Trevor Horn found massive success with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," but he also produced some of the biggest hits of the 80s, including landmark records with ABC and Malcolm McLaren. An early champion of then-new electronic technology, Horn traces his story to the brink of superstardom with ZZT Records and talks how to make a perfect song in his 2011 Red Bull Music Academy lecture.
Young Guru is more than just an engineer. As Jay-Z's right-hand man in the studio, he oversees everything from sequencing to mixing, and his work on "Empire State of Mind" earned him a Grammy nomination. In this brilliant lecture at the 2011 Red Bull Music Academy, he talks stealing records to scour for samples and how Jay Electronica revived his faith in hip-hop.
Hailed as the world’s “greatest living composer,” Steve Reich helped pioneer American minimalist music alongside Philip Glass, Terry Riley and John Adams – although Reich himself prefers the term post-minimalism. Repetition and the use of speech and field recordings are the cornerstones of his vast body of work, which has accumulated too many awards to mention. At the 2010 Red Bull Music Academy in London, a true genius sat down to discuss it all.
Ka witnessed the genesis of hip-hop growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn. But it wasn't until his first album made its way to GZA that things began to change. In control of everything – rhymes, beats, videos, distribution – Ka is a single-minded force in rap with a stark, minimal style. Sitting with Jeff Mao at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy, Ka talks about growing up in Brownsville, the reality of life as a man, and the patience needed to find and accept your own voice.
Vocal virtuoso and sound artist Joan La Barbara looms large in experimental music. From multiphonic singing to circular breathing, she’s developed a whole new vocabulary of trills, whispers, cries and clicks and collaborated with the likes of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, John Cage and her husband Morton Subotnick. In her lecture at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy, she detailed how she came to master the human voice.
Hudson Mohawke’s ascent has seen him go from playing Glasgow house parties to releasing two solo albums for Warp, producing with Lunice as the gargantuan duo TNGHT (which led a new wave in trap music in the US popular consciousness), signing to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music, and producing hits for Kanye, Pusha T and Drake. In his 2015 lecture at the Red Bull Music Academy in Paris, he talks coping with fame and creating his unique sound.
LA native Syd found early success producing tracks and DJing on tour for Odd Future, and in 2017, she released her debut studio album Fin. In her 2017 lecture as part of the Red Bull Music Academy Paths Unknown, she sat down on the couch in London to look back on what she learned from her days with Tyler, The Creator and the Internet, detail her singular approach to writing and explore how collaborations have shaped her sound.
Born in East Los Angeles to immigrant Mexican parents, Alice Bag first embraced music’s riotous energy when she founded the Bags with Patricia Morrison in 1977. The band made an indelible mark on the burgeoning LA punk scene, thanks to how the young singer transformed the blunt trauma of her daily life into onstage energy. In this public conversation at the Red Bull Music Academy Festival Los Angeles, Bag shared some of her hard-earned wisdom about upending expectations of what women can do in m...
Director Edgar Wright is known for parodying cinematic tropes, as seen in 2004’s zombie horror mash-up Shaun of the Dead. His latest movie, Baby Driver, became the surprise summer blockbuster of 2017. In this talk at the Red Bull Music Academy Los Angeles Festival, presented by composer Brian Reitzell, Wright dives deep into his use of music in film.
As Blondie's founding members, Chris Stein and Debbie Harry inspired kids and rebels around the world at the turn of the '80s. With classic songs like "Heart Of Glass" and "The Tide Is High," they created their own sound from New York’s melting pot of punk, wave, reggae and hip-hop. At the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy, the duo recalled New York in the '70s and '80s.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is a living link between the digital science of modern hip hop and the flesh-and-blood textures of vintage R&B. He's helped shape the sound of neo-soul with The Roots, the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s late night show, and the Soulquarians with D’Angelo, A Tribe Called Quest and the late Jay Dee. In this lecture at the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy, Questlove returned to the couch for a deep dive into drumming, Dilla and D’Angelo.
Music as we know it would look a lot different (and less colorful) without the contributions of George Clinton. From his early musical beginnings at Motown, he went on to form the bands Parliament and Funkadelic, two of the most important groups of the 1970s. As part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York in 2015, the king of P-Funk sat down for a rare, intimate chat about his momentous life and career.
Holly Herndon is obsessed with the intersection between mind, body and technology. Her music tackles her complicated relationship with the internet, the NSA, Max/MSP software, and her own voice; creating a unique brand of cyber-pop that is both academic and dancefloor-ready. In this talk at the 2014 Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo she discusses self-sampling, growing up in the Bible Belt and real-time emotions.
Liberation of soul and mind is essential to the work of Dev Hynes. In addition to crafting socially-minded R&B as Blood Orange, he's worked with artists ranging from Solange Knowles and Nelly Furtado to David Byrne, Grace Jones and Kindness. In his lecture at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal, Hynes talks about his fascination with found sound, working with female voices and what it means to be a black classical music fan.
As a member of A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip helped shape the sound of hip-hop in the '90s. The group became a blueprint for MCs looking to balance the literate and the absurd, as well as producers searching for the perfect break. In his 2013 lecture at the Red Bull Music Academy in New York, he talks recording with the likes of Nas and J Dilla, and how to make music that stands out from the crowd.
Chicago-born saxophonist Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin series – named after a freed slave and businesswoman – openly questions the American jazz tradition while paying homage to it. In her lecture at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy, Roberts discusses the evolution of her practice, her struggles as an artist, and the stories and ideas that are feeding the Coin Coin project.Interview by Anupa MistryProduced and engineered by Frank Westerkamp and Denis Hürter
Ice-T introduced himself as one of the West Coast’s most electrifying rappers. He recorded a string of classic hip-hop albums in the late ’80s, broadening his palette with the infamous Body Count project. He’s now the longest running black actor on television with his role in SVU. In this rare conversation at the 2017 Red Bull Music Academy Festival Los Angeles, Ice-T retraced his steps from becoming an artist to finding new ways to challenge himself.Interview by Jeff “Chairman” Mao
Meeting in the ’70s Minneapolis music scene that produced Prince, songwriting and production duo Jam & Lewis have crafted classics for Janet Jackson, Human League, George Michael, Usher, Mary J. Blige and more. In their lecture at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy,the pair revealed some of the secrets behind making hit records and staying relevant.Interview by Jeff “Chairman” MaoProduced and engineered by Frank Westerkamp and Denis Hürter
Jah Shaka’s legendary dubs, spiritual message and chest-rattling soundsystem symbolise a deep meaning in sound. Coming from Jamaica to London in the late ’50s, his young life was embedded within the black British immigrant experience. Having toured the world with his message of love, tolerance and spirituality, Shaka's 2014 lecture at the Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo remains a truly special one.Interview by Benji BProduced and engineered by Frank Westerkamp and Denis Hürter
Pop singer and producer Kindness has a deep understanding of how music ties into identity and ways of seeing the world. Having collaborated with Dev Hynes, Kelela, Robyn and more, his outlook on how musical cultures inform one another is a breath of fresh air in an often-stifling world. In this lecture from the 2015 Red Bull Music Academy in Paris, his stories on identity, bigotry and the music business prove touching for musicians and non-musicians alike.
One of the most respected DJs working today, The Black Madonna has never shied away from speaking up for women, people of color and the LGBTQ community, both on and off the dancefloor. In her lecture from the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal, the former Midwest raver tells us what it takes to challenge the status quo.
An unofficial Janet Jackson remix put Kaytranada on the map, but the Haitian-born beatmaker has emerged as the next in a long line of talents from Montreal. His debut album for XL Recordings netted him a Polaris Prize while putting his passion for Dilla beats, disco oddities and ’90s R&B on full display. At the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy, Kaytranada traces his early rise to fame.
One of electronic music’s most important early figures, Pauline Oliveros dedicated her life to sound. An original member of the pioneering San Francisco Tape Music Center, she also founded the Deep Listening Institute. In this episode, recorded at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal and released in rememberance of her passing, Oliveros talks about building her own instruments and transformative potential of listening with more than the ear.
As the chief operating officer of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, Che Pope is one of the most influential figures in US rap and hip-hop culture. In his lecture from the 2015 Red Bull Music Academy in Paris, the Grammy-winning producer breaks down the labor of love that was working with Lauryn Hill and the ruthlessness of the hip-hop industry.
Created in the early 1960s, the Buchla synthesizer revolutionized electronic music, but few have pursued its emotional and sonic possibilities as comprehensively as Suzanne Ciani. In her lecture at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy, the Grammy-nominated artist and electronic-music pioneer recounts her lifelong relationship with the synthesizer and its inventor.
Iggy Pop was punk before punk even existed. His band The Stooges created some of the most potent rock music the world had ever heard, and his high-wire collaborations with David Bowie are the stuff of legend. In 2016, he affirmed his position in the pantheon of rock music with his Post Pop Depression LP. Red Bull Music Academy was honored to host him to Montreal in 2016.
James Mtume may have crafted iconic LPs with Miles Davis, but it was his transition to R&B master that really set him apart. His duo with Reggie Lucas was an unstoppable force through the ’80s, and after decades of serving hit after hit, most notably the sampled-to-death “Juicy Fruit,” Mtume opens up at the Red Bull Music Academy Tokyo 2014.
Moodymann is one of the most enigmatic figures house music ever bred. Despite his refusal to play the press-and-promo game, his voice has been among the loudest when it comes to preserving the rich heritage of Afro-American music while fighting the industry powers that be. In a rare public lecture at the 2010 Red Bull Music Academy, Kenny Dixon Jr. reveals all.
A powerful voice from Canada’s north, Tanya Tagaq’s take on Inuk throat singing is a fiercely innovative fusion of old and new. In this episode of Couch Wisdom, recorded at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal and released in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, Tagaq discusses how the country’s untold history of human rights abuses have influenced her music and beliefs.
Nobody knows Atlanta rapper Young Thug quite like audio engineer Alex Tumay. In his lecture from the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal, Tumay discusses working with one of the brightest and weirdest talents in rap and how Atlanta’s new generation struck gold with a unique new sound.
