Agitpop electro rock indi-noise and experimental metal – there is a swell of formidable music forecast from this tiny Baltic nation of Estonia with musicians Malcolm Lincoln, Mimicry, Shelton San, Zahir, Junk Riot, Talbot, Andres Lõo and veteran punks Röövel Ööbik breaking new ground and record sales whilst making new friends around the world.
Tallinn Music Week showcases some of the shiniest and brightest bands in Estonia. Bands after conquering the local scene, now aim for international press and record company interest by participating in this state/corporate event one weekend in March. Take a look at some of the artists who popped onto the international stage following 2009′s Tallinn Music Week and see our recommendation for artists at this years showcase. Who is worth diving into again and again? Read, listen and understand.
Tallinn Music Week 2010 is also a series of seminars, panels and discussion groups consisting of experts from Estonia and overseas addressing topics about the music business, cultural politics and technological innovations. Delegates and panelists include international musical aficionados from Rough Trade (UK), The Telegraph (UK), NME (UK), Fullsteam (FI), Sonar festival (SP), Eurosonic (NL), Skanumetz (LV), Glastonbury festival (UK).
The music is over three nights, March 25th, 26th and 27th where around 60 of the best Estonian/Baltic bands and artists from different scenes and genres play back to back. Showcases are held in the main venues and clubs in Tallinn including Von Krahl, Teater No99, Juuksur, Mustpeade Maja, Klubi Tapper, Balou, Rockstars, Rock café and Hollywood.
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One of the organizers, Ivo Kiviorg:
Many of our foreign guests, some of whom were visiting Estonia for the first time, or had never even encountered any creative output by an Estonian artist, had absolutely no expectations of the event. This means that making this very first step was already great progress. All the more positive, then, was their surprise at the inherent diversity, good taste and vibrant colour of our music scene. Also Tallinn’s varied concert venues, as well as the home audiences’ support to the bands were highly appreciated. Such feedback is of imponderable value to our country’s music business, as well as to the Estonian nation in general – so that in the future, there would be enough motivation and know-how for developing and supporting Estonian music and pop culture much more wisely and systematically.
Robert Meijerink, artist booker for EuroSonic:
I discovered some acts who will definitely fit into EuroSonic. The general standard was higher then expected. From good singer songwriters, folk/roots acts to original electronic pop/punk acts. Tallinn is a beautiful place to take dive into the Estonian music scene. Great venues, warm atmosphere in beautiful surroundings.
Paulina Ahokas, director of Finnish Music Export:
Tallinn Music Week was a really efficient way to get an overview of what is going on in the Estonian music scene, see some of the potential artists, meet with their representatives and discuss future opportunities. I saw a few bands I really liked, such as Popidiot and Kirtana Rasa, which I was totally unaware of beforehand.
Jorma Sarv, Estonian Ministry of Culture:
Tallinn Music Week is definitely a noteworthy endeavour aimed at promoting Estonian music more widely. Up until now, the main problem in the field of marketing the local pop and rock music to foreign countries has been the lack of sufficiently collective events and agreements expressing enough common interests.
Some of the fallout from 2009:
Legendary indi punk outfit Röövel Ööbik [Eng. Robber Nightingale] signed a licensing deal with the Baltic office of Universal and have broken their career’s album sales record.
Popidiot, made a new music video, which became MTV Baltics’ FRESH title, in the MTV Baltics’ TOP 20 and World Chart Express rankings for almost half a year. Chungin & the Strap-On Faggots and Popidiot were nominated for MTV Baltics’ Best Artist award at this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards.
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Is life too serious to be taken seriously? Favourite animal is a dog, called Harry the Lurcher. Now somewhere in space.
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Andres Lõo Eurosonic Fullsteam Glastonbury festival Junk Riot Malcolm Lincoln Mimicry NME (UK) Röövel Ööbik Rough Trade (UK) Shelton San Skanumetz (LV) Sonar festival (SP) Talbot The Telegraph (UK) veteran punks Zahir
Hey Rachel, of course there is loadsa stuff that we missed. Badass Yuki being one, it took me a few listens but now like a lot of good music it gets better with more listens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwtGh62_XYw
Any suggestions for additional bands in our TMW follow up piece?
There are probably several glaring omissions, but the first one that comes to mind is Fusedmarc! Video: http://vimeo.com/6246534 MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/fusedmarc
They’re playing at Von Krahl and Art Cafe this weekend…
