Producers, musicians, MCs and DJs, take note. The Red Bull Music Academy will teleport to Toronto in 2007 for a whole new adventure in sound. The Academy is a multi-leveled boomtastic event where 60 beat makers and selectors fly in from around the world to hear new perspectives and fresh jams from the most forward-thinking music pioneers of all time. They don’t simply plug in and download new ideas. The Academy offers a unique process of exchange and discovery where incredibly talented music makers of every age and persuasion make surprising connections – mental, spiritual and electronic.

How does it all pan out? The Red Bull Music Academy goes down like this:

two groups of aspiring, inspiring music makers, vocalists and DJs from around 30 different countries come together in a new location each year. There, they hear music wisdom straight from the source. The Academy is where the undisputed champions of every genre step up and kick back, explaining exactly what they do and how they do it, letting no barriers of culture or pride get in the way. An outrageous array of outboard gear, DJ-mixing set-ups, analog equipment, acoustic instruments, mics and music production software are there at their fingertips, and every moment presents a new collaboration or recording session. Days and nights are a haze of speaker vibrations, conversation and perspiration, while the non-stop musical activity flows from the studios, to live broadcasts on rbmaradio.com, to the clubs, galleries and cult venues of the host city. And the best thing of all? Whether their names belong in the pages of funk history or they’re tearing it up to create music in new digital polyrhythms, the division between participants and tutors is constantly blurred, as the learning process becomes a two-way street. They’re all there because they love music and want to be part of it. Keeping time, moving in and out of step, for all time.

Previous Academies have visited Berlin, Dublin, New York, London, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, Rome, Seattle and Melbourne – all beats blazing, all faders up. This year’s edition will touch down in Toronto, one of the biggest and most cosmopolitan cities of North America, nestled on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Home to the second-highest population of foreign language-speaking residents in the world, Toronto’s grids hum with diverse culture and architecture, criss-crossed with parks, rivers and tree-covered ravines. Independent galleries and record stores pop up west of Chinatown, while vibrant clubs and music temples can be found on the back streets of Little Italy. There are many native tongues here, and music is one of them. The main stage for Canada’s thriving hip hop scene, Toronto has a heavy jazz tradition, and explodes with cross-pollinated musical lineages from deep house, disco and the miniature/crashing scapes of Canadian techno, to big-bottomed space dub, electro rap and experimental indie rock. From Mathew Jonson to Black Uhuru, and from Gino Soccio to Oscar Peterson or D.F.A. 1979: there’s plenty of fresh heritage to uncover. So set the metronome. It’s time to count down to T-dot.

Anyone interested in joining this year’s Academy in Toronto must follow a few simple steps. Prospective applicants should pick up an application CDR from their local vinyl emporium or download the application form at www.redbullmusicacademy.com.

Alternatively contact Richard the Third by e-mailing him at richard@mio.co.za.  They should then send the completed questionnaire along with a mix-CD or selection of his/her own music, and a current photo to the Red Bull Music Academy between March 23 and May 04, 2007. You can drop your app off at any one of these drop-off points:

Johannesburg:

Soul Candi 1st floor, Mutual Square, Oxford Road, Rosebank, Johannesburg Tel: (011) 880 2017 Email: shop@soulcandi.co.za

Pretoria:

Hip Hop Joint Shop 24, Sunnypark Mall Esselen Street Sunnyside, Pretoria

Cape Town:

HI-FIVE MUSIC & CLOTHING 34 KLOOF STREET CAPE TOWN TEL (021) 422 – 5455/6

Durban:

Funkbox Shop 6, Florida Center 275 Florida Rd Morningside

To give you a feel for the Academy, there will also be a string of local info sessions in your city. Aspiring musos can head down to venues in Cape Town, Jozi and Durban to experience “A Day in the Red Bull Music Academy” and witness first-hand perspectives of the music world. Be sure to check out www.redbull.co.za/rbma  for more info on times, dates, and the impressive lineup of local and international artists sharing their experiences.

Once the application period has ended, sixty of the most promising applicants will be invited to the workshops in Toronto. Flights and accommodations will be covered by the Red Bull Music Academy. If invited, participants should plan on being a part of either Term 1 [September 23 – October 05, 2007] or Term 2 [October 14 – October 26, 2007].

By July 06, 2007, all applicants will be notified via email whether they have been invited or not. Those who have applied previously but have yet to be invited are certainly encouraged to give it another shot. As quite a few second- or third-time applicants have learned, perseverance can certainly pay off.

Application forms and all the vital stats and info are available at www.redbullmusicacademy.com. There you can also find miles of essential mixes via the RBMA Radio stream, and video footage from unforgettable sessions. There’re also photos galore as well as diaries of previous years and a forum to speak one’s peace. All this, and first-hand perspectives from some of the most influential folk in the music world. Download the inspiration.

Workshop Term 1: September 23 – October 05, 2007 Workshop Term 2: October 14 – October 26, 2007 Application Phase: March 23 – May 04, 2007

Check out www.redbullmusicacademy.com and www.rbmaradio.com for more information!

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