The world has changed a lot in the last twenty years, and so has Austrian music. In this series, we’re checking in with artists chosen over the past two decades to take part in NASOM – The New Austrian Sound of Music – an initiative of the Austrian Foreign Ministry (BMEIA) to foster the international careers of young Austria-based musicians and groups. This time, we’ve asked an artist still in the middle of her two-year NASOM period: the unique singer-songwriter Alicia Edelweiss.
Alicia Edelweiss is an Austro-British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Vienna, known for her idiosyncratic lyrics and unique visual aesthetic. She’s come a long way from her origins as a teenage street musician hitchhiking across the Continent: these days she plays theaters and festivals throughout Europe and further abroad – as her answers to our questions reveal…
Alicia Edelweiss and NASOM
You’ve just passed the halfway point of your two years as a NASOM artist. How has it been so far?
Alicia Edelweiss: I’ve been able to play a number of international concerts with the help of the NASOM program – for example, in Albania, Hong Kong, Berlin, and Bratislava. This year we’re playing in Lithuania and Latvia, and there are definitely more coming up!
What were your highlights in the last year? Were there particular concerts or locations that stick in your memory?
Alicia Edelweiss: The time I spent in Berlin was definitely a highlight for me, because it was an event that was about collaborating with different artists from different parts of Europe. That was the most fun for me, because we were creating new art. The food in Albania was fantastic; Hong Kong was something of a culture shock, and Bratislava was a lovely excursion with a boat on the Danube river.
**Don’t forget! If you were born after 1990 and want to move your music out into the world, you can still apply to be a NASOM artist until March 24th! See our article for all the information. Hong Kong definitely sticks in my memory the most. All in all – including a few little disasters – it was a wonderful adventure.
Alicia Edelweiss will be performing on…
- March 21st @ Kultūras pils Ziemeļblāzma, Riga, Latvia
- March 22nd @ Austrian Library, Vilnius, Lithuania
For further dates, check out her homepage.
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