m4music Goes Digital – Wednesday 24 – Friday 26 March 2021

Is Covid-19 any reason to cancel the m4music 2021? Of course, it isn’t! We might only be able to meet up virtually instead of face to face with a pint of beer in our hands, but meet up we will. For three days, from Wednesday 24 March until Friday 26 March 2021, the intrepid m4music team has lined up a fine selection of concerts, panels and workshops, all accessible for free from the comfort of your very own sofa.

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Indiesuisse Album of the Year Award
Wednesday 24 March, 20:00 – Livestream

The fun starts with the Indiesuisse Album of the Year Award show. We already know who the proud recipients of this year’s main award are – it is Kush K for Lotophagi. Formed around the singer/songwriter Catia Lanfranchi, the band lists synths, organ and flugelhorn amongst its instruments and produces a rhythm-driven sound full of intimacy and mystery.

Theirs is not the only award to be handed out tonight, however. More will be handed out to their deserved new owners on the night. To find out who they are, you’ll just have to tune in!

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Conference Programme
It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that this year’s m4music panel discussions more often than not revolve around the impact Covid-19 had on our music scene. We would like to specially recommend two events:

Nachtleben in Zeiten der Pandemie – was hat das mit uns gemacht?
La vie nocturne en temps de pandémie – qu’elles en ont été les conséquences pour nous?
Thursday 25 March, 17:45 – Livestream
Nathalie Brunner (aka Playlove from Les Belles de Nuit, the Zurich-based Association aiming to connect women within the electronic music business), Diego Dahinden (Co-Owner of Bernese venue Kapitel Bollwerk), musician Paula Götti, and Julian Schmitzberger from the Institute for Cultural Anthropology in Göttingen, will be discussing the impact of the lack of nightlife on our lives as well as on the music business. The panel is conducted in German and French.

Digital Marketing for Musicians Workshop
Friday, 26 March, 10:00 – Livestream
Conducted in English, this workshop is designed to provide professional as well as DIY artists with a more thorough understanding of digital marketing opportunities, tools and strategies. The workshop is led by Andreas Ryser (Mouthwatering Records) and Marcel Hunziker (Digital Marketing Manager Playlivearts Ltd).

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Demotape Clinic
Thursday 25 March and Friday 26 March – Livestream
The traditional Demotape Clinic, now in its 23d year, is one of the most popular events in the yearly m4music programme. The concept is simple: artists are invited to send in a demo tape of one of their songs. These are sifted through by a pre-jury and divided up in four categories, pop, rock, lyrics & beats, and electronic. The best in each category are invited to the festival where a jury of experts will give their reaction to these tracks, and, where needed, suggesting ways of improvement.

Throughout the selection process, the applicants can count on guidance and advice from a number of experienced Swiss artists, including Crimer, Danitsa and Annie Taylor. Last year’s event received no fewer than 844 demo tapes for consideration. As it happens, this format is almost tailor-made for the transition from live-on-stage to live-on-digital-platforms.

Thursday 25 March
Jury-Sessions – Livestream
12:00 Pop
Jury: Francois Küffer (Radio Couleur 3), Hannah Bissegger (Ikan Hyu), Lena Fischer (Gurtenfestival).

14:30 Electronic
Jury: Tillmann Ostendarp (producer, musician), Christian Gamp (GDS FM, Zurich), Xavière Sennac (programme planner, Case ä Choc & Superette, Neuchâtel).

20:00 Award Show
The winners in the categories Pop and Electronic are announced. Additionally, the winners of the “Best Swiss Video Clip” award, sponsored by Solothurn Film Festival, Fondation Suisa, and m4music will be presented  with their prizes. A total of 195 video clips were submitted and the jury, led by Big Zis, named as their winner Muthoni Drummer Queen’s video for her track “Power”, directed by Lausanne-based filmmaker Mei Fa Tan. The award for Best Swiss Video Clip voted for by the public went to Neuchâtel-based musician and filmmaker Bastien Bron aka My Name is Fuzzy for “Une autre chanson”.

Friday, 26 March
Jury-Sessions – Livestream
12:00 Lyrics & Beats
Jury: Ngoc Lan (DJ, radio presenter Couleur 3), Pablo Voegtli (Radio SRF Virus), Stereo Luchs (artist)

14:30 Rock
Jury: Gian-Andrea Costa (Radio RSI), Martina Berther (musician), Léa Romenens (booker, Fri-Son Fribourg)

20:00 Award Show
The winners in the categories Lyrics & Beats and Rock are announced, followed by the presentation of the award for this year’s overall “Demo of the Year” winner. Sponsored by Fondation Suisa, the total value of the awards handed out is a cool 17’000 Swiss Francs!

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Music Festival Showcases
Thursday 25 March and Friday 26 March – Livestreams

Last but not least, this year’s digital edition of m4music will present a selection of live streams by the best live acts Switzerland has to offer. Amongst the acts rocking the digital joint will be Annie Taylor, Acid Amazonians, Danase & Sterneis, La Colère, District Five, Benjamin Amaru, Pilar Vega, and last years Demo of the Year winner, Giulia Dabalà.

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And for those who can’t get enough, we recommend this programme highlight:

Home Alone, Together
Thursday 25 March and Friday 26 March, from midnight – Livestream

“Home Alone, Together” is a kind of “Best of” selection of projects produced under the extraordinary circumstances of the past twelve months. A more detailed programme will be published in the days before the festival.

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m4music Conference
m4music Festival
m4music Demotape Clinic
m4music Best Swiss Video Clip