Summary 👇
▫️Editorial
▫️Talk with Bernhard Frei, director of Folk Club Zurich
▫️My artists for 2026 & 18th birthday of Mapamundi Música
▫️Upbeat Impact Assessment
▫️Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects: Mundofonías Favis 2025, LIMúR, TWMC…
▫️Open calls and professional events: Circulart, Budapest Ritmo, Upbeat Artist Mentoring Programme, Fira Mediterrània de Manresa, Babel Music XP: accreditation and stand bookings, Sicily Music Conference
▫️Meet me at ✈️
Hello, how are you?
I am well. I chose this photo to open the newsletter because it captures a moment I love and that will stay in my memory as something precious, and because it reflects my year. I left the apartment where I was staying during Napoli World at around 3 a.m. on Sunday, November 30, to return to Spain and make it to Toledo, where Vigüela took part in a television gala of a talent-show-style competition in which the most beautiful Manchega sheep was selected. Said like this, it may sound a bit strange, but the aim of the programme was to promote native sheep breeds from Castilla-La Mancha.
I think Manchego cheese is quite well known outside Spain. Manchego cheese is not just any cured hard cheese from Spain: it must be made from the milk of Manchega sheep. The competition was quite technical. Vigüela performed a tonada followed by a fandango and some jotas. In the photo, Mari Nieto is ready to be made up. If you’d like to see their performances, you can find them here, at 55:20 and at 01:49:49. On this occasion, they invited two traditional musician friends from the village of La Estrella, in the province of Toledo: Paco and Fran.
I am writing this on December 25. The year has been intense, and I am mentally exhausted. I have spent a lot of time travelling, always for music-related reasons. My next trip will be to Kolkata with Vigüela, who will perform at the Sur Jahan festival and take part in workshops and collaborations with Bauls.
But before that, I wish you a good end of the year and a good start to the new one. I hope you have some good days, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Thank you for your attention. 🥂
I hope you find the reading interesting. If you enjoyed any part of this newsletter, feel free to share it with someone who might like it too. Thank you in advance.
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
TALK WITH BERNHARD FREI, DIRECTOR OF FOLK CLUB ZURICH
Last November I travelled to Zurich with Vigüela for their concert at Folk Club Zurich. The venue where the concerts take place is GZ Riesbach, a community centre that is part of the city’s network of Zürcher Gemeinschaftszentren (GZ). You can see the stage in this picture. I didn’t take many photos because I danced at several moments during the concert, but they should still give you a sense of the space.
Vigüela performed without amplification, as we realised that the band’s acoustic sound was sufficient. However, Folk Club Zurich does have sound equipment, and Bernhard places great importance on sound quality. The space holds around 120 people. In addition to the concert area, there is a simple bar in the entrance hall. Overall, I found Folk Club Zurich very welcoming, and we felt very comfortable there.
It is a pleasure to help give visibility to Folk Club Zurich and to the work of Bernhard and his collaborators. So, I took advantage of my travel there and Bernhard accepted to make the interview at that very moment. In the interview, we go through Bernhard’s background, as well as briefly touching on the history of folk clubs in Switzerland and the concept of folk music as understood at Folk Club Zurich. The portrait of Bernhard is from his Facebook profile.
Araceli Tzigane: So you are Bernhard Frei and you have been directing Folk Club Zurich for the last 10 years. Tell us how did all this begin?
Bernhard Frei: When I came to Folk Club, I was working in a student house where we also had concerts and Folk Club was renting the room for the concerts. And I was taking care of the house at that time. It was, I think, in 1984. So, long time ago. And I started doing sound every now and then for Folk Club. I did it for other bands all the time at that time. And then I became a little bit more involved in the ’90s. And then I was doing the sound always in all the concerts and started to do some of the program also.
And then, about 10 years ago the former president of Folk Club decided to quit and then I had to decide: do I continue or not. And then I decided, okay, I’m doing myself my way. I am doing it more or less alone, so I can decide and there are no discussions. We don’t have any meetings or so just like once a year or so we have a meeting. I don’t discuss the program, I do it.
AT: So you take the decisions on the program but you have also some volunteers helping you.
BF: Yes, but basically here for the concert. And there is a guy doing the bookkeeping. And another one helping me a lot with the sound and the technical equipment. And he’s doing the website and the graphics of the flyer and these things.
And then I have a lot of people who help at the bar, that changes all the time. There’s a whole crew of bar people.
AT: And it is a not-for-profit organization.
BF: Not for profit. No, we don’t earn any money actually. Yes, we got some money, extra money last year, but usually it’s like nothing.
AT: And you are called “Folk Club”. How do you define what is Folk? I ask you this because the term of folk is quite complicated and, in every country, has different meaning. What is F for you or for Switzerland or for Zurich?
BF: Yes. In the 70s when Folk Club was founded, in all over Switzerland there were folk clubs. And every city or every village had its folk club. There were like 40 folk clubs in all over Switzerland. And Zurich was just one of them. And then in Chur, in the East part of Switzerland, there is one still existing and the others died. So, it’s only Chur and us left from that time. And at that time, at the ‘70s, folk was Bob Dylan, Irish folk, American folk in general and, then, of course, a lot of South American music. In Chile, Pinochet took power and there were a lot of refugees. It was in 1973, and then all these bands like Quilapayún and Inti Illimani and so travelled all over Europe and that was part of it. And then, of course, some Italian bands or French music. And Swiss music was almost not involved and that came later. So now we have a lot of Swiss bands. We have the so-called “new Swiss folk music”. Nowadays, for some years, you can study folk music in Luzerne at the conservatory. In Finland they started in 1982, I think, with folk music and there is a big department at the conservatory where you can study folk music. And Sweden was, I think, even before. And now it’s also in Switzerland. It’s on a small scale.
But there were before already some bands that may started to do new things in Swiss folk music. So Swiss folk music also became an important part of our program.
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The interview continues under the video. From previous conversations with other professionals, I believe that the music groups mentioned by Bernhard, Quilapayún and Inti-Illimani, played a very important role in the cultural and musical scene, just as other groups and artists did in different fields. These two groups in particular were touring Europe when Pinochet’s coup d’état took place in September 1973. Inti-Illimani settled in Italy and did not return to Chile until 1988, when the ban on their entry into the country was lifted. The story of Quilapayún at that time is very similar, except that they settled in France during their exile. I find it interesting to talk about all this because I believe that, at that moment, these music groups helped to make the situation in their country known and to increase international solidarity, in addition to the importance they had within the artistic scene In this song by Quilapayún, “Vamos, mujer” (come on, woman), a man tells his woman not to hesitate and to gather their things, to carry the child, because they are leaving for the city of Iquique, where they will see the sea. Iquique is big and has many beautiful houses. They have a long journey ahead of them, crossing hills. He insists that she trust him, and it is understood that she is not entirely convinced, although her voice is not explicitly present in the song.
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AT: And your job was teacher of ethnomusicology.
BF: I studied ethnomusicology. After my studies I became assistant professor at the ethnomusicology department in Zurich and then they closed down the ethnomusicology department. So I lost my job and nowadays I work as a lifeguard in a swimming pool. Something a bit different. But that’s my profession actually.
AT: Why do you think they closed the ethnomusicology courses?
BF: It was some kind of intrigue between one ethnology professor and the two classical music professors. And they somehow realized if they close it down, they get one assistant for them both, you know. So they wanted to have one more assistant in their department, so they closed it down. And then in Bern they started to have ethnomusicology and that’s pretty close to us.
AT: Hm, what a pity… And what do you do? How many concerts do you organise in the year? What are you interested in for the Folk Club?
BF: We do 12 concerts a year. And at the moment I do it basically in the winter months, wintertime, because in Summer I am working at the swimming pool and but next year I’ll be retired and so I’ll probably do it also in the summer.
AT: So this is depending a lot on you and your own motivation and your own strength.
BF: Yeah, that’s true. Yes. If I stop, then Folk Club stops. That will not continue. I think.
AF: I think that happens with many of these kinds of initiatives, also festivals that the founder founded them in the 80s and, after, there’s no one taking care of that. When the founder just say I can’t continue and they stop. I hope you will have someone to take care of it when you don’t want to make it anymore.
BF: I don’t know. I mean, somebody will do something else. Maybe it’s not something that has to be taken for thousands of years.
AT: What drives you to make all this?
BF: I always liked… I started in the 80s. I also did the programming for another agency at that time, and I always liked doing it and I liked the contact with the musicians. I’m nowadays a little bit part of the music scene in Switzerland and I like that.
AT: But why folk music? Because you could have gone to rock or something else.
BF: Yeah, that’s just by accident, kind of. I mean, I studied ethnomusicology, that I like the music. I’m especially interested in this one little segment of folk music, but it’s hard to describe what segment it is, actually. I would say we often have this roots music, but what is roots music? We have many of our musicians are from a conservatorium. They have higher music education in folk music, or some come from the classical music. Some have made jazz school, or so…Not so much like Chur: they have a lot of singer songwriters who have therefore a cord of the guitar and not very much more. That’s not my interest. And also, we have the audience for that. I mean, sometimes I book some singer songwriters or so and then we have nobody. I think we have our audience and it’s a very small segment and within this segment we have usually a little audience, maybe small, but some always come. If we leave this, then, there’s nobody.
MY ARTISTS FOR 2026 & 18TH BIRTHDAY OF MAPAMUNDI MÚSICA
Next 27th of December it will be the 18th anniversary of the first concert booked by Mapamundi Música. It was the trio Cherno More, with the Sudanese musician Wafir Shaikheldin and the Bulgarian brothers Nasco and Ivo Hristov.
Allow me a few moments to update you on the artistic projects I work with for booking in all, or nearly all, territories. Contact me for details.
▫️Ali Doğan Gönültaş (Eastern Anatolia) – The enchanting voice born of Anatolia, resonating worldwide. Booking in Austria: Diverted Music ; Booking in Eastern Europe: Most Music Agency / Rok Kosir
▫️Vigüela (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) – Rural Spain, raw voices, timeless power
▫️Thanos Stavridis & Drom (Greece) – The accordion driving the Balkan spirit
▫️Xabi Aburruzaga (Basque Country) – Trikitixa unleashed: heritage in motion
▫️A Cantadeira (Portugal) – Her voice stands alone, unadorned and essential. Booking in Germany: LavioLa ; Booking in Portugal: Repasseado
UPBEAT IMPACT ASSESSMENT
In the previous edition of the newsletter I talked about the case study “The Impact of Showcase Festivals on the Development of Their Participants. WOMEX 2024”, by Zone Franche. I touched on some of the ideas raised by the study. Just now I have come across this Impact Assessment by Upbeat, the showcase festival network. I haven’t read it and I’m not going to do so now. I’m writing this on December 25, and in a little while I’ll be heading to my parents’ house for lunch. I’m not going to share any reflections on this document, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to let you know that it exists and that it is available here.
BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 
🔸#1 for Transglobal World Music Chart in December of 2025 is: Noura Mint Seymali’s Yenbett (Glitterbeat)
🔸Mundofonías: the favourites of December have been Muluken Mèllèssè’s Éthiopiques 31 (Buda Musique), Veronika Varga’s True picture (CPL-Music) and Mehrnam Rastegari’s Dislocated pulse (self-produced)
🔸Mundofonías’ Favis 2025.
Every year we make a list of what we liked most, with no fixed limit on the number of items. This year’s Favis are:
– Tatros Együttes – Pillanat – Tatros Együttes
– Guillaume Latil & Matheus Donato – Hémisphères – Matrisse Productions / L’Autre Distribution
– Murmurosi – Svitanok – Murmurosi
– Kaabi Kouyaté – Tribute to Kandia – Buda Musique
– Minyo Crusaders – Tour of Japan – Minyo Crusaders
– Muslim Shaggan – Asar – Honiunhoni
– Radio Tarifa – La Noche – Buda Musique
– Damily & Toliara Tsapiky Band – Fihisa – Damily
– Ozan Baysal – Tel ve ten – ARC Music
– Kraffft – Kraffft – Vlad Records
– Hawa & Kassé Mady Diabaté – Toumaro – One World
– Assafir – Traversées – Rakomelo
– Muluken Mèllèssè – Éthiopiques 31 – Buda Musique
– Thanos Stavridis & Drom – Fygame – Thanos Stavridis & Drom
– V.A. – Tsapiky! Modern music from southwest Madagascar – Sublime Frequencies
– Veronika Varga – True Picture – CPL-Music / CPL-Musicgroup
– Fanoos Ensemble – Echoes of Afghanistan – Fanoos Ensemble
– Mustafa Said & Asil Ensemble – Maqam pilgrims – Mapamundi Música
🔸LIMúR, the Iberian Roots Music Chart, has released the chart of the last quarter of the year. These is the top 5:
1. Casapalma · Jotas · Raso Estudio
2. Carminho · Eu vou morrer de amor ou resistir · Sony Music
3. Xabi Aburruzaga · Bask · DND
4. Radio Tarifa · La noche · Buda Musique
5. Nancy Vieira & Fred Martins · Esperança · Galileo Music CommunicationI didn’t vote for this chart because I am working with Xabi Aburruzaga for the bookings. Check the complete chart, here.
Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap
OPEN CALLS & PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
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 following calls are new in the newsletter:
🔸Circulart
It is a meeting for the Ibero-American music sector, which will take place in Medellín from 4 to 7 June 2026. I should note in advance that all the documentation and the website are only available in Spanish. I think this gives a clear idea of who the call is — and is not — aimed at. This is the website.
The call is open to artists, musical groups, booking agencies, management agencies, and record labels. The programme includes showcases, business meetings, conferences, and training activities. The application deadline is 12 February 2026 at 6:00 p.m. (Colombia time).
Artists interested in applying for live performances (showcases) should be aware that CirculArt will not cover fees, travel and accommodation expenses, or any other costs. The market organisation will provide the selected artists with a stage and appropriate technical equipment for their performance, under equal technical conditions for all participants.
🔸Budapest Ritmo
This call is open to “regional bands”: “V4 countries, Western-Balkan countries, Eastern Partnership countries, Baltics, Turkey and Hungary’s neighboring countries”. In other words:
– V4 countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary;
– Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia;
– Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine;
– Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania;
– Turkey;
– Hungary’s neighbouring countries: Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine
The application process is on the website.
🔸Upbeat Artist Mentoring Programme: call for artists
“In the Programme we pair up music industry experts having solid mentoring experiences with emerging artists from the world music field. The pairs will work together for up to 10 months developing personalized, in-depth career plans that support the artists to scale up their careers.
We are looking for emerging European talents who wish to grow their careers in the music industry.”
Application deadline for artists: 21 January 2026
Who is it for: “Emerging artists who are connected to the world/global music industry and are ready for international work” from “EU member state or one of the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine, Tunisia.” Also, artists from other countries, legal residents in any of the countris of the list.
More details and application form, here.
The following calls were already in the newsletter of November:
🔸Fira Mediterrània de Manresa
The call for proposals for the showcases is open until 22 January 2026 at 23:59. The 29th Fira Mediterrània will take place from 15 to 18 October 2026 in Manresa. Check the conditions and apply, here.
This is one of the events I attend almost always and every year I send proposals. I have talked about the Fira on many occasions before in this newsletter. It is a multidisciplinary event, including music, dance and “Memory, legacy and oral storytelling”.
This phrase is specially meaningful: “Fira Mediterrània works with what we like to call 360 degrees of roots, starting with the first level, intangible heritage; continuing through folk and traditional culture associations, which take that heritage and work to connect it with society; and ending with the professional sector, the artists whose creations are based on that tradition. At the Fira, we place particular importance on the interchange, interrelation and intersection of all of those elements.
What do they offer? “Fira, as a performing arts fair attended by sector professionals (1,234 registered delegates), will agree a financial contribution with companies and groups.” They also provide meals and accommodation for artists that reside outside Catalonia. All the details are very well explained on the website.
🔸Babel Music XP: accreditation and stand bookings for Babel Music XP 2026 are open
This is another of the events that I have attended since they revived from Babel Med. It will be in Marseille from 19th to 21st of March.
🔸 Sicily Music Conference 2026: Call for Artists
The call for proposals for the showcases is open here, until 31 January 2026. Artists to be announced in February 2026. This is the official page for the call. I will bring some infos here:
- It will take place in Palermo – Catania, from 13 to 16 of May 2026.
- It provides access to professionals, to the workshops and all the events of the conference, for the artists and their representatives.
- Practical needs covered:
- Transportation: transfer from airport or ferry terminal to/from the hotel/venue(s)
- Accommodation: twin rooms for show night(s)
- Catering on the show day(s) …Sicilian food and hospitality
- Support to reach out to export offices or similar organizations with official invitations to apply for funding
- Support to connect with additional venues in Italy – I highlight this because some other events like this —showcases— require artists to maintain exclusivity in the surrounding region for some time before and after. This Sicilian conference, however, aims to support artists in getting more gigs. I don’t know yet if they have any restrictions regarding performances in the area around Palermo, but it’s really nice that they’re thinking about facilitating contacts to help organize other concerts around the showcase trip.
MEET ME AT
- 22nd January-2nd February. With Vigüela in India for Sur Jahan festival and workshops and collaborations.