Moshito: South African Music Conference & Exhibition 2015
I attended I attended the 2015 edition of Moshito and published the post below with my impressions at SumerStage's blog. Check it out!
About Moshito: Since 2004, Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition has established itself as Africa's premiere music industry event. With a purpose to broaden the business intelligence of music industry professionals in Africa, strengthen business networks for participants and inform delegates, traders and the public about the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the global music industry.
Dates: Sept 10 to 12, 2015
Blog Post from 2015:
“Most people have a perception of Africa that's very limited and stereotyped, yet African music has influenced the entire globe -- and has hardly ever been credited for it.” This inflight magazine quote from “Africa’s premier diva,” Angelique Kidjo, was how I started my first trip to South Africa to attend Moshito. Although somewhat familiar with the country’s music and culture, I had a feeling Moshito would be one of those experiences that can bring many more questions than answers.
The 12th edition of Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition took place in Johannesburg, from Sept 10 to 12, and included presentations, panels, workshops, information sessions, music showcases and concerts. This year’s edition achieved record attendance of more than 1,100 local and international delegates, 90+ panelists & speakers, and 100+ artists performing in showcases, concerts and demo presentations. The venues also played a special role in the event -- we had the privilege of watching shows at the famous Market Theater, a former stage to anti-Apartheid productions, and at the epic Bassline, a multi-function venue with multiple rooms, and also rehearsal home for many important South African artists, including music legend Hugh Masekela. In three intense days, Moshito achieved a lot. The conference topics, the level of discussions and quality of its participants and artists were high, engaging and extremely stimulating. Overall, it was interesting to notice the open and free debate among different players of the industry (many times expressing opposing opinions). South Africa’s love of spirited debate was pure and evident at Moshito.
As an international delegate, I participated in two panel discussions. The first,“Bands and Brands,” highlighted key aspects of brand management for an artist, including the importance of working with the right team, consistency between music and visual identity, and how crucial it is for an artist to find and understand his/her niche market. The second panel, “Indigenous Sounds from Africa” was a particularly stimulating debate on the indigenous vs. commercial aspects of the music industry, and what defines “authentic” and “not authentic” music (if such things can be defined). Really thought-provoking.
Other interesting discussions included a panel exploring the hip-hop and kwaito (a style of local music similar to hip-hop) narratives, looking at today’s music and evaluating its socio-economic and political contexts. Chachi Carvalho, a U.S.-based hip-hop artist of Cape Verdean descendent, stated that the real challenge is to find the balance between music that is popular enough, but also moves content in the right direction. The Africa Music Forum hosted a discussion on regional music conferences and markets such as IOMMA (Reunion Island), AME (Cape Verde), Doa Doa (Uganda), Breathe Sunshine and Music Exchange (Cape Town), Kenya Music Week (Kenya) and Musica Minas (Brazil). Gerald Seligman, from Caravan Arts and former Director of Womex, highlighted the notable growing importance of this “network of networks” in the international music industry.
Moshito offered many interesting local and international acts including: the newly born Roots 2000, a promising project mixing mbaqanga (a style of local music with Zulu roots) with afrobeat and reggae, music legend Kabelo, one of kwaito’s percussors, Tsonga disco superstar Penny Penny and his unique hair style, and Tribute ‘Birdie’ Mboweni, whose voice and graceful stage presence enchanted us all. On the international side, I was captivated by Maru Tarang, a recent collaboration between two pairs of virtuoso musicians from Australia and Rajasthan, India who extended their magic by incorporating a South African powerful voice, Indwe, truly transcending cultural barriers. Maya Kamaty, from La Reunion and who I loved at AME (Cape Verde) in 2014 is doing a fantastic job and has a growing, powerful presence in regional markets.
Music is one of the biggest instruments to preserve the culture of a nation. One who visits South Africa cannot avoid seeing, thinking and feeling the liberation struggle from the former apartheid system. There has probably never been a revolution that did not use singing to give voice to its adherents. However, in South Africa it seems that music transcends its force to inspire feeling and thought, as songs provide true understanding. The wonderfully compelling documentary “Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony” points to the central role that music continues to play in this fascinating country, and provides the perfect context to understand its most important and ultimate power of all -- to fuel humanity. Definitely check out South Africa and all the music from Africa!