Following the successful edition of the Austrian World Music Awards in the past year, the important prize of the Austrian world music scene is ready for the next round: Musicians and bands from the field of world music are invited to submit their entries until August 31, 2015, via the website.
An international jury of experts will select six finalists from the pool of entries and present the award during the Austrian World Music Awards ceremony held at the Viennese venue Porgy & Bess on December 4, 2015. The award night includes a series of live concerts, where the audience can also vote for their favorite act to determine the winner of the prestigious Audience Award.
“We are very pleased that this year’s prize money has been significantly raised, and thus contributes to the support of the Austrian world music scene,” announces Katrin Pröll, representative of the World Music Austria Association, a platform for world music in Austria and responsible for the organization of the music award.
Last year, the first prize went to Madame Baheux, the outstanding Viennese Balkan quartet around violist and singer Jelena Popržan. With their mix of tastefully arranged folk songs from Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia and Vienna, Madame Baheux have been enthusing audiences at countless national and international festivals and concerts.
“Participating in the competition has been a really fun experience. At the award ceremony we were able to make many new contacts with event organizers and have been invited to several local and international festivals. We just played at the renowned World Music Festival Druga Godba in Ljubljana (Slovenia), in July we’ll perform at the Euro Radio Folk Festival in Krakow (Poland), and we have been invited to the Jazz Festival Saalfelden which takes place at the end of August,” says Jelena Popržan.
The same goes for the winners of the second prize, the Scottish folk quartet Black Market Tune, as well as the winners of the Audience Award, Edith Lettner & African Jazz Spirit, who used the momentum of the Austrian World Music Awards and were booked for various live performances.
“This is not least due to the fact that last year we were able to invite several international event organizers to the finale in Vienna,” explains Martina Laab, a further representative of the World Music Austria Association.
“This resulted in several bookings for the winning artists to perform in Germany, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic,” Katrin Pröll adds.
The purpose of the Austrian World Music Awards is not only to push the winners into the spotlight. The overall objective is to provide important recognition for musical brilliance and to attract notice to the quality and diversity of the Austrian world music scene. For this reason the World Music Austria Association has also compiled the promotional CD “Beyond Edelweiss – Best of Austrian World Music Awards”, which features the highest ranking acts of last year’s Austrian World Music Awards and displays the full range of the Austrian world music scene. This compilation will be distributed at international trade fairs such as WOMEX, Babel Med Music or the International Kleinkunstbörse Freiburg, and sent to relevant media representatives at home and abroad.
“This CD, which is by the way also available as an online version with lots of additional information on the artists, is a further contribution towards a sustainable perception of the Austrian world music scene,” says Martina Laab.
The Austrian World Music Awards first took place in 2004, and were created in order to give artists in the field of world music the recognition and publicity they deserve. Today, the Austrian World Music Awards are an integral and indispensable part of the Austrian music scene. This musical competition reveals the stylistic developments of the past decade, and gives many, predominantly young, musicians the opportunity and a wonderful platform to demonstrate their dedication and skills before a selected jury of experts and an avid audience. 2014 marks the first time the Awards were spearheaded by the World Music Austria Association.
Links
World Music Austria Association| www.worldmusicaustria.info
Photo: Austrian World Music Awards Press Photo (© Shaun Lombard)