Waves Magazine #01

#01

TICKETS & INFO: WWW.WAVESVIENNA.COM

04.10.–07.10. music EXport

Tatjana Domany of the Austrian Music Fund and Franz Hergovich of Mica on their plans for the new initiative Austrian Music Export.

poland & FrancE

Facts and figures – everything you need to know about the music markets of this year’s Waves Vienna guest countries.

wavEsnEt

The network behind Waves Vienna links Eastern and Western European countries – online and by initiating joint events and projects.

agentur

medien

digital sozial klassisch

super-fi.eu

thegap.at

biorama.eu

wavesvienna.com

socialmediaranking.at

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Austrian Music Export An interview with Tatjana Domany of the Austrian Music Fund and Franz Hergovich of Mica.

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“Vienna My Love“ / “Vienne Mon Amour” We look back at the networking and showcase events in Warsaw and Paris.

Editorial

From festival to network. Music market exchange in Central Europe enters the next phase.

When Waves Vienna took place for the first time last year, not all things worked out perfectly. But the reactions confirmed our assumption that there is potential for a showcase festival along with a conference in Vienna – of course also because of the flourishing local pop scene. Especially the idea to foster the exchange between Eastern and Western European music markets has been met with great encouragement internationally.

Waves Vienna 2012 will further pursue this approach by means of two guest countries – Poland and France. The two nations will appear in the festival as well as in the conference programme with great regularity.

But that’s not all: Waves Vienna is more than just an event. The participation in the initiative Austrian Music Export, cooperation with international festivals, and the consequent presence at the most important networking events have spread the idea all over Europe (and beyond).

And for example led a couple of local acts to showcases in Warsaw and Paris.

It is only consequent that the vivid exchange now gets an organisational framework in the form of Wavesnet. Its goal is to establish a strong network of partners in the Central European area from which all participants will profit. This magazine also is an important part of this endeavour – it is a tool aimed at documenting and communicating the activities of Wavesnet and hence also of Waves Vienna.

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Music in Poland Revenues, quota, festivals. A short description of the Polish music market.

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Polish Festivals Three festivals you need to consider for your gighopping and music export endeavours.

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Music in France Changes, quota, digital hopes, and festivals. The French music market in a short overview.

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French Festivals Three festivals you need to consider for your gighopping and music export endeavours.

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Showcasing Talents We portray the bands that played at the networ­ king events in Warsaw and Paris.

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Wavesnet Building on Waves Vienna, a music business network for Central Europe is in the making.

MASTHEAD IMPRESSUM — Publisher Herausgeber Thomas Heher chief editor cHEFREDAKTEUR Manuel Fronhofer editors redaktion Jana Lapper, Rainer Krispel, Stefan Niederwieser, Johanna Stögmüller, Jonas Vogt translation Übersetzung Isabella Reichl Layout Layout Manuel Fronhofer, Sig Ganhoer, Maria Hammer publishing house Medieninhaber / Verlag Monopol Medien GmbH CEO Geschäftsleitung Martin Mühl ADdress Adresse Favoritenstraße 4–6/III, 1040 Vienna, Austria E-Mail E-Mail info@ wavesvienna.com Web Web www.wavesvienna.com PRINT Druck print group Styria Place of publication Erscheinungsort Vienna, Austria Publisher’s Post Office Verlagspostamt 1040 Vienna.

Any views expressed by named authors are solely the responsibility of those authors. Printing errors and mis­ takes reserved. Namentlich gekennzeichnete Beiträge spiegeln nicht unbedingt die Meinung des Medienin­habers wider. Druckfehler und Irrtümer vorbehalten.

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Waves Vienna’s venues Music clubs, theatre stages, and off-spaces – this is where Waves Vienna will be happening.

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Austrian Music Box A track-by-track rundown of the promotional CD compiled by Waves Vienna.

Supported by

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creating opportunities

Tatjana Domany of the Austrian Music Fund and Franz Hergovich of Mica – Music Information Center Austria talk about the initiative Austrian Music Export and the presence and chances of local music at European music fairs and events.

“

Austrian Music Export has just hosted events at the Warsaw Music Week and in Paris. How does the initiative work?

Franz Hergovich: Austrian Music Export is a joint initiative of Mica and the Austrian Music Fund, but we also work closely with the organisers of Austrian collective stands at music fairs.

Tatjana Domany: As well as with the cultural and commercial sections of the respective Austrian embassies and with Advantage Austria.

How did you approach the events in Poland and France?

Franz Hergovich: Our aim is to get the right people to these events. So we did some research and provided information about the Polish and French music markets. At the events, a networking session took place where the Austrian and the local participants could get to know one another. Only after that, the bands presented their music.

Which Austrian representatives were taking part?

Tatjana Domany: Apart from the bands and their labels and booking agencies, Arcadia Agency, Ink Music / Swimming Pool, Radio FM4, Teamrider United, Session Work Records, Frequent Music, Fritspecial, Siluh Records and Waves Vienna were present in Warsaw and Paris.

Franz Hergovich: We are looking at this as a long-term project, we want to establish longterm relations. Spot on Denmark is a good role model for this; on the one hand, there is a festival in Denmark and, on the other hand, events of the same name are hosted in a number of European

“

We are looking at this as a long-term project, we want to establish long-term relations. Spot on Denmark is a good role model for this.”

There is no need for Austrian bands but for good bands.

The purpose of our job is that good Austrian bands find partners at these events.”

FRANZ HERGOVICH

TATJANA DOMANY

Mica – Music Information Center Austria

Austrian Music Fund

countries. In Vienna, Spot on Denmark now takes place at Wuk. Denmark is a good reference: Austria has been and still is being flooded with AngloAmerican bands, but there is hardly any exchange within Continental Europe.

Does Austrian Music Export choose the bands which perform at such occasions?

Franz Hergovich: We don’t send bands, but we draw up a shortlist of bands from a list of submissions which we assume to be good and of which we also know that they get support out of their own structures. They have a label, they have a management, a booker; they are ready to commit themselves, to go there and take care that something is happening. It is important to understand that the bands are not selected by us but by the local partners who know a lot better what works in their respective countries. But of course you have to integrate a filter, you cannot send a list of 50,000 bands and say: “we are absolutely objective and they are all good”.

Tatjana Domany: There was indeed an interest in individual Austrian bands in Warsaw, although one has to say: there is no need for Austrian bands but for good bands. The purpose of our job is that good Austrian bands find partners at these events.

Is Austrian Music Export generally respon­ sible for pop music in the wider sense?

Tatjana Domany: As representatives of Mica and the Austrian Music Fund, we are both responsible for a very broad spectrum except for Schlager and classical music.

Franz Hergovich: We are also very active with regard to the genre of new music. There is for instance a project called “New music, new audiences”, where pieces of music are exchanged and interpreted by different ensembles in different countries.

It works differently and we have different partners in this genre.

Tatjana Domany: Some trade fairs are too big for indie labels so Austrian Music Export is also about creating opportunities which have not existed before for smaller labels from all kinds of genres.

In what way does Austrian Music Export cooperate with Waves Vienna?

Franz Hergovich: Waves Vienna is an important partner for us, because we are often faced with the problem that all these export offices present at fairs and festivals have something to sell but little to offer. It is okay to present oneself as the specialist of one’s country and to provide contacts, but it is more interesting to make concrete offers, as in the case of Waves Vienna: we have a conference, you can present yourself as a guest country, and we can offer gigs.

Tatjana Domany: Our cooperation with Waves Vienna also leads to synergies as we are able to approach the guest countries of the festival prior to the event. We can get to know people from these countries and present and promote Waves Vienna as a sideline.

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Pop and Pierogi

At the end of May 2012, Warsaw – obviously poshed-up for the European Football Championship – is a beautiful place to visit: sun, Pierogi, and lots of music. During one day of the Warsaw Music Week, the Austrian music scene provided the soundtrack for a networking and showcase event which was co-organised by the Austrian Music Export, the Austrian Cultural Forum Warsaw, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and Waves Vienna.

At the club Powiększenie – located at a lovely backyard in the city centre – “Vienna My Love” provided an opportunity for Polish music and media people to get to know the Austrian music scene, as well as to network with bands, labels, and other professionals. After the matchmaking sessions in the afternoon, Luise Pop, M185, and Elektro Guzzi went on stage in the evening and forged a musical bridge from lo-fi pop to handmade instrumental techno.

PHOTOS Franz Hergovich, Bartosz Bajerski

In the course of the Warsaw Music Week, artists as well as industry and media representatives from Poland and Austria met under the motto “Vienna My Love”.

Networking

Luise Pop

M185

Elektro Guzzi

Networking

Clara Luzia

B. Fleischmann

Ginga

Love is in the Air

Numerous representatives of the Austrian music scene gathered in the city on the river Seine in mid-June. In cooperation with the Austrian Music Export, Advantage Austria, and the Austrian Cultural Forum, Waves Vienna hosted an afternoon networking session at the Cultural Forum.

The initial get-together of label people, organisers, musicians, and journalists from both countries was followed by a showcase of Austrian acts at the club Fleche d’or.

The opening act, a Monsterheart DJ-set, made the attendees dance before Clara Luzia, who also promoted the release of her album in France in the course of the event, went on stage. Ginga as well as B. Fleischmann, who will present his new album at Waves Vienna in autumn, subsequently set the house on fire and hence rounded off a busy and successful day under the banner of cultural networking.

PHOTOS Franz Hergovich

The networking and showcase event “Vienne Mon Amour” in Paris completed the tour through the two Waves Vienna guest countries 2012, Poland and France.

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music in poland Revenues, quota, festivals.

A short description of the Polish music market.

RECORD SALES Concerning sales of recorded sound carriers, Poland was ranked 24th in the global ranking of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in 2008. As for digital sales, Poland only managed to rank 36th.

ECONOMIC UPHEAVAL Due to the opening of markets, the 1990s resulted in a complete reorientation of the economic foundations of musical events. With the help of private sponsors, many new small event organisers entered the market, which resulted in a paradoxical situation: less available money correlated with an increasing number of concerts and festivals.

ABUNDANT FESTIVAL SCENE The abundance of different events that are offered throughout the year in Poland is nearly endless: from children’s dance to the usual mainstream events, contemporary music (e.g. Musica Polonica Nova) and jazz as well as military music – virtually every possible niche is covered. This range of events constitutes the Polish market of today, from which Austrian musicians benefit – not least due to numerous exchange programmes, in part initiated by the Polish Cultural Institute in Vienna. An example of this was and is the event series Polish Jazz in Vienna’s jazz club Porgy & Bess.

PROMISING MARKET Similar to the development of the world market, the Polish music market has also declined since 2000. After a decline in sales of 44.5 % in 2002, record sales in 2003 were 12.3 % less than in the previous year.

The turnover of 2003 compared to the previous year again decreased by 3.5 %, after having lost 27.5 % in 2002. The share of national production in the first half of the noughties amounted to about a third of total sales. From the mid-nough-

ties, however, a trend can be observed: In 2009, the Polish market grew by a whopping 17.2 % – and this in a period in which sales in the music country UK went down by a staggering 23.9 % and by 9.7 % in France.

DOMINANCE OF THE MAJORS The Polish market is dominated by the four major labels, which together control 75 % of the market. The competition consists of several hundred local record labels with limited budgets and small catalogues.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ONLINE MARKET In recent years, the online marketplace has become increasingly important. However, compared to Western European markets, the growth in legal download business is not that high. Reasons for this may lie in the strong fragmentation of the market, the comparatively low broadband supply and the high proportion of piracy.

BLACK MARKET According to estimates by the Polish Music Association, more than 40 % of the overall market is accounted for by the black market in 2002 and 2003. In addition to piracy, many original CDs were sold from abroad to avoid a luxury tax of 22 %. However, the figures are in decline.

THE RADIO MARKET The radio is still the primary music information medium in Poland. About 220 public and private radio stations form the Polish radio market.

The Polish Radio AG (Polski SA Radio) runs 22 channels at national and international level. The private sector consists of commercial and noncommercial providers with three existing nationwide programmes.

THE RADIO QUOTA The music quota for radio was introduced several years ago. Ever since, the music quota per-

tains 33 % of music in Polish language. This rate also applies to music TV channels. In practice, the quota amounts to 30 %. Unlike in France, in Poland there is no rule that would specify how this quota is to be met. Therefore music in Polish – especially on commercial channels – is mostly played at night. According to experts, the quota so far has had little to no impact on the Polish music market. Polish Music therefore still only amounts to about 30 % to 40 % of the charts and annual financial turnover on the Polish music market. In Poland, as in other European countries, the share of music in so-called music channels has decreased.

MUSIC PROMOTION There is currently no professional state cultural funding for the Polish entertainment music.

The annual means for the promotion of national culture of about 20 million EUR is primarily used for philharmonic orchestras and choirs. However, in Poland there are a variety of pop and mainstream festivals, which almost exclusively focus on Polish groups such as the Festival of Polish Song in Opole. In the case of various festivals, radio stations also take on an important role. The first programme of the Polish Radio AG even organised a concert tour of Polish musicians.

MUSIC FAIRS Since 2010, there is the Warsaw Music Week; in 2011 the Co jest Grane – Europejskie Targi Muzyczne was held in Warsaw for the first time. This event serves as a platform for communication and collaboration and tries to meet the growing international interest in the abundant and vast music scene.

An extended version of this article can be found on www.musicaustria.at.

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polish FEstivals

Three festivals in Poland you need to consider for your gig-hopping and music export endeavours.

It is not by accident that Poland’s festival scene is becoming increasingly respected in Europe. One is making an effort to put together a diverse programme while not coming across as over the top at the same time. The six-yearold Off Festival stands in this tradition. About 30,000 visitors will once again be celebrating in Katowice this year and, for three days, will turn the city into a hotspot for alternative music.

Quite often its organisers bring bands to Poland for the first time and thereby revitalise the local scene. With acts like Metronomy, Iggy and the Stooges, Jon Hopkins, Baxter Dury, and Mazzy

Star, the line-up is again multifaceted and has been put together with great deliberation.

Alongside the music stages, Off Festival also provides a platform for other artistic and cultural events by hosting exhibitions, workshops, and film screenings. In 2010, for instance, the festival was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s death. Despite this versatility, however, it is important to the organisers that the festival does not lose its cosiness and remains eco-friendly.

— Katowice, August 3rd to 5th 2012 — www.off-festival.pl

photo Tauron Nowa Muzyka

tauron nowa muzyka Nowa Muzyka, Polish for “new music”, is not just an empty phrase but the motto that defines the festival’s programme. Tauron Nowa Muzyka Festival takes place at the same site as Off Festival. It is part of the organisers’ concept that no two concerts are scheduled at the same time. The initial intention to show the Polish public what is going on in the international electronic music scene has turned into an event which is appreciated all over Europe.

From instrumental nu-jazz to dark minimal sounds; the festival has it all and focuses especially on new and aspiring acts. DJ Krush, Bonobo,

purpose of cultural exchange for the creatives.

Due to the accompanying concert programme, the European Music Fair is an event which has committed itself entirely to music and creativity.

The diverse acts which performed in Warsaw in 2011 also prove that point. The European Music Fair hence offers not only entertainment to music fans but also an incentive for creativity and development to people working in the business.

— Warsaw, November 24th to 25th 2012 — www.europeanmusicfair.com

Flying Lotus, and Jamie Lidell have already performed and artists such as Beach House, Ghostpoet, Caribou, Four Tet, and Chilly Gonzales follow suit this year. The fact that the festival won the European Festival Award For Best Small European Festival in 2012 shows that its concept works out well.

— Katowice, August 23rd to 26th 2012 — www.festiwalnowamuzyka.pl

photo Francisek Mazur

EuropEan music Fair SXSW in Austin, The Great Escape in Brighton, or the Japan Music Week are a special kind of music events. They do not only present music on stage, but also provide an opportunity for face-to-face communication. The European Music Fair in Warsaw is the Polish counterpart of these events which now follows in the footsteps of its big brothers. It is a new type of event in Poland: apart from enjoying concerts, attendees can also meet and network with musicians and other people in the music industry.

Workshops for aspiring artists, lectures, musicrelated film screenings, and meetings serve the

photo Jacek Poremba

oFF FEstival

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music in FrancE Changes, quota, digital hopes, and festivals.

The French music market in a short overview.

MUSIC MARKET IN GENERAL The total turnover of the French music market in 2007 amounted to 1,252.1 million USD. After the U.S. and Britain, and still ahead of Germany, France was and is one of the largest markets worldwide. In 2011, it amounted to only 1,002.2 million USD, which means a decrease of 19.96 %.

In terms of revenues, this made France fall behind Germany, since the German market had a relatively “harmless” decrease of 7.38 % in the same period. Looking at the peak values in the years 2007 and 2008 (-15.5 % and -12.9 %), the sales decline has now settled at „only“ -5.1 %.

FRANCOPHONE MUSIC In 2003, 53 % of the entries in the longplay charts came from the francophone repertoire, 51.7 % of the singles from national production.

However, since 2001 the total number of released francophone singles are in sharp decline.

HOPE IN THE DIGITAL MARKET 2010 (IFPI figures) divided the total music market in France as follows: 74 % were physical recording media, 17 % digital downloads, and 9 % royalties. In 2011, the share of digital revenues amounted to 19.2 %, more than in Germany (15.3 %) but significantly less than in the U.S. (50.6 %) or the Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Norway (both around 44 %).

In the current year the digital music sales have increased, while the physical market continues to shrink. Overall, the French music market generated 121.8 million EUR in the first quarter of this year. That is 5 % less than in the same quarter last year. While physical sales have decreased by 9.3 % to 95.5 million EUR, the digital market has increased by 13.2 % to 26.3 million EUR. Downloads on the internet gained 7.8 % and generated 13.5 million EUR; the revenues from streaming services grew by 23.1 % to 3.1 million EUR. Subscription fees have generated 5.9 million EUR, which is 56.9 % more than in the same quarter of the previous year.

THE FUNDING SYSTEM The subsidy practice in France is very much centralised. 1 % of the national budget is invested in culture. 40 % therof is allocated centrally by the Ministry of Culture, the remaining 60 % by its regional offices. 25 % of the blank media levies have to be spent on support programmes which again reinvest in artists, production, and live pro-

motion, and, since 1993, in promotional exchange with foreign countries via the export office. The total volume of blank media levies amounted to 156 million EUR in 2006.

Venues and festivals are supported indirectly by the cities. The condition for the support is to include young local bands next to renowned artists in their schedules.

Music labels in business for more than three years receive 20 % tax abatement if they invest in new acts. France also offers social security for artists in non-working hours: if a certain commission amount is too low, artists receive a discount in social security and get a cancellation fee.

There is also a fund for the music industry at the Institut pour le Financement du Cinéma et des Industries Culturelles (IFCIC). Among other things, the Institute covers loan guarantees of up to 50 % of the allocated loan amount for firms of the cultural industry. Using a pre-fund for the music industry, the IFCIC also allocates loans of up to 150,000 EUR. THE MUSIC QUOTA One of the general funding opportunities in France is the radio quota. This is not a nationality quota, but a language quota and was introduced in 1994. Thus, radio stations are obligated to fill at least 60% of the broadcasting time with productions of European artists as well as 40% with productions of French artists. Half of these 40% has to consist of novelties that are defined as musicians by law and have not yet twice sold 100,000 CDs at a time. The intention of the music quota proposed by the French government is, among other things, to strengthen the local music industry. In fact, the number of albums and singles of French artists increased significantly since the introduction of the quota between 1994 and 2001. The discrimination of other speaking languages, especially those of various minorities is, of course, another matter.

EXPORT OFFICE The Bureauexport was established in 1993 for the export promotion. It is organised as a publicprivate partnership and employs 22 people in eight countries. Due to its many years of existence, the office has several distinct networks to foreign export markets. The work is divided in interministerial activities based on cultural-political educational and economical promotional objectives, as well as the promotion of interests of the

French music industry abroad. 50 % of the annual budget of 2.5 million EUR is financed by the state.

The other half is borne by the music industry, for example the collecting society SACEM and producer associations. Since 2005, classical music is also included in the export promotion.

MUSIC FAIRS Some of the most important European music fairs are held in France, including the Salon de la Musique, Music & You (Fair for Music and Sound) and the Music Industry Trade Show (MITS) – all hosted in Paris. Although constantly losing ground to the increasing numbers of showcase festivals in Europe, the MIDEM remains the music fair of reference for the record industry.

International professionals from all kinds of artistic backgrounds and professional families are welcomed every year to Cannes for four days of total immersion in the music industry.

LIVE SECTOR / FESTIVALS Since France has one of the most vivid live scenes in Europe, the festival business is big and covers almost every genre. Hundreds of festivals are organised in France each year. The most important major festivals include Rock en Seine (rock, pop) in Saint Cloud, Sonisphere in Amnéville (rock, pop), Les Eurockéennes in Belfort, Nuits Sonores in Lyon (pop, dance, electro), Hellfest in Clisson (metal), Garorock (alternative) in Marmande / Bordeaux, and Main Suare in Arras (rock, pop). In terms of jazz, the range of mainly small and micro festivals is quite impressive. The info site www. jazzfests.net lists over 70 (!) jazz festivals alone in France. This shows that no matter whether local, regional, national, or built around one specific artistic practice or multi-field events, festivals form a significant part of the French cultural landscape with dozens of interesting programmes.

On a side note, even though live shows have become an ever growing trend in France, it still remains very difficult for a foreign artist, new to the French public, to tour in France. Finding one gig in France may be relatively easy, but as soon as you wish to organise a tour, you will require a French tour agent.

An extended version of this article can be found on www.musicaustria.at.

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FrEnch FEstivals

Three festivals in France you need to consider for your gig-hopping and music export endeavours.

Nuits Sonores is a festival that sticks out from the usual festival circus. The “sonorous nights” are dedicated almost completely to electronic music and again and again bring together the most remarkable acts. James Murphy, Flying Lotus, Simian Mobile Disco, DJ Koze, and Ricardo Villalobos were part of 2012’s exceptional line-up.

With bands like Mudhoney and New Order, however, rock and new wave are featured as well.

Attracting about 80,000 visitors, the festival is one of the bigger ones of its kind in Europe. For four nights, the city Lyon in the south-east of France transforms into a melting pot for elec-

tronic music: from clubs and concert halls to locations such as a stage in front of the historical town hall – the entire city turns into one giant dance floor and becomes a mirror of contemporary music. In the course of the festival’s tenth anniversary, young artists paid tribute to the music legend Jean Michel Jarre by interpreting his album “Oxygène”. At this festival, pioneers meet newcomers, electronic meets rock, and the wellknown meets the new.

— Lyon, May 16th to 20th 2012 — www.nuits-sonores.com

photo Ben Lorph

mama Until recently, France has been somewhat lacking in meeting places for people working in the music business. MaMA in Paris, however, which will take place for the third time on October 25th and 26th, is a great opportunity to meet and network with producers, agents, bookers, managers, record labels, aspiring artists, and newcomers.

During the two-day get-together, organisers and participants create an atmosphere that encourages people to team up and to discuss developments in the music business. Here, attendees find a setting in which old hands give advice to newbies and both profit from it.

great atmosphere in recent years – the showcase festival focuses especially on new talents. Lesserknown bands and artists hence get the opportunity to perform alongside international stars.

Rencontres Trans Musicales provides a platform for originality and new artistic forms of expression from all over the world. Musical zeitgeist and pioneering sounds instead of the tried and trusted seems to be a concept that is being very well received.

— Rennes, December 6th to 8th 2012 — www.lestrans.com

The conference and workshop programme is rounded off by about 80 concerts, making MaMA not only an opportunity to give one’s career a nudge in the right direction but also a place where music fans get their money’s worth. With acts such as Charles Bradley, Mike Ladd, Syd Matters, and Woodkid, festival visitors can look forward to a quite diverse line-up. The only challenge remaining is to make good use of the 48 hours and the dense programme.

— Paris, October 25th to 26th 2012 — www.mama-event.com

photo Gwendal Le Flem

rEncontrEs trans musicalEs By the time the festival season is actually over, Rencontres Trans Musicales only just gets into gear in December. At the end of the year, the festival draws about 50,000 people to the Parc Expo in Rennes – and with good reason. The picturesque Breton capital – where you can amble along the banks of Ille and Vilaine when you want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the festival – probably contributes to that. But it is above all due to the carefully selected line-up that the visitors love to return every year.

Apart from established acts such as Fever Ray, the Beastie Boys, and M.I.A. – who guaranteed a

photo Nuit Sonores

nuits sonorEs

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showcasing talents

Six Austrian bands were selected to play at the networking events “Vienna My Love” in Warsaw and “Vienne Mon Amour” in Paris. Here is why they deserve your dearest affection.

PHOTO Morr Music

PHOTO Klaus Pichler

PHOTO Sarah Haas

Clara luzia

Elektro Guzzi

B. Fleischmann

Clara Luzia – aka Clara Humpel – is one of the most noticeable figures of the Austrian music scene. The singer is the spearhead of Vienna’s songwriting wonder. The Vienna-based musician knows how to impress – and not only with her songs, which had been attracting an ever growing live audience even before the debut “Railroad Tracks” (2006) was released.

She also finds the time to release other artists’ music on her label Asinella Records, for instance that of Mika Vember, Kommando Elefant, or the amazing Luise Pop. In addition, it is due in no small part to her that the question whether women even make music in this country is off the cards. Rather, people are now talking about the quality of female artists’ music and the aesthetic particularities in their thematic and formal approaches.

Clara Luzia actually has a feminist background, but she manages to transform those still relevant issues into universally valid lyrics. Her albums are often melancholic but never mopish or hopeless. You hear the music of a woman who has long since found her voice and who tries new things in a relaxed manner. At the same time, she is able to coax new aspects out of the familiar songwriting terrain. Clara Luzia’s songs are tailor-made for those moments in films when characters find themselves at a crossroads; they allow you to pause and think. And that is exactly what art is meant to do. Music like a lavishly arranged, instructive catharsis.

“You’ve never heard anything like it!” – When you read a sentence like this in a press release, it usually is the case that either the record in front of you is bog-standard stuff, or the author of the text clearly does not know any pre-2001 music.

As far as the Viennese acoustic-minimal-techno band Elektro Guzzi is concerned the statement – for a change – hits the nail right on the head.

There simply are no similar acts around.

Equipped with only a guitar, a bass, and a drum set, the trio fabricates the most organic techno.

They magically create real-time club sounds – and cause a fuzz internationally. The boys have already ticked off big names such as Berghain and Fabric or festivals like Sónar in Barcelona; in 2012, they will perform at Roskilde, Melt, and Sziget, amongst others.

The professionally trained musicians Bernhard Hammer, Jakob Schneidewind, and Bernhard Breuer formed Elektro Guzzi in 2004 in Vienna.

The basic idea was to perform minimal, Detroit, and dub techno live as a band. They have successfully maintained their raw but intense groove.

The tracks thrive on their creators’ eagerness to experiment and the density of the sound.

Elektro Guzzi offer dubby, heavily loop-based minimal techno. You will look in vain for cheap sensationalism and pushing hooks. Instead, the trio concentrates on expanding the sound spectrum and on scoring with clever dynamics and grooves. Numerous detailed sounds complement the tracks and merge into a harmonious whole of organic electronic music. Kraftwerk would probably call it Man-Machine.

He has been in the business for more than just a few days, the “chief melancholic of electronic music”, as the Viennese daily newspaper Der Standard once called him. And you can hear his experience in every one of B. Fleischmann’s quietly majestic tracks; in the instrumentation, the arrangement, and, last but not least, in the sound, which is perfect down to the smallest detail.

The productive feedback between Vienna and Berlin, between Bernhard Fleischmann and Thomas Morr (of Morr Music) started in 1999 with “Poploops for Breakfast”. Unlike many protagonists of the Austrian electronic glut of the 90s, Fleischmann never disappeared. His sound image, however, has continuously but carefully changed over the years. The harmonies are cosy and shattered at the same time. The orchestra resides inside the laptop, the notes still tumble out of the hard drive, you can hear the fingers turning the controls.

Still, Fleischmann’s tracks possess a distinctive physicality and spatiality. For instance, when a warm, cautious piano appears in the electronic fog. Moments like that provide an amount of irritation which prevents the elegiac music from getting boring. B. Fleischmann’s music is like a matutinal walk home: somewhere between happiness, melancholia, past, and awakening. The sound strides through the streets, bounces off the walls like an echo; at times like a slowed-down dub, at times like an intimate ballad. B. Fleisch­ mann leaves only few questions unanswered. For instance, how many albums he has actually released. Depending on how you count, it is something between four and seven.

— www.claraluzia.com

— www.elektroguzzi.net

— www.bfleischmann.com

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PHOTO Martin Stöbich

PHOTO Alexi Emanuel Pelekanos

PHOTO Monkey Music

Ginga

Luise Pop

M185

Ginga redefine indie rock from Vienna. Comparisons with bands such as Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene may be justified, but they neglect the fact that Ginga are much more than just another indie combo with a choir, strummed riffs, and violins. Musically, the band members have been trained in the indie sound of the 90s. But Ginga quickly understood how to employ pop – not in order to please, but to use the interesting sides of this aesthetics for their own purposes.

The band had to learn to control their abilities on the instruments, to refrain from using too many complex, at times improvised structures, and to discover that kind of simplicity which sometimes characterises good songs. The band repeatedly disrupts aesthetic parts with drum attacks and creaking guitars and has developed an autonomous musical language throughout the years. This shows in the driving drums which again and again remain danceable – and often leads to comparisons with the art school pop of Franz Ferdinand. But it also becomes aparant in song passages during which the partly still playful melodies and structures are allowed to shine.

The signature feature of the band – apart from the employment of violins, keyboards, and choirs – remains the vocals. Alex Konrad has one of those wonderful voices which appear masterfully artificial, but which never degenerate into an act.

Those who do not mind the complex sound aesthetics will eventually be rewarded with amazing and stylistically diverse pop songs which crystallise out of the tracks’ rough edges. You should continue to keep an eye on this band.

Vienna loves Berlin, and vice versa. The quartet Luise Pop accordingly split up their residences between the Austrian and the German capital.

But the spacial distance does not prevent the band from showing the world what contemporary musical protest can sound like.

The band has distanced itself somewhat from its “feminist terrorists” attitude of the early days (they have been making music since 2007, though in changing formations), although feminism is still omnipresent in their albums and concerts.

The prototypical Luise Pop song may not always be snotty – but they are all at least combative.

Music from the heart about big and small emergences. Be it into distant countries or into the fight against tedious gender norms. Luise Pop do not pretend that these norms do not exist, but they like to turn them upside-down.

The low-fi rumbling of the band is repeatedly interrupted by protest songs whose quiet anger one wants to scream out into the world. The urgency of the drums invites you to jump to your feet, the jagged guitars have hardly ever been strummed that vigorously, and the keyboard provides wavy knickknacks. The icons of the Riot Grrrl movement are constantly called to mind: Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. Luise Pop’s lyrics perfectly reflect the helplessness omnipresent in our times – “I was born and raised in desperate times”. There is nothing left to be added. Angry people of the world, unite!

At times, the support of one of the most successful youth radio stations in Europe can work wonders after all. Not only was M185’s second album “Let the Light In”, released in 2011, selected as an album of the week by FM4, the band also paid a visit to the station’s Soundpark Sessions.

They performed at the opening evening of the first Waves Vienna Festival as well.

And deservedly so: The Viennese group, who have been making music in their current line-up since 2009, have become one of the most interesting rock bands in the city and the country. How? By making use of concepts which are not necessarily brand-new, but which had sunk into obscurity quite some time ago.

In M185’s music, vibrant, repetitive rhythms and the halting sprechgesang of singer Wolfram Leitner develop an almost krautrockish pull.

Changes in tempo, dissonances, noise eruptions, but also the occasional psychedelic part add up to a homogeneous sound experience which works over the full length of an album and never gets boring. Speaking of length: the band takes its time; a M185 song can last up to eleven minutes.

Of course, all this is reminiscent of the musical heroes Sonic Youth, but the influence of Pavement, Les Savy Fav, and The Velvet Underground, too, shines through. And M185 transform all of this inspiration into forceful music, with loud guitars and a full sound. Occasional surprises such as saxophone parts and subtle electronic elements show that M185 are not just your regular rock band.

— www.thisisginga.com

— www.luisepop.com

— www.m185.org

12

thE nEtwork BEhind wavEs viEnna

Building on Waves Vienna, a network for the regional music business named Wavesnet will be established in the next few years.

The music festival and conference Waves Vienna considers itself a networking centre for the music business in Eastern and Western Europe.

Based on this event, a full-fledged structure for the Central European region will now be established which goes beyond the exchange of information, experience, and artists and also serves as a public presentation platform: Wavesnet.

Regular meetings of the participating partners and the development of joint projects are meant to foster cooperation. Moreover, a special online platform will be set up which – apart from being a common database – can also be used for organising events. In addition, information and news will be provided online as well as offline – for instance in the form of Waves Magazine. This, on the one hand, offers added value to the partners themselves and, on the other hand, can be used for the promotion of the partner countries’ respective music scenes.

WAVESNET SOFTWARE The software operating the online platform can also be used for the realisation of various kinds of events. From music to film or literature festivals

– any type of event which includes more than one location or production unit can be managed with this software.

Wavesnet offers a server-based solution which is easily accessible via internet browsers. Features will include the administration of contracts, production details such as venue capacities, and specifications concerning sound and light, but also publicly accessible contents like running orders, timetables, and information about the programme and the artists. The database can also be exported as printable PDF booklets by simply assigning layout templates. Connections to ticketing systems and mobile apps will be implemented in the following months. Wavesnet software licenses are available as a white label solution not only for Wavesnet partners but also for third parties.

We will provide information about further activities and the progress of Wavesnet as well as the software on our website, which will go online this summer, and in the next issue of Waves Magazine, to be released in autumn.

Wavesnet is supported by Departure – The Creative Agency of the City of Vienna.

13

whErE it’s at

Music clubs, theatre stages, and off-spaces – Waves Vienna’s venues form an important part of the city’s cultural life – not just during the festival.

FLEX Welcome to the institution of Viennese club culture! Since the 90s, the Flex is known for its sound system which is supposed to be the best in Europe. The Flex is hosting all kinds of different clubs with musical styles ranging from alternative to techno.

CLUBSCHIFF Since the DDS Johann Strauss was decommissioned, it serves as a party location. During Waves Vienna, the steamer will be hosted by the radio station FM4. It moreover accommodates the festival centre, the ticket office, and of course a stage.

MS SCHLÖGEN The cruise vessel of the DDSG will be transformed into an additional location during Waves Vienna. While bands are performing on the weather-proof main deck, you can relax and enjoy a few drinks on the sun deck.

BADESCHIFF The Badeschiff is docked at the Danube Canal.

The restaurant Holy Moly invites you to take some snacks on the main deck before, in the evenings, the concerts of Waves Vienna start in the cargo hold of the Badeschiff.

ODEON The main hall of Vienna’s corn exchange was destroyed by a fire during the last days of the war in 1945, but its structure survived. In that state, it was not usable for 42 years. While preserving the building stock protected as a historical monument the Serapions Ensemble adapted the hall as an event venue from their own resources, until June 1988, and named it Odeon.

PROJEKTRAUM VIKTOR BUCHER Not far from Schwedenplatz, the Projektraum Viktor Bucher is situated in spacious premises at the beginning of Praterstraße. During the Waves Vienna Festival, this location, which invites you to engage with visual arts, will be a unique off-location where artists and audience can meet on an equal footing in an inspiring setting.

CAFÉ DOGENHOF Venetian palazzo splendour and Viennese coffeehouse culture: the Café Dogenhof is truly an original amongst Vienna’s coffeehouses – just like the lady of the house, Ms. Eli. FLUC WANNE When talking about the progress of Vienna’s 2nd district, the Fluc just has to be mentioned. After having been located in an old canteen, a former pedestrian subway was transformed into the Fluc Wanne. Located near the amusement park Prater, the club helped to make the area more interesting for younger people.

FLUC CAFÉ During Waves Vienna, the little brother of Fluc Wanne will be used as a full-fledged venue and serve as a stage for bands until midnight.

PRATERSAUNA With the Pratersauna taking 2nd place in the category “Best Club 2010” of De:Bug’s readers poll, some people already predicted Vienna’s becoming the new Berlin. And without a doubt the former sauna in Vienna’s Prater has become the most significant location in town. The architectural heritage of the 60s has been remixed with a modern design and the best of electronic music.

HEINEKEN MUSIC TRAIN Ring ring, all aboard! A tramway of the Vienna Public Transport will be transformed into the Heineken Music Train during the festival. From Thursday to Saturday between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., the train will run around the Ringstraße.

RED BULL BRANDWAGEN Probably the most beautiful tour bus in the world – the Red Bull Brandwagen. To be precise, it is a brand-new Mercedes Vario 816 D. 7.1 m long, 3.3 m high, and 2,2 meters wide, it rolls around town, provides enough stowage place for a backline and merchandise, and turns into an open-air stage in next to no time.

FEstival summEr warm-up with thE rEd Bull BrandwagEn Whether newcomer bands at their school yards or international stars like Aloe Blacc – many have used the Red Bull Brandwagen as a stage. In the course of the Frequency warm-up tour, the German up-and-coming hip-hop star Cro is doing the honours. The tour stops are as follows: — August 13th, Innsbruck — August 14th, Linz — August 15th, Frequency Festival At the Frequency itself, the Red Bull Brandwagen will also be used as a side stage. The details: — August 16th, MXPX Allstars, The Static Age — August 17th, Gary, Killed by 9V Batteries, Half Past Whatever; Signing Session: Kraftklub — August 18th, Mika Vember, Vierkanttretlager

photos Niko Ostermann, Matthias Heschl / Red Bull Content Pool

Flex

Pratersauna

Red Bull Brandwagen

14

Track by track

The “Austrian Music Box” is meant to promote Austrian music all over Europe and beyond. The team of Waves Vienna curated the CD for the genres alternative and electronic.

It is not enough to copy international stars!

Pop music from Austria was most successful when it was independent. Falco had his very own Viennese style, Kruder & Dorfmeister as well as Tosca feature a distinct style of sampling and typical sleek elegance.

The younger artists understand this: Soap & Skin, Fennesz, or Elektro Guzzi prove that sophisticated music, which brings together My Bloody Valentine and Gustav Mahler, can find a global audience. The high quality of music education breeds musicians refining their arrangements with classical instruments. Indie bands such as Ginga and Clara Luzia introduce strings and brass into their songs. Even raw noise and literature can be found in current Austrian music: Ja, Panik and Kreisky reflect the present in eloquent lyrics that let Thomas Bernhard as well as Elfriede Jelinek shine through.

Electronic acts are at work in the clubs until the early morning hours. Makossa & Megablast and Parov Stelar became international stars transferring the typical “Sound Of Vienna” into today. Texta and Skero bring dialect and hip-hop together - with lots of humor and wit, everyday life is addressed in an original and colourful way.

Again, the motto is: It is not enough to copy international stars.

01. Giantree “Time Loops” This young Viennese quintet wraps self-doubts in optimistic melodies. Blissful melancholia peeks around the corner as a big indie pop promise.

07. Clara Luzia “Love in Times of War” Between mainstream and intended inaccessibility, the singersongwriter’s music also lets people and world embracing optimism shine through. Sometimes.

02. Elektro Guzzi “Pentagonia” They know how to astonish friends of electronic music – with guitar, bass, and drums. Elektro Guzzi’s techno-post-rock is by no means a local phenomenon any more.

08. Fennesz “Liminal” One of the most important music exports of the country although for a long time only experts knew his name. Fennesz’ music is electronic, complex, but still warm and full of details.

03. Kreisky “Scheiße, Schauspieler” Well-dressed but in a bad mood – Kreisky’s highly gifted troublemaker rock provides lots of itchy sentences and scratchy riffs. Anything but comfort sound.

04. Ja, Panik “Nevermind” Intriguing and surprising songs, sensuality, and intellect at the heart of the very best pop music. Ja, Panik seem to have internalised big heroes like Bob Dylan but also Falco.

09. Peterlicker “Always Right” This band, consisting of four industry old hands, is a highly concentrated drone and noise experience. Dark sound matter for discerning listeners.

10. Wolfram “Fireworks” With the backing of a strong international network – Hercules & Love Affair are featured on this track – Wolfram is Austria’s most important export regarding club culture.

05. Attwenger “Shakin My Brain” For more than 20 years, Hans Peter Falkner and Markus Binder have been mixing folk music, punk, rock ‘n’ roll, and electronic music. Coupled with associative lyrics between nonsense and pensiveness. Simply exceptional!

11. Der Nino aus Wien “Uhrwerk” Inspired by the Beatles as well as

by Austro Pop legend Wolfgang Ambros, Nino Mandl injects new life into the term “Liedermacher”, a regional and somewhat outdated variant of singer-songwriter.

06. Texta “Die Dramaturgie der Ereignisse” Grown-up, without any kind of clichés or ennui – with their lyrical cascades and beats, the Linzbased hip-hop crew has something substantial to contribute to the local pop repertoire.

12. Black Shampoo “Meth” The elemental power of this young trio’s sound is inspired by great rock ’n’ roll archetypes and develops immediate impact – on record as well as on stage. Sexy and thrilling!

13. Anbuley “Kemo’ Yoo Keke” The musician with roots in Ghana and producer Florian Richling develop tracks which merge African folklore and humming beats. The accompanying lyrics are in Anbuley’s second language Ga. 14. Makossa & Megablast “Soy Como Soy” The Viennese duo has by now perfected its sound cosmos consisting of driving afro beats, full bass lines, and thrilling vocals. Makossa & Mageblast hit the nail right on the head with their grooves.

15. Parov Stelar “Le Piaf” Despite everything that the Viennese coffee house sound has brought forth so far, there is still room for surprises. Soul, blues, jazz, and ragtime soulfully and humorously intertwined with beats.

16. M185 “Space Bum Rocket Kid” Exciting and passionate rock songs which refer to krautrock and Sonic Youth. Music with a knock-on effect and a tendency for the occasional surprise. M185 do lots of things the right way!

17. The Beth Edges “Other Side” Inspired by big indie heroes like The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Coldplay, these youngsters have developed their very own catchy sound.

18. Bunny Lake “Follow The Sun” A band with clubby electro-pop styling that has left decadence and tainted glamour behind. Profound topics, profound emotions, and a profound sound.

Der

AstrA GtC

Zu jung. Zu schön.

Zu intelligent.

Beneidenswertes Design, innovative Ideen, aber viel sparsamer: mit 1.6 ECOtEC®, 132 kW (180 Ps), 230 Nm Drehmoment.

Mehr Informationen bei Ihrem Opel Partner oder unter www.opel.at Verbrauch gesamt in l / 100 km: 4,5 –7,2; CO2-Emission in g / km: 119 –169

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20.06.12 13:24