Today, December 27th 2021, marks 14 years since the first concert organised under the Mapamundi Música brand.
On 27th December 2007, the first concert managed by Mapamundi Música took place. It was in Sevilla la Nueva, a town in the province of Madrid, by the trio Cherno More, with the Sudanese artist Wafir Shaikheldin and the Bulgarian brothers Nasco and Ivo Hristov. This picture of me is in front of the stage for the first concert in Spain by Chuchurumel, Portuguese band, in June 2008 in Móstoles. Great memories.
Personally, during these years I have been able to meet and befriend professionals whom I greatly admire for their professionalism and commitment and I look forward to welcoming more colleagues and collaborators.
Mapamundi Música has attended dozens of fairs, festivals and conferences and has had three artists on the official WOMEX programme (Gulaza, Monsieur Doumani and Hudaki Village Band), something that back in 2007 seemed a dream hard to reach.
All this time we have maintained our radio activity, mainly with Mundofonías.
In July 2018 I started publishing themonthly newsletter Mapamundi Música, with the aim of delving deeper into what’s behind the scenes and giving visibility to professionals to learn from, as well as contributing to the community with useful news and some reflections.
I hope that in 2022 we can finally leave behind the nightmare that is making life so difficult for us. Count on Mapamundi Música and the know-how of our artists. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
Thank you for your attention and very happy and successful 2022.
The playlist with 2 hours of some of the music of the life of Araceli Tzigane is available now on the website of New Model Radio. Some of the artists died long time ago but the ones might enjoy to listen to the playlist and maybe discover some wonders they might now know.
The selection ranges from a rebetiko recording from 1932 to some of today’s most exciting artists, such as Sam Lee, through little-remembered milestones in history, such as Reinette l’Oranaise, and others who have gone on to big success, such as Mori Kanté with his Yeke Yeke, or pioneers of the concept of “world music”, such as Aksak Maboul, with a piece from 1980. And of course, some of the apple of Araceli’s eye, like Janusz Prusinowski Kompania or Vigüela.
– Janusz Prusinowski Kompania – Mazurek „Skarga“
– Vigüela – Arrímate, pichón, a mí
– Alamaailman Vasarat – Mamelukki & Musta Leski
– Zaharias Kasimatis & Antonis Ntalgas – I dio seretes
– Four men from Vegas de Matute, Spain (Alan Lomax’s recording) – Ronda del caracol
– Alim Qasımov – Bagishlamani
– Aksak Maboul – I Viaggi Formano La Gioventu
– Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster
– Al Tall & Muluk El Hwa – Absencia – La jove negra
– Bienvenida Aguado – La mujer de Terah
– Ashkhabad – Bibining
– Iva Bittová – Zeleny vinecek
– Meira Asher – Maligora the Sand Child
– Le Diablo Mariachi – Vamp No Blues
– Lhasa De Sela – My Name
– Balkanto Vero & Ivica Vucelja – Under the sheet
– Bolivia Manta – Minerito
– Jorge Ben Jor – Mas, Que Nada!
– Reinette l’Oranaise – Nhabek Nhabek
– David Krakauer – Klezmer a La Bechet
– Cantor Moishe Oysher – Sheyibone Beit Hamikdash
– Mory Kante – Yeke Yeke
– Wowakin Trio – Kalineczka
– Sam Lee – The Ballad Of George Collins
– Dezoriental – Terra Incognita
– Les Négresses Vertes – Zobi la Mouche
– Daniele Sepe– Tarantella Del Gargano
– La Perla de Cádiz – De la morera (bulerías)
Flash news: 120 minutes with the music of my life, at the Slovak New Model Radio
Brief news from the media, chats and sister projects
Talk with Laurent Boireau, from Crépuscule Productions
Open Calls and Professional Events ?
Meet me at…
Hello, how are you? I hope well! I don’t know what to tell you about how I am. In January I will have the pleasure of collaborating again with alba Kultur and their project Klangkosmos, with a tour of Jako el Muzikante in Germany and with a date in Belgium. And although I am not superstitious, I am starting to touch wood with my fingers crossed. Not true, I say this only to express that I feel subject to forces over which I have no control. I imagine you understand that perfectly.
In any case, activity continues in many countries with a certain degree of normality. Let’s look ahead. I hope your plans continue and that you have a wonderful holiday season too.
As always, if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know. Thank you very much for your attention.
A few days ago I had the honour of participating in the initiative of the Slovak radio station New Model Radio, which consists of inviting a person from the world of music to select 120-minute playlist.
My selection ranges from a rebetiko recording from 1932 to some of today’s most exciting artists, such as Sam Lee, through little-remembered milestones in history, such as Reinette l’Oranaise, and others who have gone on to big success, such as Mori Kanté with his Yeke Yeke, or pioneers of the concept of “world music”, such as Aksak Maboul, with a piece from 1980. And of course, some of the apple of my eye, like Janusz Prusinowski Kompania or Vigüela.
Mundofonías: our monthly favourites for December are the albums: Zār: Music for the spirits (V.A.), Xanthoula Dakovanou’s Lamenta and La caña de millo: Voz histórica y silenciada de la cumbia (V.A.)
The colleagues of World Music Charts Europe have released their list of 2021. Their top 10 are the albums by: Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, Warsaw Village Band, Monsieur Doumani, Antonis Antoniou, Liraz, L’Alba, Sofia Labropoulou, Altin Gün, Samba Touré and Tara Fuki. Congratulations! Check the complete list here.
AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR: LAURENT BOIREAU
I don’t remember when I met Laurent, the director of Crépuscule Productions. Maybe at the long-missed Babel Med. For me he has been one of those people who have always been part of the world music scene and with whom you feel you share certain things, such as good taste. Hehehe.
According to his website, Crépuscule Productions is a booking agency dedicated to world musics and “musiques actuelles sans frontières”. I keep this part in French because this concept of “musiques actualles” is very French.
His offer includes artist from Portugal (Danças Ocultas), Argentina (Las Hermanas Caronni), Italy (Rachele Andrioli e Rocco Nigro), Tunisia (Ghalia Benali) and many others. And it is my pleasure to share his insights with you.
Thank you, Laurent!
Mapamundi Música: Why are you doing this? What is your personal background?
Laurent Boireau: I’ve always been passionate about music. I was a young teenager when the punk movement emerged, soon followed by the post-punk era which was extremely creative and musically open. I should also thank the French public radio network who gave me easy access to classical, experimental music, jazz and blues when I was a kid.
When I moved to Paris in 1992, I worked in a theater close to the capital where the Africolor festival was taking place at that time. This is where I attended my first concert of Danyel Waro. A complete shock. The day after, I was immersed in a mandingo Christmas night with Malian musicians playing all night long and an incredible audience coming up on stage, dancing and throwing bank notes at them. It was crazy. Later, I met Africolor’s creator Philippe Conrath. I was looking for work in the music field, he was looking for someone for a short replacement. The six months replacement period eventually lasted ten years. I worked on the organization of the festival and we started developing a touring department for the musicians Philippe was producing on his record label Cobalt. This is how it started.
It is easy for me to understand the impression that Danyel Waro made on Laurent. I’ve only been lucky enough to see him live once, at the FMM in Sines, and that man carries the music in each of his cells. After that experience that Laurent recounts, Danyel Waro has returned to Africolor on several occasions. Here you have one.
Mapamundi Música: From your training, education, previous experiences, which ones of the skills or knowledge you got have been the most useful for your career as an agent of musicians?
LB: It’s not easy for me to answer to this. I just feel my only “skill” is my passion for music and that alone drives me to do what I’m trying to do: help musicians develop their career. Then, it’s a cocktail of patience, experience over the years with failures, mistakes and successes, the people you meet and network with,…
Mapamundi Música: Apart from that, which other skills do you think are essential to succeed in this field of work?
LB: Conviction and patience. A lot of patience. Luck can also be a crucial factor: when you meet the great, smart artist at the right time…
Mapamundi Música: Any particular advice for a fellow newcomer or someone who wants to get started in this field?
LB: Have confidence and enthusiasm. Never forget you’re at the service of the musicians. A French colleague had a relevant formula: we are the employers of our bosses.
Mapamundi Música: And now, for the artists. I’m sure you get requests from artists every day to be their manager. I am sure because it happens to me too, and many colleagues tell me the same thing. Do you have any recommendations for the artists, so that they can improve the way they communicate when they do it for this purpose?
LB: A lot of the requests I get come from artists who are musically very or too close to artists I am already working with. I would advise them to get in touch with agencies where they would be kind of unique, different, complementary from the rest of the catalogue. But I understand you are inclined to knock at every door when you are looking for partnerships.
Mapamundi Música: Do you think it makes sense for the artists to try to find an agent? Have you ever started a stable collaboration with a band or artist that approached you in their search of an agent?
LB: Definitely. First, the artist will save a lot of time and energy. Second, we can use our expertise and network to resolve problems the artist may not be able to solve by himself (search for a label, distributor, etc.). I’ve been working with artists since the creation of Crépuscule Productions in 2008 and we’re still enjoying working together despite the inevitable ups and downs.
Mapamundi Música: I think there will be still, at least for many years, a lot of artists and a much smaller number of agents, that is the current situation. This makes me think that we are not in a very interesting business, otherwise there would be many more agents working in world music. Nevertheless, it seems the artists require us. Something seems to be wrong, what is it?
LB: French mainstream media have reduced their support for world music. I don’t believe that the use of social networks compensated for this decrease, like for other musical genres. Now, mainstream media is watching what’s popular in social nertworks… I don’t know how to solve this equation. The audiences we traditionally target use social media but not as intensively as the younger generations. And the younger generations are overwhelmed by the content valued on these social networks, which does not really value musical diversity (although the word “diversity” is now a mantra used to enhance our western multi-cultural societies…).
“It has never been easier to discover new music and the public has never seemed so unconcerned.”
For me, the development of the use of the internet has created a paradox: it has never been easier to discover new music and the public has never seemed so unconcerned. The offer is suddenly so vast that we are lost, helpless, facing this digital ocean and we take refuge in musical genres or artists that we already know, which reassures us. The world music scene is a vast ocean in itself, which is great for us, but probably kind of scary (or boring!) for some people. This is perhaps what makes us fragile.
“We are now more and more confronted with this market reality. For most of us, it does not correspond to our philosophy.”
We are a niche, within the music industry, which has benefited from public financial support for culture, and which has perhaps preserved us from the fierce competition of the market. Since the last decade and over, things have drastically changed, and we are now more and more confronted with this market reality. For most of us, it does not correspond to our philosophy, our desire to defend and promote musical aesthetics which, for us, carry much more than thei commercial potential. We must try to hold on with conviction, patience, confidence and enthusiasm, but I believe it’s the artists themselves who give us the strength to continue. And if the public could support us a little more, it would almost be heaven!
Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap
OPEN CALLS AND PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
If you have anything to share in this section in a future edition, let me know.
Mobility grants to book Spanish artists, by Acción Cultural Española. The dates and conditions for this grants have been dramatically enhanced. The official information is here.
Apply for Folk Spot Denmark 2022. Open until December 21th 12.00 PM, TOMORROW!!! Folk Spot Denmark is a showcase program in connection with Tønder Festival. Find more details, here.
Fira Mediterrànea de Manresa. The application for showcasing is open until January 20th at 12 PM. It will take place from 6th to 9th of October 2022. More info, here. And for the application, here.
Folk Alliance International annual conference. Hybrid event, with the in-person portion being held at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. 23rd-27th February. More info, here. Registration is open, both for the in person and for the only online categories, here. My Vigüela are part of the official selection and they will participate with a new online showcase.
MEET ME AT…
Since August I have lived as before the pandemic in terms of travelling but now who knows…
Coimbra, Portugal, for a concert by Monsieur Doumani. 21st January. This concert has been postponed several times. Let’s see what happens for this new date.
Lisbon, Portugal, for the third concert of the series of Músicas Escondidas at the Museum of Orient. 4th February: Daud Khan Sadozai. The first and second concerts of this series two times postponed have been a real success. They have been by Nouruz Ensemble and by Egschiglen. The third one will be by this Afghan master of rubab and sarod, Daud Khan.
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.
This newsletter is open to sponsorship. Feel free to ask for details.
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Personally, during these years I have been able to meet and befriend professionals whom I greatly admire for their professionalism and commitment and I look forward to welcoming more colleagues and collaborators.
Mapamundi Música: And now, for the artists. I’m sure you get requests from artists every day to be their manager. I am sure because it happens to me too, and many colleagues tell me the same thing. Do you have any recommendations for the artists, so that they can improve the way they communicate when they do it for this purpose? 
Apply for Folk Spot Denmark 2022. 
Fira Mediterrànea de Manresa. 
Folk Alliance International annual conference. Hybrid event, with the in-person portion being held at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. 23rd-27th February.