The Academy was initiated in 1998 in Berlin and has taken place annually in subsequent years in Toronto, London, São Paulo, Seattle, Cape Town, Rome, London, Melbourne, New York, Madrid, Barcelona and Dublin. While the first few editions saw a greater emphasis on DJ culture, the program and recording facilities now accommodate all genres and aspects of the musical spectrum.
Prospective applicants to the Academy must prepare a demo CD of their work, be it original productions, songs or a DJ set, along with a completed questionnaire, and mail it to a Red Bull Music Academy office in Cologne, Germany. From there, each application is taken into consideration, with no quota on country or musical genre. From these applications, 60 are selected and broken down into two groups of 30.Each group of 30 is flown in to the location of the respective year’s event for one of two fortnightly “terms”. In 2012, the Academy received over 4000 applications to take part in the 2013 New York City edition.
For two weeks, the participants have the opportunity work in up to twelve studios specially designed for every edition of the Red Bull Music Academy. There, they have access to a range of the latest gear as well as analog equipment for music production and performance.There are no deadlines or set quotas, and Red Bull does not own the music produced in the building. These collaborative sessions are in part facilitated by the Academy’s “Studio Team”, all experienced music producers in various fields.Twice daily, participants attend lectures by guest speakers who range from composers, producers, sound engineers and technological pioneers, to rappers and industry professionals. Lecture attendance is the only compulsory part of the program.
The Red Bull Music Academy does not seek to select or create “stars”, instead bringing together music makers with a wide range of talents, skill levels and cultural backgrounds. Notable former participants include Aloe Blacc, Branko of Buraka Som Sistema, Bahrainian oud player Hasan Hujairi, Juan Son, Natalia Lafourcade, Nina Kraviz, David Eriksson of Teenage Engineering, Blackcoffee, Flying Lotus, Salva and Andreya Triana.
The Academy also publishes a yearly double-CD compilation of music produced at the respective last edition entitled ‘Various Assets – Not For Sale’. Since 2004, those compilations have featured original music from more than 300 artists, including Dorian Concept, Flying Lotus, Lusine, Theo Parrish, Aloe Blacc, Mark Pritchard, XXXchange, Om’Mas Keith of Sa-Ra,Illuminated faces, Tony Allen, Mr Hudson, Dennis Coffey, Hudson Mohawke, DJ Zinc, Wally Badarou, Benga, Phonte, Jake One, Steve Spacek of Spacek, and Natalia Lafourcade.
The Red Bull Music Academy hosts additional workshops and three-day Base Camp sessions in more than 60 countries every year. These events resemble the actual Academy in consisting of music lectures, hands-on production workshops, studio sessions, art exhibitions, and night time activities such as concerts and club events.There is a strong focus on local topics as well as an international perspective
FOLLOW RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY: OFFICIAL PAGE, SOUNDCLOUD
Here are RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY LECTURES – 2005- 2013
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – SEATLE 2005
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – MELBOURNE 2006
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – TORONTO 2007
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – BARCELONA 2008
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – LONDON 2010
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – MADRID 2011
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY – NEW YORK 2013