Red Bull Music Academy 2007: w00t
hey guys. this whole thing has basically left me speechless, which is why i had not posted this earlier. but i'll just blurt it out as best it comes.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
i got selected for the RBMA 2007 in toronto.
for those of you who don't know what it is,
www.redbullmusicacademy.com
Red Bull organizes an 'academy' each year. applications come from everywhere in the world, where you send a demo, at least 30 mins long, of music. can be a DJ set, productions, both, whatever floats your boat. can be any genre as well. you also fill out a 15 page questionnaire (really introspective, lots of really diverse questions) and send it in and cross your fingers.
2 groups of 30 people are selected and flown, all expenses paid to the location of the academy on the given year (this year being toronto) and basically spend all day mucking around in a studio, and getting lectured and instructed by real industry people (they've had guys like Adam Freeland, Alex Smoke, Bob Moog, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Cut Chemist, Mathew Jonson, Juan Atkins, Jeff Mills, Derrick May, The X-Ecutioners, and infinite amounts more in the past, check the Tutors section on the site).
by the end of the 2 weeks, hopefully, everyone has made a lot of friends, learned new things, and theres a CD made basically of the collaborations that took place.
i tried to apply last year, but i got at Red Bull HQ here one hour after they closed (they closed at noon on a saturday) and couldn't get my application in the group to be sent to Red Bull HQ in germany, leaving me out.
so i did it again this year, handed it in 1 day early to make sure. i was so nervous. no one from dominican republic has ever been selected. they announced the winners on July 6th. on July 5th, i speak to a friend of mine i had not seen in a good while. he's good friends with the guy that represents the academy over here. he tells me they had spoken, and informs me that 1 dominican was in fact chosen this year. however, no one knew who it was yet. Red Bull germany had just phones that there was 1 successful applicant. he said "it would be so cool if it was you man."
the next day i was getting ready to spin at a gig. burning some new tracks and whatnot. i had passed the entire day obsessing over it. i'd leave class at uni to go over to the nearby cyber cafe every half hour to check my e-mail. nothing.
so i'm burning some stuff, and i pass by the gmail window i ALWAYS have open. hrm. why not check it. bam, i got an e-mail from Red Bull. everyone gets mailed, whether they're in or not, so i don't get my hopes up. the subject says "Ready for some Canadian raising, buddy??!!". i think to myself that it's a pretty bastard subject to write if you in fact did not get in.
i open. 2 paragraphs of formalities. then... BAM 
| quote: | | That's why we are extremely honoured to invite you to join Term Two of the Academy in Toronto, October 14 - October 26, 2007. We appreciate your sincerity and candour in filling out your application, so please do trust that you were selected due to the fact that you're… well, YOU. |
i jumped and screamed like a schoolgirl at a boyband concert for a good 15 minutes. this is definitely one of the most awesome things that has ever happened to me, and makes up for a lot of shit luck i've been having as of late. i can imagine how much fun i will be having over there. i still can't believe it. 
i've been chatting and messaging some of the people i will be attending with and they are seriously incredibly talented. styles are all over the place. we've got hip-hop, house, soul, R&B, IDM, breaks, jazz, a bunch of stuff. really cool guys as i've been able to see so far.
i just wanted to share the news. check out the site, and apply next year guys! 
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check out my guest mix for OndaSonora Podcast (aug.2009)
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