The Music Void presents a roundup of music industry conferences and showcase events taking place in April.
SONICA (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Ljubljana-based showcase SONICA presents various facets of niche contemporary music. The programme features performances and concerts at different venues including gentrified spaces such as Cukrarna (an art centre occupying the 19th-century building of a sugar refinery), Gala Hala (a club on the territory of the former military base) and 70s’ brutalist MoTA Lab (Museum of Transitory Art). With its focus on urbanism, the event explores topics that help to understand the contemporary environment and trends feeding into it. This year’s theme is translocal underground, a phenomenon that describes the art scene of Slovenia, where influences from Central Europe and the Balkan region merge.
INTONAL (Malmö, Sweden)
Unlike SONICA, the showcase in Sweden’s Malmö focuses on one dimension of contemporary art which is electronic music. Part of the festival’s schedule is an acousmatic programme including film screenings, workshops and interviews with artists. With its line-up being split into five days, INTONAL doesn’t seem to be a challenge, allowing attending all gigs in one go. All events take place at one venue, the independent centre of arts Inkonst, located in the old chocolate factory Mazetti.
Liverpool Sound City (Liverpool, United Kingdom)
A leading Liverpool music industry event with a showcase and conference featuring workshops by artists as well as other professionals. This year’s Q&As introduce up-and-coming artists, ‘people’s poet’ Jamie Webster, rap artist Lady Leshurr as well as critically acclaimed duo Bob Vylan. Celebrity photographer Denis O’Regan will tell about his turbulent career during the early years of punk. There are also lectures and workshops, e.g. music video master class with Vevo.
Nordic Folk Alliance (Roskilde, Denmark)
With its specific focus on folk, the festival combines the music programme with an extensive conference. The latter balances education with business events. Lectures on Nordic folk and dance workshops sit alongside peer sessions for artists, agents and promoters. As the name implies, the line-up aims at introducing primarily Scandinavian artists with some exceptions, such as Canadian jazz double bass player Cédric Dind-Lavoie.
