In March inthemix was lucky enough to brave the tail-end of England’s coldest winter on record, attending the London edition of the world renowned Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA). It was an enlightening trip, to say the least, as we sat in on lectures with luminaries of the world electronica scene including James Holden, Flying Lotus and Martyn, and generally did our darndest to soak up the unique vibe that only the RBMA and London could provide.

For those who aren’t immediately abreast of the who/what/where/why of RBMA, howsabout a quick summary to bring you up to speed? RBMA started in Berlin way back in 1998, and in the years since has traveled the globe to some seriously tantalising and exotic locales, including New York, Sao Paolo, Cape Town, Barcelona and even Australia’s very own dance music epicenter; Melbourne. In essence, the Academy is a place for people with an aspiration to make it in the world of music production and performance to come face to face with some of the industry’s most interesting and all-round respected identities.

Although it has a reputation for retaining electronic music at its core, over time it has developed far beyond these boundaries to a point where nowadays you’re just as likely to see a guitarist tuning up in the hallway right next to someone fiddling with an MPC. Split into two terms, each of them two weeks in length, in 2010 there were representatives from 32 countries. They came from a variety of backgrounds (producers, DJs, engineers, musicians, MCs and more) and experience levels (from Mexico, participant Juan Son was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2009 and he’s appeared at US festival Coachella and SXSW). Think of it as a pop-up version of that school from Fame, but it’s 2010 and the students are actually doing cool stuff (plus if they wear a leotard when they perform, it’s because they’re making some kind of post-modern statement, ok?)

One of Australia’s representatives during term two was Ross McHenry out of Adelaide. “My main focus over the last couple of years has been a band called The Transatlantics,” he told us. “We’ve been lucky enough to play alongside and support a lot of great artists like Eddie Bo and Marva Whitney, and have recently been signed to Freestyle records in the UK.” In addition, he’s also got an afrobeat project on the boil called Shaolin Afronauts, and he moonlights with hip hop production alongside another Adelaide producer, Dylan Marshall. He’s basically the definition of a guy who has his fingers in lots of pies. The perfect candidate for everything the RBMA offers up…

The London campus for RBMA was conveniently located inside Red Bull’s own headquarters, right on Tooley Street (you can see Tower Bridge just a few hundred metres away, mum!) On the bottom floor you’ll find the cafeteria and lounge area – the destination of a thousand well-intentioned ‘hey, we should collaborate!’ conversations throughout the Academy’s duration. One floor up, a hallway lined with mini-studios where participants can fiddle away to their hearts’ content, night (mostly) and day (depends how late they were out the night before). It’s also the home to the RBMA digital radio station, and at the very far end of the building a gear-junkies wet dream; the store room of equipment. Then, up top it’s the lecture room, where participants got the chance to sit down and listen to sessions from a ridiculously wide range of people whose reputations well and truly precede them.

“I still haven’t digested everything yet,” Ross explained in the weeks following RBMA. “It was an information overload in the absolute best possible way. It was an amazing environment to be in and it was truly incredible to be surrounded by 30 other people who feel the exact same way about music as you do. I felt like the common thread between all the lecturers, regardless of style or genre, [was] they all spoke about the importance of doing your own thing and not worrying about what others think of it. Now that’s pretty obvious, but it’s amazing how easy it is to forget when the music industry is so fickle and judgmental.”

True to Ross’ word, in the lectures we had the chance to sit in on, the unifying theme was no doubt ‘be yourself’. Initially lumped into the prog and trance scene when he broke through as a fresh-faced young 19-year-old, James Holden offered the assembled participants some sage advice on the perils of signing a record deal. “Never sign a contract in a pub. Never sign a contract without seeing a lawyer,” he relayed. He also got quite deep and philosophical on how he’s avoided the trappings of the superstar DJ lifestyle. “It’s like poison for your soul,” he joked.

Although he might be a relatively new name to some, Los Angeles based producer Flying Lotus is something of a god in the world of RBMA. He attended as a participant at the Melbourne edition four years back, right around the time his first album ‘1983’ saw the light of day. In the period since then he’s released the highly acclaimed ‘Los Angeles’ album on Warp and has recently finished his latest opus, ‘Cosmogramma’, which sees him collaborating with Thom Yorke of Radiohead (the news of this garnered quite a cheer from the room of hopefuls he lectured to).

Fly Lo’s seminar had him talking about how he managed to stay on path as he broke through to the international stage, and it resonated deeply with all in the room as he’s now in a place they would dearly love to be one day. He’s deeply charismatic, almost to the point of being absurd (that’s not an insult), so perhaps the most interesting aspect of his talk was when he got deep on the topics of DMT space, astral travel, lucid dreaming and binaural beats… do a few Google searches if you’re keen to know more, my head is still spinning on it all.

So what happens if you’re living in London (or wherever the Academy is held), and you’re not a participant? Events. Lots of ‘em! The lineup of parties across the two terms of RBMA 2010 was enough to have a true music fan quivering at the knees, and as an international visitor it was mind-blowing to have the chance to experience them all on foreign soil. From Detroit legend Moodymann’s roller disco party to noted Barcelona music festival Sonar’s two-night stint at The Roundhouse with Laurent Garnier, Four Tet, Hudson Mohawk and more, there was a lot to take in. For godsake, you’d walk into a pub in Camden on a Sunday afternoon for a pint and find MJ Cole, Joy Orbison and Rustie playing at an RBMA sanctioned event. We’re not in Kansas anymore!

“I’ve been to London before, but this was my first real musical visit. I have to say that I didn’t fully understand the UK club scene, bass and sound system culture before I arrived, but I left with a newfound respect,” McHenry agreed. “We were in the studios everyday until sunrise, [then would] stumble home, sleep for a few hours, stumble back for breakfast, sit through two amazing lectures, then go out to an amazing gig, came home and continue work in the studio again until sunrise… everyday..!”

Suffice to say, if you’re someone who feels they’d benefit from the overwhelming sensory experience of the Red Bull Music Academy, next time the call out for applications comes around do not sleep on it. Get yourself together and apply, it just might be the most amazing experience of your burgeoning musical career to date.

For more info on RBMA head to www.redbullmusicacademy.com, and be sure to check out some photos and videos from the London edition of Red Bull Music Academy below: