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Image via Red Bull Music Academy / Photo by Dan Wilton
The 16th edition of Red Bull Music Academy has kicked off in Tokyo from Oct. 12 – Nov. 14, giving the city a five-week-long series of unique concerts, club nights, A/V installations, workshops, and inspiring conversations with some of music’s true greats. The festival is accompanied by two terms of private workshops and collaborative recording sessions for participants from around the world—a mix of producers, singers, rappers, and instrumentalists—inside a custom-built studio space in the heart of Tokyo’s Shibuya district.
We’ve curated a playlist captured by RBMA Radio that includes sets from the first wave of participants, guests, and studio mentors who came to Tokyo, plus a fireside chat with legendary composer and producer Benjamin Wright. Some, like Ekali (who we interviewed), got to open for heavyweights like Mala & Coki, while Zebra Katz got to open for Just Blaze and Marley Marl. Others, like Dorian Concept and Untold, are examples of the experienced, genius-level mentors who RBMA unites with young participants for teaching sessions in the studio. And others, like Palms Trax, Lafawndah, and TOKiMONSTA, had standout sets regardless of who they played with.
Enjoy our curated playlist below.
