Daily Times

LAHORE: For the first time in the history of Pakistani music, the Red Bull Music Academy, a global institution committed to fostering creativity in music, conducted an Info Session aimed at bringing the local music scene closer to the academy.

Hosted by the academy team member Nick Dwyer in the sprawling metropolis of Lahore, the Info Session kicked-off with Nick Dwyer sharing insights and forgotten tales from over a decade of being involved in Red Bull Music Academy’s worldwide activities. The Info Session took place in the heart of the nation Lahore at the famous Haveli Barood Khana. Local academy alumni Tollcrane and Noahs Heark along with the musicians who had flown in to Lahore from different parts of the country to attend the Info Session were indeed the highlight of the event. The invited musicians took this opportunity to understand the academy and its application stage better from Dwyer and the two Pakistanis who have had the great honour of representing Pakistan at the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy Session; Tollcrane Tokyo Session 2014 and Noahs Heark Paris Session 2015. “I am really excited to be here in Lahore for the inaugural session. The academy has grown tremendously in the last five years. We are having these sessions all around the world to help musicians understand how being associated with the academy can benefit them”, said Dwyer on hosting the first Red Bull Music Academy Info Session in Pakistan.

While mentioning about the local academy alumni, Dwyer said, “Over the course of last 10 years, there have been now four participants from Pakistan including SMAX, Tollcrane and Noahs Heark.” Showering heap of praises on Pakistani musicians, he said, “People are interested in knowing about the music scene in Pakistan. They rarely get an opportunity to mingle with musicians and artists from this part of the world and the ones who participated did very well. The world is not yet aware of this amazing underground electronic scene bubbling away here. The world should know that some very cool stuff is happening in Pakistan,” he said.

The session invited a pool of young talent hailing from different parts of the country. Each of these musicians was given the opportunity to introduce themselves and showcase their style of music to all those present. Dwyer was excited to share that good collaborations are expected between the musicians but most importantly the Info Session aims to lead these young artists to learn more about the Academy. “If you are in anyway involved in making music than you should apply for it and hopefully we will see another promising artist representing Pakistan at Montreal this year,” he said with a confident smile.

He also gave directions on how to apply for the process, “You will find all the relevant details on apply.redbullmusicacademy.com, which the participant has to fill out and submit along your music”, Dwyer explained. For the past 16 years there have been more than 1,000 musicians representing more than hundred countries and many of those who have experienced the Academy are now shaping the future of music around the globe.

“These unsung heroes make music with their heart and soul. This is one genre that has touched the hearts of global masses. The Academy has grown to be so much more than just a music academy. It brings people from all over the world with no religion or language bar. The experience reaches a spiritual level,” Heark said at the Info Session.

The Red Bull Music Academy Info Session ended with a promise to return with another exciting session in a different city of Pakistan. Also, with a hope to see a fifth Pakistani participant at this year’s Red Bull Music Academy Session in Montreal due to take place later this year.