"Too ingenious to be true"

Hüseyin Evirgen and Oliver Jonhson aka Dorian Concept were two out of 60 participants at Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona. In an interview beat producer Dorian Concept and techno producer Hüseyin Evirgen both talk about their experiences, lecturers and important contacts.

If you had to summarize your experiences at Red Bull Music Academy in one or two sentences, how would they sound?

Dorian Concept: For me Red Bull Music Academy was a combination of a bootcamp and a musical playground – a very inspiring place. For two completely well organized weeks you have contact with 30 to 50 musicians, discover stories about each individual artist and are surrounded by music the whole day long.

Hüseyin Evirgen: For me it was the best experience I’ve ever had. We didn’t have to worry about anything; were able to concentrate on the music for 14 days, and to exchange experiences with other participants.

What expectations did you have before going to Barcelona?

Dorian: Red Bull Music Academy completely exceeded my expectations. I already had contact with many former participants before, but the stories were simply too ingenious to be true. After the two weeks in Barcelona it was hard to get back to the every day because you long for that good stuff. You’re given everything and then it’s all taken away.

Hüseyin Evirgen: I really didn’t have a lot of expectations before going there. I was actually more afraid that it was going to be a very commercial event. But after I saw the list of lecturers it was clear that it wasn’t commercially oriented at all, and that really only the best people were brought together there.

As an outsider we’re able to listen to Red Bull Music Academy Radio, podcasts of the lecturers or download the recordings made. But it’s not really possible to get a feeling for what happens behind the closed doors of Red Bull Music Academy. Can you describe a typical day for us?

Dorian: We had lectures at 1 pm and 4 pm daily, each lasting two hours respectively. Two-thirds of the time the lecturers were interviewed by the Couch Team; the rest of the time was used by us to ask questions. From 6 pm onwards we were able to use the ten studios and work on our music. With 30 people that wasn’t always easy, but working together demanded communication. At night, particularly in the first week, we went to a lot of parties; in the second week we were in the studio more often.

Hüseyin Evirgen: If you take part in Red Bull Music Academy you get everything but enough sleep. At 1 pm and 4 pm every day, after breakfast at 12, two lectures taking about two hours each were held. The evenings we spent either at parties or in the studios. Sometimes we were still out and about until eight in the morning, or worked for so long that we just slept in the studios.

What were the most important insights gleaned from Red Bull Music Academy?

Dorian: That established musicians and newcomers get along very well with each other. It was great that we were appreciated as musicians by the lecturers, and that there wasn’t this teacher-student hierarchy.

Hüseyin Evirgen: Because you’re dealing with musicians from the most varied genres you become open to different music styles. You see how much work each individual puts into their own work and you learn to respect them more.

Which lecturer impressed you the most?

Dorian: Tom Oberheim, who developed the synthesizer in the Seventies and Eighties. It was an honor for me to show him how I use synthesizers and what sort of music I make. He really liked what I did. For me that was a really unforgettable moment.

Hüseyin Evirgen: My personal highlight was meeting Christian Fennesz. He also comes from Austria, but it’s still hard to make contact with him. I did this in Barcelona and we’re still in touch now. He’s always been my role model. His approach to music and his style simply fascinate and touch me.

Alongside the artistic experience, interpersonal relationships must be particularly remarkable. Does this work in the Red Bull Music Academy day-to-day when so many different musicians from various countries and genres come together?

Dorian Concept: Really good friendships were already formed during the first few days. Mind you, I have to say that most of them came from my genre. We just had something in common from the beginning. But I still noticed that within our genre there are many variations. You can’t compare hip hop from France and Scotland, for example.

Hüseyin Evirgen: If you leave your ego out of the equation and show tolerance for other music styles, there are no problems at all. On the contrary. Within a short time, really good friendships developed. On our only free day we were out and about in Barcelona in small groups, and did a sightseeing tour of the museums.

What are you left with after two weeks of the academy – besides great memories?

Dorian: On the last night we ran around with our laptops exchanging addresses, email and telephone numbers. This is a great way of building up a good network that may be helpful in the future.

Hüseyin Evirgen: Directly after the Academy I had a bit of a low period and it took me almost a month to get back into the routine of things because I really missed the people involved in the academy. But with a bit of distance now, I can say that I made a lot of great friends and helpful contacts for the future.