Each year, Red Bull Music Academy invites music makers around the world to submit their demos and fill out that weighty application form. What follows is a lengthy process involving giant stacks of yellow crates filled with postal deliveries, and page upon page filled with the motivations, silly jokes and creative processes of singers, musicians, producers and DJs in 102 countries.
This year, the Academy jury listened through 3500 application CDs, and a group of successful applicants has now been chosen to reflect the diverse styles, methodologies and cultural backgrounds among those applications. 70 emerging music makers from countries including Lebanon, South Korea, Iceland and Peru have been invited to join the 18th edition of the Red Bull Music Academy, to be held in Montreal from September 24 to October 28 this year. 38 countries will be represented, making this the widest array of nationalities so far to attend a single edition of the Academy.
Since the 2015 Red Bull Music Academy in Paris was cut short due to the devastating events that took place in the city on November 13, the 30 participants selected for the second term in Paris will join 40 newly-selected participants in Montreal. That means the total number of participants in Montreal will add up to 70, instead of the usual 60.
Among the 70 are two young Bengaluru-based producers, The Sine Painter and Oceantied. Having been selected to attend the second term of the Academy in Paris last year, The Sine Painter will now travel to Montreal later this year. Selected from among the fresh batch of applicants for the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal is KetanBahirat, aka Oceantied, who also doubles as guitarist for the post-rock outfit Until We Last.
The names of all the selected artists who applied in 2016 will be announced between June 27 – 30: