"... when things go 'click'"

Many Ameri is one of the co-founders of the Red Bull Music Academy. Since 1998 he’s been making sure that speakers have electricity, lecturers something to say – and that participants have an unforgettable experience. In an interview Many provided a behind-the-scenes look at this unique music event.

What was the vision at the beginning of the first Red Bull Music Academy?

Red Bull had wanted to do something for the club and music scene for a long time – to give something back. With the Academy a source of inspiration for musicians was to be created; a platform where people from different musical backgrounds and sub-genres could intermingle, where their ‘night culture’ could be reflected by day. So we got together with music journalists and collected ideas ...

... which were subjected to a tedious trial-and-error process?

On the contrary, the most important corner stones haven’t changed since Berlin 1998: First of all, the participants were supposed to get a good understanding for music and different types of music. So then we introduced the workshops – as lecturers we brought in people who co-founded the respective genres, or those who decisively played a role in it. Additionally the participants were supposed to learn from each other. And so the mutual studio sessions were added. The two-week time frame and the 30-member groups were also fixed from the beginning on.

A little different to the development from regional event to multicultural institution. How did internationalization affect the Academy?

In an unbelievably enriching way. In the first year we only had participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In the second, they came from seven different countries. And for Toronto there were applications from as many as 82 countries; then on location, 32 nationalities were represented. And each year we choose a completely new team: of the 70 employees of the Academy, 50 jobs are given locally.

And do the respective host cities have an influence on the vibes of the Academy?

Yes, that was recently well observed in Toronto: Close to half of the inhabitants there weren’t born in Canada. They respect each other, learn from one another, and exchange amongst themselves, but never lose their own identity – the Academy was a kind of microcosm of the city surrounding it.

“The Red Bull Music Academy isn’t a party for kids, isn’t a contest or a community college,” you said once in an interview. What is it then?

The thing with the kids’ party I don’t find so far off any more. The Academy is a protected zone, where you can simply try out anything you want. You’re constantly encouraged to do things that you’d never dare do in normal musical surroundings. It’s not a degree you get, but a life-changing experience. For me the best thing is when I get to experience that moment when things go ‘click.’ It can happen to a 19-year-old Dubstep producer at an 80-year-old jazz legend’s workshop – because their mutual feelings for music are simply brought to a T. This type of moment can also happen at an Academy concert, or at seven in the morning, when two participants have spent the whole night long gas bagging about music in a club ...

What was the most unforgettable moment for you at the RBMA in Toronto?

One evening I went to the lecture hall where Russel Elevado, the amazing sound engineer of D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’ album, was playing unpublished material. In the darkened room I saw the bobbing heads of 16 people – a total mixture of participants and music greats. All of them were silently staring at the vibrating bass membrane, and when each song ended, they hooted, clapped and danced. That’s just one of the moments that happen daily at the Academy.

In the first few years the Academy was an event that was consciously held with the exclusion of the public. But in Toronto there was a public Festival Center; people also had the possibility of participating via RBMA Radio and the podcasts on the website. What led to this change?

That’s not quite right. The Academy itself is supposed to stay within intimate surroundings, an ego-free zone, where you can open yourself without being afraid. But ever since the first year, we’ve been very concerned with making the output of the Academy outwardly visible and accessible. The easiest entry to the RBMA world is now the Red Bull Music Academy Radio, which we’ve complemented with recommendations on the website so that everyone’s taste can be catered to. In the meantime, there are over 500 shows on-demand and 400 workshop videos.

What can you disclose about Red Bull Music Academy 2008?