Incubator is a British Council project that is bringing cutting-edge UK musical talent to Latin America and developing a network of music producers between both regions. The project is supporting creative collaborations which encourage a deeper understanding in the UK of the Latin American musical culture, and vice versa. Incubator activity to date has included live productions, professional exchanges, learning and outreach, academic events, and recordings.
Recent activity
The next stop for the touring group from Warp Records was Buenos Aires. The film All Tomorrow's Parties was screened in one of the coolest and most intimate movie theatres in the city and on the next day Tom Panton (from Warp) held a press conference. The artists from the label got the chance to interact with the Argentine audience in the Personal Fest music festival, where both Plaid and Bibio dazzled electronic music lovers.
One of the most respected labels in the world, Warp Records marked its 20th birthday this year. In celebration, Incubator brought a Warp showcase to Brazil, featuring the British music duo Plaid (Andy Turner and Ed Handle) and renowned producer Tim Exile. The showcase included performances and meetings with musicians and the public.
With support from Incubator, Friendly Fires played in Brazil for the first time at the Popload Gig 2 Festival (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo). The British quartet's sound takes in electro, modern pop and dance music, as well as influences from Brazilian samba and ‘technobrega’, and their debut album was recently nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. In conjunction with the gigs in Brazil, we arranged for Matt Thornhill, Director A&R from XL Recordings (the Friendly Fires' record label) to present to a group of music industry professionals, journalists and interested guests in São Paulo.
One of the leading exponents of dub, Mad Professor visited Bogotá to take part in studio sessions and workshops with Colombian musicians, and also performed at the Teatro Metro with Joe Ariwa. This part of the Incubator project seeks to unite cumbia (a popular Latin American music genre that has some similarity to Jamaican music) with dub through a creative exchange between Colombian musicians led by Front Cumbiero and Mad Professor. Mad Professor, who is widely recognized for his work with artists like Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Sly and Robbie, and Massive Attack, has previously taken part in a 'Powering Music' workshop for the Incubator project.
BBC Radio 1 presenter Huw Stephens and producer Clare Chadburn led a discussion on 'Making Music Radio' with local young professionals and students, and then run a practical workshop with emerging community leaders working in community radio, in how to create a music radio show.
For their first visit to South America, The Kooks performed live in Santiago (see photos top left © British Council) at the Teatro Caupolicán. This activity was supported by the Incubator project and was part of the UK Indie music strand.
Incubator has developed a number of broad strands of activity:
- a series of activities focusing on the experience and current context of the UK indie music scene. Based around tours by up-and-coming British indie artists and bands in Latin America, accompanied by independent label representatives to share their experiences with local music professionals.
- aimed at sharing experiences of established professionals and building the capacity of the music industry in Latin America. This includes advice on promotion, artist management, sound and lighting, use of technology, or event production.
- this strand is connecting the contemporary urban music genres from the UK with a range of urban sounds from Latin America.
- supporting capacity-building for community leaders and young musicians from barrios who are running community radio stations in Venezuela. The idea is to provide access to technical skills and music knowledge from UK experts in order to support their professional development.
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