Musical minds collaborate

Gareth Davis Sr, Gleaner Writer

San San, Portland:

Twenty of the region's emerging music talents converged at Geejam studios in Port Antonio, Portland, last Friday for an interesting musical experience, where they explored 'music beyond the beat'.

The musical workshop, which was hosted by Red Bull Music Academy, was anchored by some of the industry's most prolific achievers, including Mikey Bennett, head of Grafton Studios and songwriter mogul, and Sawandi Simon, a Red Bull Music Academy past student, who has a strong passion for music.

Talent drawn from the English-speaking Caribbean, mainly from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, participated in the inaugural Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp at the picturesque and pristine Geejam studio property, overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

Onstage performance

Listed among the other professionals were budding DJs, musicians, songwriters, producers, sound engineers, and bedroom MCs.

"Jamaica has loads of persons with different musical talent," said Bennett.

"However, there is a need for what is called the performing arts to be taught in schools. Record sales are now on the decline and, therefore, an artiste's performance onstage is paramount at this time. We have not geared ourselves to deal with this kind of paradigm shift, and I believe that in the next 10 years we will be giving away CDs as a way of promoting ourselves."

Bennett has written songs for several international artistes, including Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks, Cocoa Tea, Home T Four, Admiral Bailey, and Johnny Osbourne.

Simon, who is also a general-health practitioner, explained that his production in music differs from the traditional kind of reggae music and beat.

For Simon, who works for three days as a doctor and four as a musician, the Red Bull Academy is most useful.

"The experience brought about by the Red Bull Music Academy goes a far way in assisting professionals and amateurs in the exchange of musical talent," he said.

With just about seven months to go before the larger sitting of the Red Bull amateur competition, the Red Bull Music Academy is allowing new and upcoming musicians to collaborate with seasoned professionals.

Red Bull Bass Camps are held across the globe as a lead-up to the International Music Academy series, which gets a huge gathering of musical pioneers from virtually every country.

The 2011 Academy will be held in Tokyo, Japan, in November.