Summary 👇
Editorial: 5 years 5️⃣ of this monthly window to the community, a deeper vision, other worlds inside our world
Talk with Daniel Rosenberg, about the purpose of his work and a relevant issue in the field of world music
New record label: Mapamundi Música Records 🥳
Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects
More updates on the European Folk Day: map and events database, ready!
Open calls and more news from professional events 💼 Two French proposals and some reflections
Reminder: Mapamundi Música, in charge of the Spanish participation as partnering country in the Czech Music Crossroads – Vigüela, Xurxo Fernandes and Xabi Aburruzaga
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my agenda for the next months
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I am well and also full of very diverse emotions. This is the 60th edition of this newsletter and 5 years since I started this initiative. Here is the first edition. At that time Sherezade was with me. I have already explained that the pandemic made me unable to keep her as an employee. I have not recovered her. She found another job and is doing well. Although we are still in regular contact and she collaborates with me on some occasions. I think that all that took away a part of innocence and brought a part of temperance and experience.I know that during these 5 years I have learned a lot. My world is now much bigger and I feel that I perceive deeper and deeper layers of reality. Maybe it happens to everyone as time goes by. I feel that it happens to me thanks to being exposed to so many human realities.
Regarding this topic of layers, lately I have been reflecting on all the content that the musics I work with contain, on the relationship between the aesthetic pleasure they produce and the whole load of history and worldviews that go with them. Approaching these musics confronts you with an unfathomable universe that can give you vertigo… The other day I was at the presentation of the concert season of an important public organization of reference in Spain, dedicated above all to classical music, with some nods to other types (mainly jazz and flamenco). I couldn’t help but think that their world was smaller. The other day at the gym, a classic rock playlist was playing on the background music system and Cream’s Sunshine Of Your Love, a song that I love, was included. I posted about that on my Instagram and tagged the gym. They responded by thanking me for the mention and saying that you had to hear “everything”. Holy cow. That “everything” means current Anglo pop hits, urban Latin music and, rarely, an hits of the rock of some decades ago. The truth is, I don’t know if anything has changed in the past five years regarding all of this. I don’t believe we are better off. Further down, I talk about the European Folk Day. It relates to this reflection.
I also reflect a lot lately on how there are other worlds outside of the one we tend to see in our realm of world music. In fact, taking action to address this situation fueled the creation of the Transglobal World Music Chart (if you’re not familiar with it, visit the website) already in 2015. This is a topic I discussed with Dan Rosenberg recently when we met in Madrid for Silent Tears’ performance. Below you’ll find the conversation with him. I was lucky to spend a couple of moments with him and I made him a little interview just before the concert.
A couple of weeks ago, a contact from another continent was asking on Facebook for professional opinions on showcases. Obviously the issue of the barrier of access to artists without an organization behind them that can cover the costs of travelling to play for free is a very clear problem of showcase festivals. This situation is obvious for artists like the Kurds, many minorities in China, such as the Uighurs or many minorities from republics of the Russian Federation. And, of course, countries without structures such as culture export offices or an industry with an international vision. For instance, what happens in Paraguay regarding music? I wondered about this with my friend Fernando Martínez, the director of the radio show Tráfico de Tarareos, a few days ago.
This topic of the support to the artists from the showcases festivals briefly came up in the conversation with Peter Dimitrov regarding the new showcase associated with the Bulgarian festival A To Jazz. That edition is here. It also came up in the conversation with Andrea del Favero regarding the new showcase associated with the Italian festival Folkest. That edition is here. By the way, the Folkest is taking place now and the showcase will happens next week, between 30th of June and 2nd of July. I want to send a warm greeting to Piero Cremaschi! I hope it is a great success! Both of these showcases provide financial support to artists. In fact, many of them do. These two are part of Upbeat Platform, which is co-funded by the European Union. Other showcase or mixed festivals, such as Fira-B or the Fira Mediterrània de Manresa, that are not part of this platform, also provide significant support to artists.
This issue touches me very closely now that I work with Ali Doğan Gönültaş shoulder to shoulder because there isn’t an organization beyond myself that supports him to do something like going to perform in a showcase festival that would not give any support for the expenses. The organizations that could provide support to me as a Spanish company would only do so for Spanish artists, not for someone with a Turkish passport.
I wonder, how many Ali’s are there in the world, capable of conveying something so profound and beautiful, to whom providence will not lead to finding someone who helps them transcend their borders? Last week I discovered that Dan Rosenberg also asks himself these kinds of questions. I loved it. I know there are many more of us.
I feel very blessed. Last week, the day before the concert, we met for dinner. In the photo, from left to right, we have Kiko Helguera, journalist from Radio 3-RNE, and his partner Tina, the Czech-Canadian singer and songwriter Lenka Lichtenberg, Juan Antonio Vázquez, myself, and Daniel Rosenberg. Such moments are precious.
But another issue to consider, maybe not so obvious, that happens even in environments with more advantages is the fact that artists who do have such support, they have to fit the criteria, be from the social circle or be somehow aligned with the goals of that entity that gives the support. This sometimes favors artists who are well positioned in their own territory but who perhaps now are not the most interesting (neither in commercial nor in artistic terms) to occupy a space as limited as the one that is being given in the showcases festivals for the international circuit.
I am extending myself so much in this editorial that, either I stop or I make an article itself with these reflections. Well, I choose the first option. I’ll conclude here and without further ado, I’ll proceed with the conversation with Dan. I hope you find it as interesting as I do.
AND NOW THE FLOOR IS FOR: DANIEL ROSENBERG
While you read, listen to the album Silent Tears, produced by Dan, here 🎧
I usually include the person’s name followed by the entity they represent or work for. In Dan’s case, his name alone is sufficient. It’s challenging to define him with just one concept or brand attached to his name.
On his website there is a phrase that is specially enlightening:
“One thing that often frustrated me though, was that I was heading to the far corners of the earth, and reporting about music that very few readers and listeners had access to. After each radio show, I’d get lots of calls and emails asking, “How do I get a recording of that song you played on the show?” I would have to explain that ordering a copy through the mail from the artist who lived in a village 8000 miles away wasn’t very realistic. So, I approached a number of record labels about releasing CDs from artists I met on my travels.”
I think this will give us a good understanding of the following. According to his own website, he is a “Producer / Arts Journalist / Publicist-Media Relations”.
He has been the compiler of many “Rough Guides,” the compilation series published by World Music Network. He has been involved in radio for decades, and currently hosts the program “Cafe International“. He has developed concepts and brought together the resources and the people for projects like Yiddish Glory, the Lost Songs of World War II and Silent Tears, the Last Yiddish Tango.
Dan has his own website, that you can visit to learn more.
Mapamundi Música: What is the purpose of you when doing all these things related to music?
Dan Rosenberg: Oh, we have an open-ended question. And it’s a good question. You know a lot of the projects I’m involved with are in Jewish music although not all of them are. And someone asked me recently like “how did you become so interested in Jewish music to do projects like this”. And I said, well, you know, ironically, it’s not what you would think that I saw some Jewish concert when I was a child… I’ve been more motivated by people like Oumou Sangare and Calypso Rose, Fatoumata Diawara… who would see a problem in the world and want to bring attention to it through their art. And Calypso Rose did an amazing song about how women who worked as domestic servants were underpaid and essentially modern slaves in some countries. Or Oumou Sangare about women’s rights in Mali. And also, Fatoumata Diawara. And I found that so inspiring because in a way when artists can shine a light on a problem it brings that problem to attention and maybe some change can come of it. And in Trinidad the minimum wage was raised after Calypso Rose’s song which to me is like incredible: you are bringing attention through your music and now people are in less poverty at least.
| The song No Madame was originally included in the album by Calypso Rose released in 1971, Calypso Queen of the World. I haven’t found that version. She included the song again in the album of 2016 Far From Home. This song created a public conversation that led her home country’s government to create legislation supporting rights for domestic workers. |
MM: And is this your purpose both with your own productions and also with the work you make in dissemination, like the radio show and everything you have been doing these years?
DR: Well, at the radio show we want to shine a light on the beautiful music that’s all around the world and especially music that, hopefully, at least on a program mine is like yours, we want to share music from all around the world, that maybe people wouldn’t get to hear otherwise because sadly there aren’t a lot of programs like these. Despite that I think there’s a much more of a demand for it than programs that are out there because, you know, people listen, they call and ask where can I get more of this, where can I hear more and you know, hopefully… Well, hopefully we’re making a difference in sharing this because we have this in common, you know. You know, there’s like… “we know Cuba has great music and Brazil has great music…”. Everywhere has great music. There’s not a single place on Earth that doesn’t have amazing music. So I think it’s just our job to get to share that with people.
MM: Considering that, would you recommend any region of the world that you think is especially unknown for the public and that you would like the music from that place to be more known?
DR: That’s a good one and I don’t know if I have that answer… But if you think about, I spent a lot of time on music of the Americas, especially African music in the Americas. And that same combination for example that made us fall in love with Haitian music and Brazilian music and Cuban music: that mix of indigenous and African and European. Those three ingredients together create this incredible music that’s found in all those places. Right. But I do find it a shame because of historical reasons some places will get more attention than others. I mean they’re parts of Latin America and the Caribbean that we hear less. Even from parts of Africa, we hear tons of music from Mali and Senegal, that have unbelievably great music, right. But if you look, you know there’s… what? 50 countries in Africa more or less and probably more than half of them, if you look at our shelves of a good radio station there will be very little. And I’m a hundred percent certain that it’s mostly because of, you know, you are having a champion that’s recording it and sending it to us, for example.
You know, because life is short, we don’t get it. Most of us haven’t had a chance to get to these places and it’s a shame because we’re missing out on hearing those artists. I often think, I mean, it’s slightly related but, you know, if we look at human history and you look at all of recorded history up until the 20th century, there aren’t a lot of women whose works were recorded. Or minorities. And you say to yourself “how many Beethovens, how many Mozarts did not get the chance to share what they do with the world just because the society was so racist and sexist?” And those composers had that talent. Probably people heard them locally but they didn’t get the chance to have that on a big stage because of that racism and sexism.
MM: This is an issue that I have been discussing with people, also programmers or festivals or people making showcases festivals, that there is a clear bias between the artists from places where they have support and the artists from places who don’t have support or minorities. I had a conversation with one person who’s starting a showcase festival. Specifically I put two examples: the Kurdish people and also the minorities from many republics from Russia. They are not going to have any support from for their governments. They are just an example of thousands of examples of minorities or peoples who are not going to have any support. What would you ask to the international community that have the chance as you and me of disseminating music to do to try to resolve this bias somehow?
DR: You know, that’s a really big problem that exists. I mean, you have two different sets of problems. I come from Canada and we’re very lucky that there’s Canada Council for the Arts and also regional arts organizations depending on the city and province where you come. And then you have a good project, there is a decent chance that you’re going to get support for that project. If you’re in…, even the United States, a rich country, there’s a lot less art support.
Then if you’re from a poor country, let’s say, we have a very long list… the chances of them supporting the arts and flying somebody to Womex or whatever is probably lower.
Then you have a third category: what if you’re stateless, let’s say, you’re a Romani musician or you’re Kurdish, there is no Kurdistan, there’s no Roma country and they have no music schools they have no festivals, they have no State organizations… any of those things even if you’re a poor country, let’s say, you’re Belize or Peru or Ecuador or whatever, not the richest country in the world but they will have music schools and they will have local festivals that will be able to promote those things. So when you’re stateless, that’s a whole other level of problems.
But you’re right, there needs to be something, I don’t know what the solution is but there definitely needs to be something for artists who don’t have those opportunities and the world is missing out. I mean we have to see this as when they don’t get to share their incredible works and talents, we all lose.
NEW RECORD LABEL: MAPAMUNDI MÚSICA RECORDS
My dear Kutay Kuğay suggested to me several times the idea of releasing a physical edition of Ali Doğan Gönültaş’s album “Kiğı”. I know that for him, it means something tangible to leave for future generations, and digital files may not fulfill that mission. I share with him the idea of the transcendence of certain musical creations, and I believe that both of us see this in Ali’s work.
This is why I have conceived Mapamundi Música Records label. “Kiğı” has all the necessary elements for a retail release (legal deposit, ISBN, barcode). It is the reference 001. What will be reference 002, only time will tell.
BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS
- #1 for Transglobal World Music Chart in June 2023 is: The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere, by Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté (Real World)
- Mundofonías: our three favourites of the month are Castor et Pollux’s Contrebandes, Oghlan Bakhshi’s Journey across the steppes and Aditya Prakash’s Karnatic roots.
UPDATE ON THE EUROPEAN FOLK DAY
🔹🔸THE MAP AND THE DATABASE ARE READY🔸🔹
I have talked about the European Folk Day before, but I think I haven’t shared the objetive behind it. According to the website:
“Folk music has been characterised by an absence of structures that other sectors, such as classical music, theatre, opera or jazz, have. This has made it difficult for the traditional arts to be considered in decisions which may impact how they continue in the future.
The EFN was born to solve this shortcoming and European Folk Day is a key initiative aligned with this mission.
European Folk Day will collect events and initiatives from everyone – EFN members and non-members alike. Please, share the call and participate. The numbers will support all of us:
- in dialogue with decision makers
- to raise profile of the traditional arts within the media
- to show the capacity of our community to unite all this energy in a coordinated way”
A key component of the European Folk Day project is the website that brings together all the events that any interested party will organize in relation to the concept. The map and the database with filters and search functionality are already available and ready, here. Visit the website to learn more.
The European Folk Day (on & around 23 September 2023) is by you for you, by us, for us, for everyone…
The European Folk Day is a pilot project co-ordinated by European Folk Network (EFN) with financial support from the MusicAIRE project jointly organised by the European Music Council and Inova with funds from the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission.
OPEN CALLS AND PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
If you have anything to share in this section in a future edition, let me know.
- Babel Music XP. Marseille. DEADLINE, 17TH JULY. The dates for the second Babel Music XP are 28-30 March 2024. Check the terms and conditions, here. And apply here. Note that unless you are from near Marseille, you are going to have to make an investment if you have a showcase there. This year, in March, the first edition of this event took place, which in a way takes up the legacy of Babel Med. It took place at a particularly complicated time for an event with logistical needs related to travel, because it coincided with several days of strikes and demonstrations. In fact, we saw several containers burning in the city. Some professionals were unable to arrive or directly ruled out going because they foresaw that it would be very complicated to get to Marseille by public transport and there were also road closures. Even so, there were quite a few professionals, with a high proportion of French people. The second edition will take place in 2024. I hope that it will not coincide again with circumstances like those and also that international participation will increase.
For me it was a good opportunity to talk to some French professionals. One of them confirmed that there are French programmers who do not want to do business with foreign agents, so I am excluded from those programs if I do not find a French agent for my artists. I think it is a widespread feeling among Spanish colleagues and from other countries, that France is a particularly complicated market to enter. I have experienced this in conversations, but I only have anecdotal knowledge. That is one of the reasons why I am especially grateful for such an opportunity in France. On the other hand, I know that Spain is not easy either. The bureaucracy is very complicated, so much so that it is almost always worthwhile to have a local agent who can take care of the paperwork. I know that there are artists who play in Portugal and the rest of Europe and never in Spain. The truth is that all this, the barriers to entry and the difficulties of each country, is a topic worthy of further compared analysis, but right now that is beyond the scope of this newsletter.
Festival Au Fil des Voix. Paris. Deadline: 31 of August. “The shows are selected from artistic proposals related to recent discographic news (physical release of the album in France between February 2023 and January 2024).” Check the terms and conditions, here. Once a colleague told me that Au Fil des Voix was a cheaper way to organise a concert in Paris for your artist, compared to doing it yourself by renting a venue and handling promotion and production. I believe it. In fact, that’s how they explain it on the festival’s website. “‘Pool and share’ principle. When selected, a contribution of 1000 euros (excl. tax) will be asked to the label and the tour manager. They will also be asked to work in a synergistic way with the festival. This ‘pool and share’ principle allows the different members (labels, producers, and tour managers) to offer a Parisian event at a reduced cost under professional conditions (organization and promotion).” Well, it’s worth considering that nowadays many of the artists who might be interested in doing this don’t have a label as such, as they are self-produced or released by a small label that sometimes even provides editing as a service, paid for by the artist. So they won’t be making any kind of investment. And many times the agent and the manager are the same or the band itself makes their own booking and don’t have any manager.
I have already made a proposal. But this is an example of what I was talking about earlier with Dan Rosenberg. Participation in Au Fil des Voix requires the manager or agent or a combination of whoever to pay 1000 euros + taxes to the festival. The festival pays 250 euros to each participating musician (up to a maximum of 4 artists). International travel expenses are not covered. Travel expenses are covered for artists who are in France. One night of accommodation is provided. The festival offers promotion (6000 posters and 15000 flyers distributed throughout the city) and attendance by professionals (“8 tickets per evening to organizers and 7 tickets to journalists appointed by Simon Veyssière, our press officer, to bring extra exposure to the artists”).It is not my intention to criticize this model. In fact, as I mentioned, I have submitted a proposal this year and have done so in previous years as well. Each entity should develop its own model as it sees fit, and it is valid as long as what it offers and asks for is clear. And in this case, it is. I just don’t want to forget that there is a separate reality that is completely excluded from something like this.
Your Roots Are Showing. Ireland’s Folk Conference. 17-21 January 2024. Dundalk, Ireland. DEADLINE, 7 JULY. Open to not Irish artists too. “All non-Irish artists must be legally able to enter Ireland and are responsible for acquiring all necessary travel permits including visas when necessary.”
They don’t cover anything. The selected artists for showcase have to pay for their registration to the conference. The early bird price was 80 euros. It expired and right now the price is 95 (until 31st August). The last price will be 110 euros.
NEXT WEEK IN OSTRAVA… AND WHERE TO FIND ME AFTER
MAPAMUNDI MÚSICA, IN CHARGE OF THE SPANISH PARTICIPATION AS PARTNERING COUNTRY IN THE CZECH MUSIC CROSSROADS
Next week I will be traveling to Ostrava for the Czech Music Crossroads. It will be the third time I attend this event, and the first time I have my own artists participating. This year, Mapamundi Música is bringing Spain as the guest country, with three of our artists.
I have talked about Vigüela many times before. They will bring their uncompromising traditional music from the heart of Spain. Xabi Aburruzaga, on the other hand, will bring the trikitixa, the iconic diatonic accordion of Basque music, along with the Basque language, or as it is called in the language itself, Euskera. And Xurxo Fernandes from Galicia will bring the magic of the traditional voices and tambourine from his land, with a heterodox vision connected to North Africa and the Mediterranean in general.
It will be a busy season for me… I will share some of my plans, that may be interesting for you to discover festivals that don’t know yet or even to set a date if we happen to be at the same place.
AND AFTER OSTRAVA:
Hudaki Village Band will perform in Ibiza on day 1st of July. That same day, we have the first collaboration with the Portuguese trio Seiva.
But I can’t be there: I will return from Ostrava on the 2nd, the same day Ali Doğan Gönültaş will land in Spain for the first time. Click the picture to see the video. And the next day we will travel together to Valencia for the Polirítmia Festival.
There, Ali will conduct a three-day workshop for music teachers and perform a concert on the 5th. This will be his premiere in Spain and it will be amazing. He will play at the square of the city council of Valencia. He will return soon as he will perform at the SoNna Festival on the 15th, after coming back from the Rudolstadt Festival where he will perform on the 8th and 9th of July.
While Ali and his musicians are in Germany for the concert in Horizonte Festival I will be in Palma de Mallorca for the premiere of the outstanding Cypriot singer Yannis Dionysiou, who will perform at Cançons de la Mediterrània with a program based on the repertoire of Antonis Dalgas. This is our first collaboration and I am thrilled. I love old Rebetiko and I think Yiannis is a highly remarkable continuation of that.
You might think I have a special fixation on gentlemen with mustaches. Well, maybe. This man is the first one I saw when I came out of my mother’s womb. It may give you an explanation.
At the beginning of August I will also go to Urkult Festival with Ali (he will come back to Spain in Autumn but I can’t announce the details yet) and the rest of August I will not travel outside Spain, not even in September.
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