle (Amarrass Records / Madison Music Review / Aural Grooves). In Odense, where I reside, we have one of the largest music libraries in Europe, containing perhaps the most extensive vinyl collections of folk and roots music in Scandinavia! The podcast served as an exploration into this vast collection –  It is a sonic journey that takes listeners on an exploration, evoking old memories and provoking new thoughts, and it will always be available on the Crossover Frequencies website.

The podcast is available here

MS: Most people in the industry know me as Second to the Left. Crossover Frequencies is a natural evolution of Second to the Left. Second to the Left began in 2017 as an organizer of a concert series in Odense, Denmark, with support by the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality. As we invited bands from outside of Europe, we were often helping them find additional opportunities to ensure sustainability for both the venues/festivals and the bands. So we quickly took over the role of booking agency for many artists, and this became such a significant activity that it warranted the creation of a dedicated company with a different identity and structure. Thus, Crossover Frequencies was founded in August 2023. It feels gratifying to have my own company, and I had wanted to start it as early as 2020, but the world shut down for a couple of years there.

Crossover Frequencies primarily focuses on booking artists, but I also collaborate with Resonator festival in Odense, Denmark. Resonator is a venue festival now in its fourth edition in 2024, and Crossover Frequencies is part of the artistic director team, proposing artists to the venues involved and negotiating conditions. In addition, Crossover Frequencies curates events at venues in Odense and Copenhagen. Therefore, I sometimes act as a booking agency and sometimes as a presenter, which allows me to understand the challenges and expectations from both sides of the business.

MM: How would you define the kinds of music you work with? Any specific interest (geographical, style, instrumentation…)?

MS: I would say that music that incorporates elements from diverse cultural traditions and regions around the globe, often blending traditional sounds with contemporary influences to create unique and eclectic musical expressions.

MM: How do you chose the artists to work with? 

MS: One of my main criteria is that I feel that I can watch a band perform live for 10 consecutive days and feel increasingly excited about their music each night on tour. Another criterion is that I must have complete trust in the musicians and their team, knowing that we share the same approach to the business. Trust is a crucial element.

MM: What would you say as an advice for a newcomer in the business?

MS: If you’re in it for the money, switch to pop. But if you’re doing it because you love it, persevere. Don’t give up or get frustrated when results are slow to show. Dare to try, take risks, and believe in what you do.

MM: What would you say as an advice for musicians who want to approach someone like you to begin a collaboration?

MS: The best (or perhaps only) way is to give me the opportunity to see their band perform live. I receive a lot of music in my inbox, and I do make a point to listen to everything that comes my way. There are numerous bands that I hope to have the chance to see live one day.

MM: How was your beginning in the music business? 

MS: I’ve always been fascinated by the music business and have held various roles over the past 30 years, taking on a multitude of responsibilities. My journey began as a presenter at a small cultural center. Possibly due to the scarcity of agencies in Scandinavia at the time, many bands sought my assistance in securing more concert opportunities.

My very first tour was closely linked to my final thesis at university in 2012. It involved researching venues and exploring what measures could encourage them to feature more music from around the world. This research was supported by a project where I raised funds to bring Burkina Electric to Denmark. At the time, they were one of the few West African bands incorporating electronic elements into their music.

This is the band Burkina Electric, mentioned by Marisa, performing in Copenhagen in March 30, 2012:

MM: Why are you working on this? Which is your personal background, do you come from a family related to music? Or are you a musician yourself?

MS: No, I do not come from a family with ties to music. In fact, I’m quite certain my parents would have preferred me to pursue a “regular” job instead. I’m not a musician myself though I do have formal university education in culture and music. I’ve been involved in the music industry for the past 30 years, and taken on various roles. I would say that it was music that found me, rather than the other way around—and honestly, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.

MM: If you can dream a little, in 5 years, where would you want Crossover Frequencies to be? 

MS: We aim to be an agency that brings the next big talents to Europe. Therefore, we are focused on exploring the music scenes in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to discover talented and unique musicians. Our goal is to elevate these artists and help them gain recognition and success beyond their home countries. I am of course not alone in this ‘adventure’ – I do collaborate since the beginning with an excellent manager and producer – Ankur Malhotra.

MM: Which are the main challenges you face in this business? 

MS: Working with artists who require visas presents its challenges. The lengthy processing times, ranging from 2 to sometimes 6 months, are particularly daunting. Embassies typically retain the artist’s passport throughout the application process, preventing the band from touring during this period.

If you need to apply for a Schengen visa, a UK visa, and possibly even a visa for the US/Canada, it can be extremely challenging in terms of timing.

Another significant challenge is timing. When planning European tours, promoters in the North are typically prepared to confirm arrangements a year in advance, whereas promoters in the South tend to wait much longer before confirming.

MM: Which are the main challenges you have experienced since you began until nowadays? 

MS: I believe the most significant challenge occurred in September 2021. My band from India, Barmer Boys, had secured a standard Schengen visa based on a specific contract. However, upon their arrival in Europe, authorities blocked them, claiming their visa was invalid. Despite the band (and many others over the past 30 years) having obtained Schengen visas for the same engagements multiple times previously without issue, this time was different. Numerous prominent figures in the cultural sphere were shocked by the event and attempted to assist, but unfortunately, once the visa authorities make a decision, there is little recourse available. While you can file a complaint, the process takes over a year to receive a response, and if you apply for and receive a new visa in the meantime, your complaint is closed.

Thank you, Marisa! Long and successful live for Crossover Frequencies! 🥂

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BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

• Mundofonías: the three favourites of the month are Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen’s Den lyse dag, Quintet Bumbac’s Héritages and Adolfo Pacheco’s Cumbia cumbia cumbia!!! Vol. 2 [V.A.]

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap!

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community

• Polyglot. NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.This can be interesting for musicians who compose their music in several languages from the participan countries. And also for their managers of course. I have a special sensitivity towards minority languages and it is a topic I deal with often. This project mentions the minority languages explicitly, for which I am glad.

These two phrases will give you an idea of this project:

• “If you’re a songwriter who has a hit at hand, a potential chart-topper ready to conquer new audiences, apply!”
• “Songs in their original language are translated and promoted in other European languages by our seven partners”.

In the official website, on Open Call, it says: “We are looking for songs written in the official or minority languages of the seven participating countries (Catalonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine)”. I have seen in other places the mention of Spain instead of Catalonia, so I sent a question to the organicers. In Spain there are several minority languages which are official in different parts of the country, like Galego and Euskera. I wanted to know if they are excluded from the call, as they mention as participating country Catalonia. The answer is that Galego and Euskera are not excluded.

• 

  Babel Music XP. NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER. 

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 16th June: Prague, Festival Respect. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş.
• 3-5 July: Førdefestivalen. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş

For later on the year: last Monday I booked the table for Mapamundi Música at WOMEX to our institution ICEX, which organices the Spanish stand there. I also registered with ICEX for Mundial Montreal but this is not 100 % sure yet.

WHO WE ARE AND SISTER PROJECTS 

Mapamundi Música is an agency of management and booking. Learn more here. Check our proposals at our website.

We also offer you our Mundofonías radio show, probably the leader about world music in Spanish language (on 50 stations in 18 countries). We produce the Transglobal World Music Chart with our partner Ángel Romero from WorldMusicCentral.com.

Feel free to request info if you wish. For further information about us, get in touch by email, telephone (+34 676 30 28 82), our website or at our Facebook. 

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Hello, how are you?

I hope well. I am. A bit exhausted but well. Three days after Babel Music XP I travelled again. To Venice, where this picture was done on from Friday 5th of April, before the concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş there. It was the program called Candiani Groove, produced by the association Veneto Jazz.

From Venice we went to Vienna, for a concert in Sargfabrik. The charismatic Kurdish singer Sakina Teyna was guest star in the concert. You can watch here their performance of a song composed by her, Sema. In the description who will learn who was Sema. Don’t miss to read it.

In Vienna we met a bunch of other colleagues, like Sotiris Bekas, the Greek journalist who is member of the Balkan World Music Chart and creator of Folkradio.gr. He made a video interview with Ali. I met Anne Hofstadler too, she is the manager of Sväng, the quartet of harmonicas. Also the enchanting qanunist Sofia Labropoulou, the leader of World Music Festival Bratislava, Jarmila Vlčková, and my colleague the radio producer Vladimír Potančok. And the Kurdish journalist Ferid Demirel. And several people from the association Kulteurasia. You can imagine that I had a great time. I am so thankful to all of them!

The following week we all moved to Valencia (Festival of Sacred Music from the World, by the Palau de la Música de Valéncia) and Olot (Catalonia, for the program of concerts made by Jordi Serrat for the municipality) for more concerts. It has been an amazing time. Their four concerts have been enchanting and moving. Every time I see them, they never cease to surprise me with their charm, the rapport between them, and the overall beauty of the music.

This week I will travel again and this may be interesting for you too. I will go to MUM. What is interesting about this? I will explain it to you below. The following week I will attend Balkan Trafik festival in Brussels, about which I am very excited too. I will bring some reflections about this experience in the newsletter of May.

I hope the contents below will be of your interest. Contact me if you have something to share. By the way, all the contents in this newsletter are not promotional, I mean, not paid. For the moment, but I am open to discuss any offer for advertisements that could be of the interest of the readers. In the meantime, enjoy the read!

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WHAT ABOUT MUM AND SOME REFLECTIONS ABOUT MARKETS AND SHOWCASES

As I said before, this week I will travel again. To the MUM. It will be in Mérida, in the province of Badajoz. By the way, that is the province where my mother was born. The autonomous community is Extremadura. It is a historically poor region despite the diversity and wild beauty of its landscapes and being the land of Iberian pork and other delicacies. Additionally, there are impressive tourist attractions, with cities like Cáceres, one of the most beautiful in the world, a World Heritage Site according to UNESCO. The archaeological assets of Mérida are also a World Heritage Site. The MUM will take place in this city. This picture shows the temple of Diana, that will host some of the showcases. It is by user Joloher in Wikimedia Commons.

Despite this, the region has complications, such as a train service that is a recurrent source of complaint due to its slowness and breakdowns. It lacks a coastline and relevant centers for commercial routes. In short, there are a series of geographical, historical, and political reasons over centuries that have made the region of Extremadura differentially poorer than others.

The thing is, since I was little, I saw how people didn’t starve, they even had some money to drink at the bar, but many people with a bit of ambition in life left the region. My mother did it at the age of 14, to be a servant in Madrid… This is not the case for some of the people behind the MUM, who continue to dedicate their lives to promoting cultural projects in their land. Why am I explaining all this? Well, because I think it’s especially important that these Professional Music Days are already in their 8th edition and have progressively grown. And I think about it in the context of the number of similar events that I hear about. Frequently, a new professional event with showcases emerges. Some are useful for artists, others are not.

As I announced earlier, at the end of March I was at Babel Music XP. There was a particularly significant moment regarding this. In a panel on the topic of professional markets (this panel), a colleague of mine explained that she had a showcase at Tallinn Music Week in 2022 and had a disappointing experience where the delegation was still at an official dinner party hosted by the Week and were therefore not able to attend the showcase. One of the festival programmers who was invited by my colleague texted to apologize for not making it and saying that everyone was still held up at the delegate dinne… My colleague considers it’s a clear violation of the whole showcase concept and she wonders why they should pay for bringing their artists to events that benefit from their content that they even finance. Apart from that, and in general terms, not about Tallinn, she told me later that production and bad sound quality are also something to mention during showcase festivals. They can cause damage. I agree. If the band sounds badly, you have few chances to get any return for your investment.

In other occasions, the showcase can be really fruitful. For instance, my experience at the Fira Mediterrània de Manresa of 2023 with the show case by Ali Doğan Gönültaş was totally a different story and we have already 3 concerts directly from our participation. 

So, what do I think of MUM? When does a showcase make sense?

On these particular issues, production and sound, the two previous times I was there, they were good, and the program was designed so that the activities did not interfere with each other. At MUM, there will be conferences, showcases, project pitching (I will talk about my mentoring offer for artists and novice managers), and, of course, informal networking moments.

And in general, for a region like Extremadura, I think it makes a lot of sense to have such an event. I wish we had this in Castilla-La Mancha. It’s something I’ve previously discussed with one of the people who will be attending MUM this year, David Sierra, from Sierra Contratación Artística. I think it’s difficult to develop a good crop of musicians if the opportunities to show their work are limited. So having an event like this, once a year, where artists present themselves to professionals and have access to them and can talk and ask questions, is in this case a great incentive for artistic creation in the region.

This year, at MUM, apart from me and David Sierra, who are potential collaborators for the performing artists, professionals such as Davide Mastropaolo from Italian World Beat/Napoli World, a couple of very interesting entities from Portugal, a programmer from a festival in Canada, and a representative from the Cervantes Institute in Paris will attend, as well as a bunch of professionals from the region and Spain in general. For now, the activities take place in Spanish, and I think there is no simultaneous translation. It will be one of the issues they will have to consider in the future if the event continues, which I hope it does.

AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR:
TURNA EZGI TOROS, agent from Turkey

I know Turna for some years. We met probably at WOMEX. She was working for Charmenko, the company lead by the multifaceted personality Nick Hobbs. Some time after I learnt Turna was working for the municipality of Istanbul, that sounds thrilling. And a few months ago we got in touch more deeply and had the chance to chat and interchange ideas. She is now settled as an independent agent and collaborates with a music organization in Antalya, where she is currently living. It’s normal for me to feel sympathy for a woman like her, more or less like me, because even though I work with the Mapamundi Música brand, I’m almost always alone in these management and booking tasks. So, I love bringing her here. Apart from that, I think Turna’s experience is very interesting, both because of the diversity of professional environments in which she has developed her career and because of the reflections she makes and the fact of being in a country where they face some difficulties in multiple areas. I hope to stay informed about her activities, and you can follow her too, for example, on her Instagram.

While you read, you can listen to this beautiful instrumental piece by the group Seyyah, one that Turna collaborates with.

Mapamundi Música: Can you define the focus of your activity? I mean, can you explain which kind of music you work with or what makes your interest in any specific artistic project arise, what makes you want to work with it?

Turna Ezgi Toros: So far in my professional life, I have worked in various roles such as promoter, event programmer, artist agent and booker. That’s why I’ve had chance to work with the artists from almost all musical genres. My promoter and programmer work has generally been based on popular music genres, like pop and rock.

As an agent, I have mainly worked and continue to focus on jazz and world music (I use the general term “world music”, but meaning folk/traditional/rooted music generally. I am a bit anxious about the terminology in general 😊). It is difficult to define the projects that interest me because I cannot limit them to genres. This is an actually difficult question, although that seems easy 😊.

In general, I can say that I like well-thought and well-designed projects. This could be a songwriter or a project interpreting anonymous folk repertoire, it does not matter. The crucial point is the musician’s dedication to truly understanding and engaging with their work. I try to avoid formulaic, non-original work.

MM: When I knew about you, you were working for Charmenko, which has a very eclectic profile. What was your role there? Can you select one main learning you got for working in this context, a private company of booking and production? 

TET: Charmenko was an important school of my profession for me. I learned a lot from our founder Nick and my colleagues. I worked there in different roles such as promoter, artist agent and booker.

I had responsibilities that required me to juggle very different tasks at the same time: I was planning an electronica dance music festival in Istanbul and also working for a showcase with a Belarusian jazz trio at the same time.  In fact, the most important thing I learned was to develop a versatile perspective. I had to wear different hats in there and it was a great training.

I experienced how both a promoter and an agent can think and work at an event. This made it much easier for me in my subsequent jobs, when planning events and communicating with the artists/agents. Because it made it easier for me to predict who would need what and what problems I might encounter.

MM: Before Charmenko, had you been working related to music?

TET: Charmenko is my first professional music business experience. Before, I was always in close contact with music and concerts. Throughout university, I took part in the Music Club and organized festivals and concerts. I had the opportunity to meet and work with many respected musicians from Turkey for the first time there, such as Büyük Ev Ablukada, Pinhani, Ceylan Ertem, Gevende and Cenk Erdoğan. That club was one of the most important experiences that prepared me for this professional job.

Although I studied engineering at university, I made a serious change in field of profession with the help of such club concerts, festivals and the music courses I took at the university.

I started my master’s degree in Ethnomusicology after graduation. It was a period when the printed music magazines were shut down, and digital media was being popular. And I thought that digital music magazines generally write about similar and mainstream or alternative genres. I felt there was a lack of a medium that included cross-genre content. With my enthusiasm for music magazine publishing, which has been one of my biggest dreams since forever, I started writing a music blog called Müzikli Mevzular.

With the contributions of my other musicophile friends, we published articles about world music related genres. We prepared interview series and podcasts. I am still working on making this medium a more comprehensive and qualified music platform to cover various contents and genres.

MM: After Charmenko you have been working for the municipality of Istanbul in culture issues. What were you doing there? Can you select one main learning you got for working in this context, a public institution founded by public money? 

TET: I worked at a subsidiary company called Kültür AŞ that is programming and managing most of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s cultural affairs. My role was as a senior specialist in event programming and content. We held events in various disciplines; not only limited to music, but also in literature, cinema and visual arts etc. The events happned in important places in Istanbul; as squares, museums, bookstores, piers and other public spaces of Istanbul. I worked for the concerts that reached hundreds of thousands of people from different age groups and social classes, especially in events like national day celebrations.

The most important difference between working in the public institution and other jobs is your target audience is “everyone” when you are the municipality. So you need to provide content that appealing to everyone. You are responsible for holding a rap concert for Generation Z as well as planning a concert at the Nursing Home for the Elderly or providing a stage for the emerging young bands. Doing all this in a balanced way, matching the right content at the right time and place  – it was a very challenging task in a such huge and dynamic city like Istanbul.

Here I experienced that an event organizer must be able to analyze the audience, location, the needs and design of an event very well.  Sometimes even when we do not have a stage or content, we needede to “invent” the event.
I really experienced that the adaptation to the conditions in a minute is the essence of the eveything, and you need to manage sudden and major crises very calm and quickly.
Yes, this is nature of the music and events industry, but doing this as a public institution in a metropolis like Istanbul was much more intense than a regular job I believe.

MM: Before all this, how did your interest in music appear? Do you have any relationship with music since you were a child, is it a family thing or did it develop later?

TET: We don’t have a professional musician or music professional in our family; although I grown up with the instruments at home. But rather, I realized my own interest in music and educated myself. In the 90s, when I was a child, I had followed the music programs and video clips on TV and tried to learn the credits for the lyrics, music and production. Likewise, I would go and buy casettes and read their liner notes until I remembered all the information on them. I used to follow music articles in newspapers and magazines. I still have a decent archive of cassettes and CDs and still enjoy reading the liner notes.
I still use the information I learnt about 90s and 2000s Turkish pop and rock music when I was a kid 😊 I sometimes make pop quiz to my friends or in my blog.

MM: A few months ago you left the municipality, moved to Antalya and started to develop your own entrepreneurship. Please, explain what you do in this part of your activity and how you can be useful for the foreign professionals that will read this. 

TET: It is not an easy thing to be in the music industry in Turkey, live outside Istanbul and continue this business. Turkey is a big country, but unfortunately Istanbul is the center of many industries, sometimes the “only” center of everything. In today’s world, it’s possible to handle most tasks digitally, travel is easy, yes, but still, not being at the center can sometimes cause you to miss out on certain things.

I thought a lot before making this decision, weighed the pros and cons before deciding. I tried to plan both the work I could do remotely and the things I could do in this city. Everything is going well now luckily. I also travel to Istanbul from time to time. Being away from the chaos and noise in Istanbul allowed me to think calmer in many ways to be honest.

About Antalya, it is one of the largest metropolitan cities in the country. It is a multinational city that hosted more than 15 million tourists in 2023. The entertainment industry is very well developed in here, although it is generally dominated by mainstream concerts and tourism-oriented content. Concerts continue all year long, not limited to summer “tourism” season.
Due to tourism and hotels, there are also plenty of festivals, concerts and events hosted by hotels. In fact, some events that cannot be done in Istanbul are carried out here. For example, like a Jennifer Lopez concert 😊

However, as someone who has lived and worked in Istanbul for years, this is also a new city and market for me. I’m still trying to get to know the city and understand its dynamics. As far as I could see for now, much more comprehensive festivals and events can be held in this city. I think it is a city suitable for major international events with the right content, planning and promotion. It has a big potential.

MM: For the work you do, which are the main skills that are needed? 

TET: Since I work most intensively as a programmer and agent, I can say that being able to make right planning is the most important issue in these works. There are many dynamics in this “right” process such as timing, venue choice, reaching the target audience etc, thus I think the most important feature is “analytical thinking”. Frankly, I see the benefits of my engineering education in this regard, I try to approach everything like a case study.

I also think that polite and open communication is essential. It is very valuable to be able to accurately explain what you want or what you can do to both the artists and the venues/festivals you work with, and to communicate politely while doing this.

Finally, multitasking is the backbone of this business. An agent should know not only booking, but also technical production, or a programmer should also understand social media management, even if at a minimum level.

MM: You are also collaborating with other people or companies and I think you have some plans for the near future. What can you tell us about this? 

TET: I work with a music company in Antalya. I’m responsible for following the program and logistical coordination of the festivals and concerts they organize. Their experience in this industry and in the city serves as a guiding light for me.

I am also trying to develop Müzikli Mevzular with a group of friends. Here, we feature content such as interviews, reviews, album critiques, playlists, etc. Additionally, we will have various podcast broadcasts. We are planning to evolve into a platform that designs its own events in the future. We have taken our first steps towards establishing a comprehensive platform for both publishing asl well as event and artist management and marketing.
Furthermore, I continue to collaborate with the musicians for whom I act as a booking agent. I strive to develop these relationships for long-term success and to enhance their careers.

MM: You are the second person from Turkey that is the protagonist of this interview (the previous one is Asya Arslantaş, who I think you know). And you have some international experience so you can compare the situation of the world/traditional/rooted music in Turkey and in other countries. I see Turkey is so big, but I feel the entry barriers are strong. Which do you think are the main obstacles that foreign artists have when planning to develop anything in Turkey?

TET: This may be a bold statement, but Turkey is perhaps one of the countries with the widest musical and cultural diversity in the world. It has a great variety of musical repertoire, languages and instruments. Many different musicians, like Erdal Erzincan, Aynur Doğan, Baba Zula, Gaye Su Akyol, Derya Türkan are known all over the world with the music coming from these “roots”.

In addition to these well-known names, there are local music masters and young musicians/band performing different traditions with their own interpretations in many parts of the country. I think in Turkey very good quality of folk music is produced and performed.

But there is a lack of sufficient number and quality of stages in the world/traditional/rooted music area. At its most basic level, we do not even have a well-established and comprehensive festival with the concept of world/traditional/rooted music. Although these genres sometimes find place in jazz festivals or festivals with a wider program, I think the lack of even a thematic festival is a very unfortunate deficiency in this country.

In fact, although folk music is a widely listened-to genre, I think it is not considered popular and “cool” enough. In recent years, musicians and bands in genres such as rock and electronic have begun to be inspired heavily by the “roots”. But we see that the musicians and groups that perform this “root” music in a more traditional sense are still not known and popular enough.

Considering the world/traditional/rooted music artists from outside Turkey, I can say that this is a bit of a difficult market for names that are not known in Turkey. Unfortunately, it is a scene followed by a limited audience and where stages can be found in limited areas. But this is still a promising area and I haven’t lost hope yet.

MM: Do you have any recommendations or advice for people like me, or for artists, when trying to collaborate with Turkish professionals?

TET: I think the most effective way to follow similar artist to your music or your roster or your music taste and try to connect directly with them or their managers/agents. I think similar people can understand each other better and help each other better.

Unfortunately, we do not have any music expo or culture office, so we do not have a common place where you could easily reach to venues, programmers, agents and managers.

Some of music professionals from Turkey are joining to the conference and network events like Womex, Eurosonic, Fira Mediterrania de Manresa, Babel XP, etc. every year. It will be nice to meet whoever is here, because in our scene, we mostly know each other and could help to introduce you to other people.

And you are always welcome to visit Turkey, venues and festivals in here and be our guests of course 😊

MM: And, last, please, feel free to add anything else you want.

TET: Thank you very much for inviting me to this interview. I sincerely think that what you do with Mapamundi is a very valuable for both musicians and industry professionals. I am honored to be a guest on this platform, which I have been reading for a long time.

And of course to be the guest of you dear Araceli, I always follow your work with inspiration.

Thanks to you, dear Turna!

THE EUROPEAN FOLK NETWORK ANNOUNCES THE DATES AND PLACE FOR THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE

If you are already a subscriber of the news of the European Folk Network, you already know. If you are not, you can subscribe, here. If you haven’t received the news yet, I tell you that the annual meeting this year will be in Kaustinen, Finland, on 24 and 25 of September.

According to the EFN, “Kaustinen – deep in the heart of Western Finland – is a very special centre for the living traditions of intangible cultural heritage and folk arts and home to our hosts and EFN members the Finnish Folk Music Institute and the renowned Kaustinen Folk Festival.”

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

• #1 for Transglobal World Music Chart in April of 2024 is: Lina’s Fado Camões (Galileo Music Communication)

• Mundofonías: the three favourites of the month are Rundsnurrknurr by Hulbækmo & Jacobsen Familieorkester, Our sorrow by Maliheh Moradi & Ehsan Matoori and Cuero, by Guada.

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community

The finals of the 17th edition will be held in Cagliari, Sardinia in autumn 2024.
Applications must be sent through the format found online on the website. Contact for questions: fondazione.andreaparodi@gmail.com.Some more useful data: “The prize for the Winner includes concerts and performances in some of the partner music festivals in their 2025 editions, such as European Jazz Expo (Sardinia), Folkest (Friuli), not forgetting the very same Premio Andrea Parodi 2025.In addition to the aforementioned, the winners will be entitled to a € 2,500 scholarship. Whereas the winner of the Critics’ Awards will have a professional videoclip of their competition song produced, offered by the Andrea Parodi Foundation.”Check the website for more information.

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 18-20 April: Mérida, Spain. MUM (Professional Days of Music in Extremadura)
• 25th-27th April. Brussels. Festival Balkan Traffik
• 17 May, Deventer (Bergkerk), Netherlands, 18th May, Nijmegen (Music Meeting), Netherlands, 20th May, Hannover (KunstFestSpiele), Germany: concerts by Ali Doğan Gönültaş
• 16th June: Prague, Festival Respect. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş.

Sotiris Bekas made this wonderful picture of Ali Doğan Gönültaş on the occasion of the meeting for an interview for Folkradio.org.

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Hello, how are you?

I hope well. I am. Starting the week prior to Babel Music XP, that will take place from 28th to 30th of March. The dates for this year’s event in Marseille coincide with Catholic Holy Week. In Spain, it’s a time of vacations and/or processions, with many traditions, such as those related to food. During mourning days, meat is not eaten. A typical dish during this time is “potaje,” made with chickpeas, spinach, and desalted cod. And, of course, plenty of typical sweets, like “torrijas,” which are stale bread from previous days soaked in sugar, milk, and cinnamon, then fried in olive oil.

In terms of music, during the processions, sometimes brass and percussion bands play. Other processions are silent. In some places, devout believers sing “saetas” as the images (which are statues on an adorned pedestal, carried on the shoulders of faithful believers) pass by. Saetas are verses sung a capella, about the suffering of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Sometimes they also have social or political criticism, including it subtly. Here’s one sung by Mari Nieto de Vigüela.

Whether you’re religious or not, a procession in Spain in a city with a tradition of them can be a very powerful experience that I recommend.

But this year, I won’t be able to attend. I’ll be in Marseille from Wednesday to Sunday of next week. We call it “Resurrection Sunday.”.

As I write these lines, I am waiting for the outcome of the first call for proposals from LiveMX, a grant initiative under the framework of Music Moves Europe. We from the European Folk Network, of which I am part of the board, have applied. And the publication of the results is imminent. I am very anxious about it because, if we succeed, we will carry out a spectacular project. The second call for this grant is announced for May 2024. The objective of this LiveMX project is “to help the sector develop and strengthen its skills, abilities, processes, and resources to adapt and thrive in such a dynamic industry.” And it is focused on three specific topics: Music export, Live Music venues, and Digital circulation and engagement. The conditions of this grant are very good. You can check the details at https://livemx.eu/. I hope to bring good news in next month’s edition regarding the application of the European Folk Network.

In this edition, for the first time, I feature a specialized journalist as the protagonist. Juan Antonio Vázquez has been promoting world music through media outlets for over 30 years. You may already be familiar with some of his activities, but here he shares with us the vision behind his work and how he has created initiatives from scratch when necessary.

I remind you once again that this newsletter is open, free of charge, to content of relevance for the global community involved in one way or another in world musics. Contact me if you have something to share. And if you are coming to Babel Music XP, see you there!

Enjoy the read!

Remember: if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know. Thank you very much for your attention.

Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música | +34 676 30 28 82 

AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR:

JUAN ANTONIO VÁZQUEZ. Specialiced journalist (Mundofonías, Transglobal World Music Chart, Mil Mundos…)

I have Juan Antonio Vázquez very close at hand. However, that doesn’t make him any less interesting, and he is the first person I interviewed here with his profile, that is to say, whose main activity related to music is media dissemination. His career is very long and prolific. If you don’t know yet, I’ll tell you that I work with him on Mundofonías, and he is also one of the three administrators and founders of the Transglobal World Music Chart. Mapamundi Música also started with him. Juan Antonio also has other initiatives in which I do not collaborate, such as the program Mil Mundos, which he hosts on Radio Clásica, one of the channels of Radio Nacional de España (Spanish National Radio). And, as I mentioned in the previous edition, he has just launched LIMúR, of which I am one of the panelists.

Juan Antonio is one of the people with the greatest commitment and generosity in everything he does regarding world music. I hope delving into his trajectory and vision is of interest to you.

Mapamundi Música: Why do you do this? Why are you engaged in the dissemination of world musics?

Juan Antonio Vázquez: I’ve always been drawn to and interested in folk music, authentic music that arises from the people. These are the kinds of music that have been generated by communities and, at the same time, have served to build community. They were there before musical tastes became generalized. In other words, they were music for everyone, not just for fans of a particular style, because they reflected the feelings and wishes of the people. I say “the people” in this case, instead of “peoples,” in plural, because those feelings and wishes, those sorrows and joys, those experiences and concerns are universal, common to everyone, to anyone. They belong to the people, wherever you may be.

In the world we live in, the tradition of the planet’s cultures has largely been broken, and connectedly, there’s been a consolidation of the cult of particular musical tastes, fostered by the music market to sell its products, and also by the need for self-identification of followers of a particular style or artist. We’ve moved from a time when communities cultivated their music without conceiving that someone might not like it, because it was intertwined with their daily lives, to a fragmentation where identities and communities are no longer built based on coexistence or proximity, but on gregarious identification.

Given this situation, one might think that the appreciation for so-called world music is just one among the various musical tastes one can choose from. Hence the origin of the label “world music” as a “file under” category, so that this music has a specific and differentiated location in record stores where fans can find it. But appreciating this music can be more enriching than just being a follower of a musical style: it can help one discover that, as it arises from the people and those common, universal drives and feelings, it can therefore be felt as one’s own, if one allows it. And from that sense of connection, one can enjoy even more the infinite diversity and richness of its forms and expressions.

When does this magic happen? For me, certainly, it’s not when one tries to dress up, sweeten, simplify, or “make accessible” these folk-rooted music, by coating them with the already known and overused formulas and aesthetics of commercial music. This doesn’t mean advocating for a purism that is scandalized when the codes of traditional music are transgressed. On the contrary, when such transgression, experimentation, or blending is done from the heart, from an honest desire for creation and exploration by musicians, the results can be marvellous and open up new musical universes. This has constantly happened throughout history, with musicians traveling from one place to another, carrying the names of instruments and musical styles from one end of the globe to the other, learning from here, drawing from there, and incorporating all of it into their music.

So, my stance is, let’s say, belligerent, in the sense that it takes sides in that latent war between music and attitudes that arise from the common (albeit expressed in its enormous diversity), the authentic, the alive, the honest, as opposed to disposable music, designed as a mere product, manufactured for mere consumption, to pass the time, and meanwhile, nothing happens in your life. Yes, of course, beautiful non-musical things can happen while you listen to it: you can fall in love, a couple can kiss, but nothing worthwhile on the musical plane.

MM: Which do you consider are the values in the international community that deals with these musics?

JAV: This community brings together people with very diverse interests. Some are there just to sell their product, but the very characteristics of these musics that I mentioned before, and the way they can serve to forge bonds between very diverse people, mean that among those of us who dedicate ourselves to them, there are more people with open and supportive sensibilities than in other sectors. Values like fighting against racism, sexism, wars, climate catastrophe, global inequality, or in favor of indigenous peoples, impoverished communities, and the defense of cultural and linguistic richness abound. In other words, they end up being political stances, against injustice and uniformity. These common points also generate a certain feeling of affinity or brotherhood among those of us who are involved in these musics in one way or another.

MM: When did you begin to make it? I mean, which was your first experience?

JAV: My first forays into radio were, oh, back in 1986, doing internships at a generalist station, although I started introducing music that wasn’t very common on those airwaves, mainly Iberian folk. Shortly after, I started doing my own programs on free radios in Madrid, like Onda Verde, where for several years in the 90s, I did the program “Insospechópolis.” Also in the early nineties, I wrote my first reviews and articles in the press, in the magazine Música Global.

MM: Explain the following steps, how has your career developed, what else have you done?

JVA: My first professional experience in radio (meaning, getting paid) was at Efe Radio, the radio service of the Agencia Efe, an important news agency. For over four years, between 1994 and 1998, I produced the program “Levando Anclas,” which was broadcast on many Spanish municipal stations and also, for some seasons, in Latin America and the United States. I had submitted a demo to make a program called “Con Efe de Folk” (With F for folk). They didn’t like the idea, but they liked how I did it, so they proposed I make a program “with all kinds of music.” Over time, I managed to dedicate the weekend editions to roots music from around the world.

At the same time, I continued to collaborate with different magazines, such as World Music 1, Popular 1, Tierra, Rock Sounds, Batonga!, Ritmos del Mundo, Interfolk… I also remained involved in the world of free radios, doing political programs, but never neglecting musical ones, like “El Embolao,” with Rafa Ruiz, which started on Onda Latina and continued on Radio Resistencia, a libertarian station, in the authentic sense of the word, that we set up from scratch as an assembly collective. From the marvellous experiences of those times, emerged much of the inspiration for the book published years later by the writer and, at the time, comrade-in-waves, Conchi Moya: “Sin Pedir Permiso” (Without Asking Permission).

In 2001, I started doing “Mapamundi”… The name rings a bell, huh. It was on Radio Círculo, the station of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. At first, I did it alone, but in 2006 Araceli Tzigane joined, that’s you, kind interviewer. Basically, it’s the same program we’ve been doing until now, 23 years later: two hours a week with the most wonderful music from around the planet. Only, since 2009, the program changed its name to “Mundofonías,” when it started broadcasting on Radio Exterior, the international channel of Radio Nacional de España (RNE). The reason for this change was that, at that time, we began to organize live music activities, promoting concerts and musical cycles, so when we entered the state public radio, we preferred to differentiate both endeavors using different names.

On Radio Exterior, “Mundofonías” aired between 2009 and 2012. It was a pleasure to develop our work there, thanks to the support of colleagues in the house like María Eulate, whose program “Travesías” we had started doing a small weekly section on, and Josefina Benéitez, who was the director of Radio Exterior at the time. In November 2012, without prior notice, a new director, whose name I prefer not to remember, decided that our program should not continue. It was the time when institutional promotion of the so-called “Marca España” (Spain Brand) was desired, and according to him, this consisted of playing exclusively Spanish music. Our arguments to defend the continuity of the program seemed convincing: what better “Marca España” than having a quality and reference program dedicated to music from around the world, like those you can find in prestigious similar radio services, such as Radio France Internationale or BBC World. Or that our program was the most demanded to be broadcast on other stations, based on the collaboration and exchange agreements they had signed with RNE, and some of them had indeed signed to be able to broadcast our program…

But no, there was no way or reason that could work. But we didn’t want to stop doing “Mundofonías.” So we contacted the stations that were already broadcasting it, under those agreements with RNE, to offer it to them for free as an independent production, and they all said yes. Thus, “Mundofonías” continued, airing on Radio UNAM in Mexico City, as well as on other university stations in Latin America; on Multicult.fm in Berlin; on free radios, like the Galician Rádio Filispim, etc. Shortly after, we returned to the airwaves of Radio Círculo in Madrid and, since then, we have continued to add stations, up to fifty currently, in eighteen countries. Our philosophy since leaving Radio Exterior has been to offer this content as a free and public service for non-profit stations, by prior agreement: cultural, associative, community, educational stations…

MM: Please, explain each of the activities you are currently developing. The radio shows, Transglobal WMC… anything else?

JVA: Apart from “Mundofonías,” whose evolution I’ve already explained in broad strokes, I continue to do programs on Radio Nacional de España since those years. On Radio 5, I host a program about the history of words, languages, etymologies, and things like that: “El Palabrero,” which has been on the air since 2012. And I’m also on Radio Clásica, also on RNE, where I’ve been hosting various music programs since 2016, such as “La Ruta de las Especias,” “A la Fuente,” or the one I currently present, “Mil Mundos.”

In 2015, together with my colleague from “Mundofonías,” Araceli Tzigane, and Ángel Romero, a promoter of reference portals like World Music Central, we launched the Transglobal World Music Chart, a monthly album list compiled from the votes of a panel of disseminators that we’ve always aimed to make as diverse and global as possible, with members from most regions of the world. At the same time, the goal was to democratize the possibility for artists and labels to promote their albums. So, we implemented a completely digital and free procedure so that anyone, from anywhere in the world, could send us their works, and these would be immediately distributed in digital format to the panelists for evaluation and taken into account for voting. In this way, we aimed for only the quality of the album, the musical work, to be taken into account, without economic outlay or physical distance being an impediment.

From the very beginning, we perceived a great interest in the professional community of these musics, which we are proud of because it is, again, a project driven from scratch, based on what we believe has been a very good idea and, of course, on the effort we’ve put into it. We have managed to bring together a prestigious panel of over 60 disseminators from all continents and collaborate with the international fair WOMEX in designating the best labels of the year, which is always commemorated at its closing ceremony. This has been happening since 2017 when WOMEX invited us to collaborate in this designation, which until then was only done based on the results of the World Music Charts Europe.

With that dissemination tool in hand and the prestige gained, from the Transglobal World Music Chart, we decided not to stand still and launch new initiatives, such as the Transglobal World Music Festival Awards or the Transglobal World Music Hall of Fame… and more to come!

And I’ll tell you a secret. Something new is cooking, in this case, at the Iberian level. It’s called LIMúR, acronym for the Iberian Roots Music Chart, an initiative that also brings together great disseminators from press and radio of Iberian music, whose first edition will take place very soon. One of the main inspirations for this project is the Balkan World Music Chart, of which I also have the honor of being a part.

MM: Which are the main challenges for the people that make this work of dissemination as you do?

JAV: The main thing is to maintain integrity, to be true to oneself and not to be influenced (i.e., self-censored) by considerations like “that could be very hard to listen to” or “let’s give people something that sounds more familiar.” That deteriorates the quality of your work and makes what you’re disseminating less rich. Something very important that I have felt (and I know you have too) as a listener to some radio programs that have served as inspiration and discovery has been precisely being able to listen to unique things, music that can change your life. We often receive wonderful messages of that kind about our programs: that’s what gives us life and the desire to continue transmitting. And that is not achieved by making a more banal, conformist, and predictable program.

Of course, on a professional level, it is difficult to find a place, a media outlet where you can do this. Many times, those of us who make these kinds of programs do so voluntarily and with our own means because we consider it necessary and enjoy it. Unfortunately, this is not possible for many people, as the day-to-day occupations and the need to earn a living in other endeavors make it unfeasible. In my case, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to develop this dissemination work also in a conducive, open, receptive, and curious environment, such as that of Radio Clásica, with the program “Mil Mundos” (A Thousand Worlds).

Speaking of my field of activity, which is radio, it’s clear that this kind of outreach work isn’t very feasible on commercial stations. Only stations with a commitment to public service and of a public nature are able to host such initiatives. Access to culture for the people is a right. And even more so when it concerns the culture of the people themselves, as is the case with these musics. Therefore, in a world shaped by economic interests and market whims, it’s public institutions that must ensure this right is effectively upheld. It’s not a frivolous expense, as some proponents of uniformity and general dumbing down argue: it’s about giving back to the people what belongs to the people.

It’s also about contributing to making the world less ugly, in these times when exclusionary identities seem to gain ground through lies and manipulation, financed by powerful economic interests alien to the common good, ranging from religious fundamentalism to xenophobic far-right, which essentially represent the same thing: the denial of what these musics represent as something universal, common, for everyone, for anyone.

MM: Anything you want to add will be welcome.

JAV: Well, I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to reflect on these matters in your wonderful bulletin. And also, of course, to congratulate you on this initiative and your valuable work as a promoter and disseminator of the musics we love.

Thank you very much, Juan Antonio!!!

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap.

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.

• Ntwala Oh Yeah! 

  NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.
  The call for proposals is open until Saturday, 30 March 2024

• Our calls are addressed to 15 local artists and 10 from abroad for showcases.
• April 20th is the announcement date for the selected artists.
• Participation incentives for artists will be agreed as things go along.
• We as festival, shall provide local transport, catering services for all and accommodation only for the foreign artists.

• So Alive Music Conference.

  The call for proposals is open until 22nd of April

According to their communication, “So Alive Music Conference is a Balkan focused music conference & showcase festival. The aim of So Alive is to bring together artist and industry leaders and create an inclusive space, inspiring dialogue about the state of the Balkan music scene. So Alive is open to young artist, established performers and music mavericks.”

It will take place from 2 to 4 of October in Sofia. The information on the website about the conditions they provide to the artists is almost nothing. Ruth Koleva explained to me that “We provide accommodation, catering, up to 200€ for travel costs. The restrictions that apply is that artists should be connected to the Balkan  region.”  The application has to be done in Gigmit. If you don’t have an account, the free option is enough to apply.

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• Visa for Music

  The call for proposals is open 31th of March

Its 11th edition will take place from 20 to 23 of November in Rabat, Morocco. All the conditions and the process of application are clearly explained on their website. The application is for free. Visa For Music covers the transfer to/from the airport for selected artists and provides accommodation for a maximum of 6 group members. Visa For Music offers a stipend in Moroccan dirhams on the day of the concert and does not cover artist fees. They don’t cover any other expenses.

In the announcement of to their call they explain that: “We expect an exceptional edition and believe this event will continue to be a vital catalyst for promoting musical diversity and strengthening ties within the global music industry.”

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• Mercat de Música Viva de Vic

  The call for proposals is open until 31 March 2024

Right now, to access to the conditions you need to login. You can create an account for free. Once inside, you can read the conditions. About the selection of the proposals, they explain that:
“The artistic direction picks around 60 proposals based on the following selection criteria:
· Priority is given to a premiere of a show or a new album.
· The artist/band’s own identity, artistic risk, and trajectory.
· The strengthening of the management firm.
· The selling power and economic and technical viability.
· The explanation of the project’s objectives (target programmers, territorial scope, etc.) and the importance of its presence at MMVV to achieve some or all of these objectives.
Proposals of all styles and musical genres can be submitted, except for classical music.”

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MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 28-30 March. Marseille, France. Babel Music XP
• 5th April. Venice, concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş (Candiani Groove)
• 7th April. Vienna, concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş (Sargfabrik)
• 11th April. Valencia, concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş (Músiques Religioses del Món)
• 12th April. Olot, concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş (El Torín)
• 25th-27th April. Brussels. Festival Balkan Traffik

WHO WE ARE AND SISTER PROJECTS 

Mapamundi Música is an agency of management and booking. Learn more here. Check our proposals at our website.

We also offer you our Mundofonías radio show, probably the leader about world music in Spanish language (on 50 stations in 18 countries). We produce the Transglobal World Music Chart with our partner Ángel Romero from WorldMusicCentral.com.

Feel free to request info if you wish. For further information about us, get in touch by email, telephone (+34 676 30 28 82), our website or at our Facebook.

Summary 👇

• Editorial
• Talk with Robert Browning, the man who shaped the world music scene in New York
• Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects 
• Open calls: WOMEX, So Alive Music Conference, Visa for Music, Mercat de Música Viva de Vic, MUM, BIME Bogotá
• Juan Antonio Vázquez introduces LIMúR, the Iberian Roots Music Chart
• Meet me at ✈️ 

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Hello, how are you?

I am well. I am writting this letter from home. In this meantime, since I sent the previous newsletter, I travelled to Barcelona and Paris for concerts by Ali Doğan Gönültaş, to Brussels for a meeting of the European Folk Network and to Granada for concert by Vigüela.

But this picture was made in Madrid, af the Café Barbieri a few days ago, with Patricia Álvarez, dancer and researcher and one of the persons with whom I talk more and more deep. It was her birthday. Our conversations are about many things, like the situation of the arts in Spain and in the world, the colonial approach to the world musics and the daily struggles of those of us who dedicate ourselves to these things.

Another lengthy exchange of ideas is the one you have below. Well, it has been more of a generous donation from Robert Browning, sharing his 50 years of experience producing world music concerts in New York. He mentioned that he is writing his memoirs. I hope they become public. For now, you have a fascinating read already.

In this edition, I’m also presenting, as almost a world exclusive, Juan Antonio Vázquez’s new and exciting initiative: LIMúR. You have all the details explained below.

AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR:
ROBERT BROWNING, founder of the World Music Institute in New York and independent promotor of world music

I stole this picture from his Facebook profile. My guest today is a crucial figure in promoting the music of world cultures, and his personal story is fascinating to me. It illustrates how events unfold, unplanned, to eventually create a life journey that has produced an immense amount of beauty and learning.

In the interview, we delve into many aspects of his career. As key points, he has been a concert promoter of world music in New York since 1976. He co-founded the World Music Institute with his partner Helen in 1985, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to world music. He left the organization in 2011, and since 2014, Helen and Robert have continued organizing concerts under the brand Robert Browning Associates. During his time at the World Music Institute, they organized over 1500 concerts. Add those from before and those from after…

You can find more details in the About section of their website.

 The personal background 

Mapamundi Música: What is your personal background? Did you have any connection to music before? I have read that your father was a banker, you were born in Singapore, and you always had a particular love for the music of India, Spain, and Greece. Do you know why? It’s interesting because I also loved world music since I was a child, although I had almost no access to it, only occasionally when something like Mori Kante or Ofra Haza played on television…

Robert Browning: I was born in Singapore in 1941. My mother left on the last British passenger ship to leave the island before the Japanese invasion. I was a few months old and my mother was pregnant with my sister. My father was taken as a prisoner by the Japanese and spent 3 years working on the Burma/Siam Railway. My mother rented a flat north of London which we had to move out of in 1945 when the German sent a V-1 that destroyed the next-door building. We returned in early 1946 and my father was liberated and came home. Later that year we went to Shanghai where my father resumed his work with the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. In 1949, when Mao came to power we left for Hongkong and thence to England. I was then sent to boarding school (10 years!) The school was in the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral (founded by St Augustine and chartered by Henry VIII). Music was important – we had an orchestra, band, and choral society. Early on I learned violin but soon gave up and taught myself the rudiments of guitar (this was the early years of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Skiffle). In 1959 I started doing an engineering apprenticeship with De Havilland Aircraft and studied electrical engineering at college. I tired of this when my father died, and in 1963 went to art college to study painting and kinetic art.

I met Helene, my wife and partner, on a visit to Greece in 1972. In 1974 I came to New York and soon after, we married. I started working with a friend, Geno Rodriguez who had studied with me at art college in London. We (Helene and I) really had very little idea what we were getting into when we started this journey. My experience in the fields of folk and traditional music was limited to watching and listening to artists like Harry Belafonte, fado legend Amalia Rodrigues and Pete Seeger on BBC TV; listening to records of Indian classical music, blues and flamenco artists; and occasionally (when I could afford it) going to concerts that ranged from Indian masters Bismillah Khan and Imrat Khan to the National Dance Company of Senegal, Red Army Chorus and flamenco groups such as Zambra de Madrid. In addition, I would sometimes visit coffee houses where British folk artists such as Bert Jansch, Maddy Prior and Martin Carthy would be performing. In the 1960s and early 70s I had slowly added recordings of Caribbean, Arab and African music to my library and I had been an attentive listener to Alan Lomax and other folklorists on the radio.

MM: What motivation did you have to start? I have read that initially, you had an art gallery, and some South American musicians asked if they could perform there. Was it so, in a somewhat casual way?

RB: Geno invited me to work with him the Puerto Rican Forum, an organization that provided find jobs and educational programs for Latinos. He (Geno) had been offered the ground floor space of their building in Lower Manhattan as an art gallery. We presented exhibitions of photography, mainly by young up-and-coming artists. Within a year, the Forum found itself in financial trouble and had to close by the end of 1975. Thankfully, Geno had built a relationship with some of the staff at the National Endowment for the Arts, in particular with poet and Jazz critic, A.B. Spellman who ran the Expansion Arts program. It was the $12,000 grant that we got from that program that enabled us to open the Alternative Center for the Arts on East 4th Street. This was a 3,500sq ft ground floor space in a co-op residential building that was to become our home from 1975 to 1980. It was raw space, so we spent three months renovating – building walls, covering all existing walls with new sheetrock, erecting lighting, plastering and painting. All this was done by Geno, Jan (his wife and our publicity director and graphic designer) and myself with a bunch of friends. Our English friend Bill Bowles was a major help; he and I had worked together on carpentry jobs and artworks in England in the early ‘70s.

The space was ready for our first exhibition in October 1975. We had no intention of presenting concerts at that time; this was an exhibition space and our goal was to give an opportunity for artists who were not necessarily hip and did not have much opportunity to exhibit their work in the frenetic climate of Soho where it was who you knew that counted. Our first exhibition featured 10 Japanese artists, all of whom were working in New York at the time.

 The first concerts  

It was during our second exhibition that we started presenting concerts. This exhibit featured the work of four Huichol (Indigenous Mexican) artists. These were large yarn paintings (brightly colored yarn embedded in beeswax on plywood panels) of a psychedelic nature. These artworks caught the eye of Jorge Link, an Argentine-American who was driving a van at the time. It turned out that he played music of the Andes with a group called Tahuantinsuyo (the Inca name for their land). Within a few weeks we set up a concert for the group. We borrowed folding chairs from the Peace Church on nearby Washington Square. The concert drew an audience of some 150 and that was the beginning of the next 46 years of presenting concerts.

MM: On your website, you mention that the Alternative Center for International Arts, founded in 1975, was dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists neglected by the established gallery system. Why were they neglected? From an outsider’s perspective, I could imagine that a place like New York would have been very eclectic in its concert offerings during those years. In the early decades of the 20th century, so many wonderful artists emigrated from Europe (I think of many recordings made in the 1920s by emigrants, for example, those released by Canary Records, or the referenced klezmorim like Naftule Brandwein or Dave Tarras, but they are a drop in the ocean of many examples).

RB: The Alternative Center for International Arts, founded in 1975, was dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists neglected by the established gallery system. Why were they neglected? Essentially, the gallery system was a bastion of capitalism. While there were, undoubtedly, some that were dedicated to the artists they represented, many were in it because they could make a lot of money out of whatever was fashionable at the time. Thus, many artists who did not fit the bill of being “fashionable” were unable to make a living out of their art. Of course, this has always been true in the artworld where most of us had to have jobs to support our art. Similarly, in the music world, if you did not in with one of the established categories – classical, rock, pop, folk, or jazz, it was not easy to find outlets, either for performance or recording. Record stores did not begin to have “world music” sections until the early 1980s.

One of the first organizations to offer concerts and dance parties in New York was the Ethnic Folk Arts Center, later known as the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, established in 1968. In the early days we often worked with EFAC to promote some of the Balkan, Jewish and Eastern European artists that they worked with. Some of these included Epirot Greek clarinetist Pericles Halkias, Klezmer artists Andy Statman, his mentor Dave Tarras, and Armenian American ‘ud player John Berberian. In 1980 we had to move from our Lower East Side venue to a space in the newly fashionable Tribeca area (the triangle below Canal Street.) Again we renovated the new space ourselves, putting in new walls (sheetrock) and track lighting. We renamed it the Alternative Museum.

According to the website of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance,“Founded in 1968, the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD) assists New York City’s immigrant communities to sustain their distinctive performing arts traditions and promotes cross-cultural understanding by sharing these art forms with audiences across the city.”  Peter Rushefsky is currently its Executive Director. You can read the interview I made with him in this previous edition.

MM: Do you think the quality of artistic proposals has improved, gotten worse, or transformed into something different?

Thank you very much, Robert!!!

BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 

• #1 for Transglobal World Music Chart in January 2024 is: Bombino’s Sahel (Partisan)

• Mundofonías: the three favourites of the month are Junnosuke Uehara, Washu oneya, Kisaburo Umeya’s Japanese celebration melodies, the compilation Merengue típico, nueva generación! [V.A.] and Aguidavi do Jêje’s album named like the band.

JUAN ANTONIO VÁZQUEZ INTRODUCES LIMúR, THE IBERIAN ROOTS MUSIC CHART

OPEN CALLS 

This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.

• WOMEX. NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.
  The call for proposals is open until Friday, 1 March 2024

• So Alive Music Conference.  NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.
  The call for proposals is open until 22nd of April

According to their communication,“So Alive Music Conference is a Balkan focused music conference & showcase festival. The aim of So Alive is to bring together artist and industry leaders and create an inclusive space, inspiring dialogue about the state of the Balkan music scene. So Alive is open to young artist, established performers and music mavericks.”

It will take place from 2 to 4 of October in Sofia. The information on the website about the conditions they provide to the artists is almost nothing. Ruth Koleva explained to me that “We provide accommodation, catering, up to 200€ for travel costs. The restrictions that apply is that artists should be connected to the Balkan region.” The application has to be done in Gigmit. If you don’t have an account, the free option is enough to apply.

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• Visa for Music.  NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.
  The call for proposals is open 28th of March

Its 11th edition will take place from 20 to 23 of November in Rabat, Morocco. All the conditions and the process of application are clearly explained on their website. The application is for free. Visa For Music covers the transfer to/from the airport for selected artists and provides accommodation for a maximum of 6 group members. Visa For Music offers a stipend in Moroccan dirhams on the day of the concert and does not cover artist fees. They don’t cover any other expenses.

In the announcement of to their call they explain that: “We expect an exceptional edition and believe this event will continue to be a vital catalyst for promoting musical diversity and strengthening ties within the global music industry.”

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• Mercat de Música Viva de Vic.
  The call for proposals is open until 31 March 2024

Right now, to access to the conditions you need to login. You can create an account for free. Once inside, you can read the conditions. About the selection of the proposals, they explain that:
“The artistic direction picks around 60 proposals based on the following selection criteria:
· Priority is given to a premiere of a show or a new album.
· The artist/band’s own identity, artistic risk, and trajectory.
· The strengthening of the management firm.
· The selling power and economic and technical viability.
· The explanation of the project’s objectives (target programmers, territorial scope, etc.) and the importance of its presence at MMVV to achieve some or all of these objectives.
Proposals of all styles and musical genres can be submitted, except for classical music.”

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• MUM Meeting Music Market. VIII Jornadas Profesionales de la Música en Extremadura. The call for proposals is open until 15 February 2024. 

So far, most of the artists that made a showcase in this event have been Spanish or Portuguese. On the website with the conditions, there is no restriction about the origin of the artist to be elegible apply. But it is only in Spanish. The conditions are reasonably good for the standard of the showcases.

It will take place from 18 to 20 of April in Mérida, a historic city with relevant Roman legacy.

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• Just for Spanish artists: BIME Bogotá.

Call still open for Spanish artists through ICEX until 25th February. More info, here.

MEET ME AT

If you happen to attend these events, drop me a line. If you are not, they can be interesting for you too in any case.

• 22nd of February. Málaga, Spain. For a concert by Vigüela, yeah.
• 28-30 March. Marseille, France. Babel Music XP

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