Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona

From October 12th to 24th, the second session of the special competition dedicated to the anniversary of Red Bull Music Academy is taking place in Barcelona (the first seminar was held from September 21st to October 3rd). The Red Bull Music Academy was created ten years ago as a platform for both emerging talented musicians and established artists who have already made a significant contribution to music history. Every year, the Academy opens the doors of its professional recording studios to new talents, providing the opportunity to participate in projects where they collaborate with award-winning sound engineers, five-time turntablist champions, and legendary jazz-funk musicians. Traveling worldwide with Knowledge and Sound, the Academy has already visited Melbourne, New York, Sao Paulo, and Cape Town. This year, out of thousands of applicants, 64 representatives from 36 countries have been selected to spend almost a month in Barcelona. During this time, participants will attend lectures by luminaries of the music industry, exchange fresh ideas and musical experiences, and perform at over 40 venues in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. The headquarters of the Academy during this period will be the renovated building of the former textile factory Fabra I Coats in the Sant Andreu district. Musicians will have access to eight studios, a rehearsal room, two hardware and recording studios, as well as a cozy terrace for relaxation. Due to their achievements in music creation and special concerts, the Academy currently sets stages at many of the world's most renowned festivals, such as Sonar in Barcelona or the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. The 44100Hz team is pleased to announce that among the Academy participants this year are Russian musicians: Dmitry Ustinov (Yapontsy, Taras3000), Moscow; Evgeny Fomin (Modul project), Krasnodar; Roman Tsepelev (Illuminated Faces), Kirov, and Evgeny Gavrilov (Dyad), Novosibirsk. Dima Yapontsy, in his short creative life, is responsible for the live electronic soul project Earl Grey Smokers, dozens of remixes for Russian indie bands, soundtracks for TV films, advertising, and fashion shows, a dance scene at the 'Afisha Picnic' festival for two years in a row, and a small club revolution sparked by his 'Idle Conversation' parties, named by Dazed and Confused magazine as the 'flagship of the Russian underground' this year. Another contestant, Genya Fomin, mixed his first records at the age of 12, which marked the beginning of his passion for electronic music. A few years later, together with friends Evgeny Shchukin aka Vega and Alexander Tochilkin, he created the Modul project, followed by a series of live idm performances in various clubs, releases of 'head music' on labels like Harthouse Mannheim, Pro-Tez, Fragment, No-Response, Phonocake, U-Cover, Doodley Records, Electrosound.ru, and a tour in Germany. Tracks from Roman Tsepelev's Illuminated Faces project have been likened by RBMA contest organizers to the music of acid dub pioneers like Gerald and Andy Weatherall. The musician has also performed at last year's 'Afisha Picnic', participated in the 'Howdoyoudo' festival at the Shanti club (Moscow), made remixes for Two Lone Swordsmen and Modul. In the fall of 2007, Illuminated Faces tracks were featured on Prague's Radio 1, and in the spring of 2008, they were included in the playlist of Thomas Fehlmann (The Orb) on his radio show. Among Roman's undeniable merits is his broad musical horizon: he eagerly experiments with broken rhythms, sentimental melodies, and atmospheric ambient landscapes. Finally, the last Academy participant from Russia, Evgeny Gavrilov, performs under the name Dyad, experimenting with musical styles such as electro, drum’n’bass, hip-hop, IDM, dubstep/breakstep, and others. At the same time, Evgeny is a member of another project that he organized three years ago with his brother - FPRF. The musician describes it as his vision of modern pop music. In a relatively short time since the formation of the FPRF project, the brothers have managed to perform at various electronic music parties, concerts, and festivals in Moscow (clubs 'Gorod', '16 Tons', 'Blow-Up') and in Siberian cities (Festival 'On' in Novosibirsk, 'IX Museum Night' in Krasnoyarsk). 44100Hz congratulates the talented musicians on their victory in the Red Bull Music Academy competition and looks forward to their new interesting projects!