Connecting CEE & Austria
Panel Host: Tatjana Domany (OMF/AME/AT)
Speakers: Zebo Adam (Musician/AT), Hanka Vojtechova (Indies Production/CZ), Tibor Holoda (Wilsonic/SK) and Mateja Koren (Slovenian Music Wekk/SLO)
True to the motto “East Meets West”, the panel “Connecting CEE & Austria” on the 5th of October explored possibilities for better collaborations between the CEE countries and the Austrian music industry.
To understand why the communication between these respective countries is not so dazzling, you have to take a closer look at the history of the former “Eastern Block”. Mateja Koren (Slovenian Music Week/SLO) sees the crux at the time of the turn. At that time, there was a keen interest in music from the East, because it had something exotic. Over time, the “hype” faded and the bands had a difficult time to survive in their home country. In those times cooperations with neighboring countries seemed to be the most feasible.
There are many reasons for the fall of interest. Zebo Adam (Musician/AT) insists particularly on the fact that the – not only – Austrian media is simply ignorant of Eastern European music. They support the prejudice of the “Balkanization”, but the existence of sophisticated independent bands are not made public. According to Adam, the vicious circle begins here and despite Internet platforms and streaming sites, people continue to rely on someone to point out what is “good”. And there are only very few that inform themselves about music from CEE without having specific reasons, such as their own roots or by coincidence.
Another problem lies in the bands themselves. Hanka Vojtechova (Indies Production/CZ), says many musicians still have old borders in their heads, which do not allow them to see prospects for success outside the home country. According to Tibor Holoda (Wilsonic/SK), this misconception leads to the loss of hope and faith in their own abilities. The self-fulfilling prophecy, which results from this, can not be any clearer.
It is especially sad that some singing languages, such as English, French and some German, are accepted almost everywhere. Eastern languages however are still connected to stereotypes that have a “foreign” sound, and this can not be changed overnight.
The four experts agree that a lot has to be done by traditional media, since these are important opinion leaders. A lot of the problems also happen on a personal level and it is always difficult to shake off deep set prejudices. However there are steps being made in the right direction. The Waves Vienna Festival & Conference and the Slovenian Music Week are just two of several events that are giving the CEE region a voice. And the most beautiful statement of this panel brings it to the point: “There are no borders in music.”