22 Feb 2012
Sounds Aotearoa 2012 is proud to announce a power-packed line-up of festival bookers and presenters this year that will be in attendance at its 2 day “think tank / showcase” in New Plymouth.
Returning this year is Malcolm Haynes from Glastonbury Festival who has become a valuable champion of NZ music in the UK and this year brings with him Glastonbury Festival’s World Music Stage director, Derek Dodd. And for the first time, the powerhouse duo ofPaula Henderson and Chris Smith of Womad International will be in attendance.
Sounds Aotearoa has stacked up an impressive array of successes including 2011 attendees Electric Wire Hustle and Bella Kalolo performing at Glastonbury and The Big Chill in the UK. Maisey Rika has been able to travel to Hawaii and mainland U.S. and Moana and The Tribe, Batucada Sound Machine, Pacific Curls and 1814 have had opportunities across Asia-Pacific including Penang, Korea and across Australia.
Sounds Aotearoa is designed to expose NZ music to the global market and build capacity within the industry and to also expose the overseas delegates to some of NZ’s finest talent via performance showcases. With presenters from major festivals like Womad, Glastonbury, Vision Sound and Music (UK), Sziget Festival (Hungary) andDreaming Festival (Australia), Sounds Aotearoa gives NZ musicians valuable insight & the face to face connections they need to break into overseas markets.
The line-up of presenters also includes: Andrew Messingham from the Vision, Sound & Music Event(UK), and Min Kim from Ulsan World Music Festival (Korea). Simon Raynor (AWME Melbourne), Fruszina Szep (Sziget Festival, Hungary) andJordan Verzaar (Top Shelf Productions,Australia) are joined by local industry experts David McLaughlin (McLaughlin Law) and Jeffery Stothers (Southbound Music Distrubtion). Returning is Vicki Gordon (VGM Media, Australia), Sam Cook from Dreaming Festival (Australia) for the currently confirmed line-up.
Launched in 2010 by director Emere Wano (Tihi) in conjunction with the Taranaki Arts and Festival Trust (TAFT), Sounds Aotearoa deliberately precedes the ever popular Womad New Zealand festival so that international guests can take in both of these national events and experience five days of the best of national and international sounds and networking opportunities.
Sounds Aotearoa will take place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 March 2012 at TSB Showplace, 92 Devon St, New Plymouth, Taranaki.
Registrations for the conference aspect of the two-day event are open now via the official website www.soundsaotearoa.com
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