[FA Worldmusic] Cultural ground work

[Ates Temeltas]

Hello Everyone,

Dmitri9s invitation to talk about our recent experiences in booking opens up
the door, for me at least, to talk about several  topics at once.
 
We represent many of the artists who have recorded for our label. Beyond
that, there are other musicians we represent for bookings. Many of these
artists are based abroad and some of them live in the United States.
 
While representing these artists, I have come into so many situations that
the only thing I can conclude is that currently representing and presenting
artists in the United States is haphazard.  Yes, an artist who is
acknowledged to be a significant exponent of his/her tradition would travel
thousands of miles from overseas; perform in a university campus; maybe have
a couple of workshops and then travel back home. In the meantime, so many
opportunities are missed.
 
Over the years, I have learned that many in this scene have a specific
approach and he or she will not change from that very much. Of course, this
can be a good thing and a bad thing. The area where I think this becomes
more problematic is 3risks2. It might be too much of a risk to present a
lesser-known artist. For others, it might be a risk to venture into unknown
or lesser-known areas, both for the presenter and audience.
 
Here is an example: North Indian classical music has been a very significant
tradition for centuries. It is a part of spiritual life of so many millions.
And this is the reason why so many community concerts continue; both in its
homeland and away. Even away from their homeland, these immigrant
communities need to continue with their traditions.
 
However, mainstream presenters, most of the time, would only book very well
known names from this tradition, which will assure a certain turnout for the
event. (Even then, these concerts are so few and far between). A few persons
in the media would take the challenge of covering lesser-known musicians. To
a degree, this is very understandable. But lesser known does not mean
unknown. Lesser-known in the US does not mean the same is true in the
artists9 native land or the significance of those artists. However, the
trend is to represent the same artists over and over again instead of
presenting other artists who have achieved a significant status. There are
venues whose line-up I can predict with certain level of accuracy year after
year. 
 
Especially in traditions of India and Turkey (and many other nations) there
is a chain of musicians who follow each other generation after generation.
And it is very important that as older generations conclude their career,
their replacements are getting the exposure and opportunities.
 
Can 3mainstream2 presenters work with local communities and/or organizations
that are close to these organizations? Of course. There can be so many
creative ways. And there would be mutual benefits and above all, more
artists will have  chances to reach larger audiences. Communities9
approaches to these events differ and change depending on local presenter.
Local community9s primary goal in presenting an artist might be to address
the certain need for that community (i.e. hearing classical music that is
part of community9s spiritual life). Variation on this, if a university
based student association presents the same artist, their primary goal might
be to share the music with larger community. Obviously, there would be
overlap in purposes and participation.
 
I always think that 3mainstream2 presenters can work with community
presenters very naturally. I really do not see language as a barrier. There
are other possible barriers or aspects to consider. There are cultural
sensitivities a presenter needs to understand. But if intentions are good,
and they should be always anyways, one should not worry about these
sensitivities so much. Many of these organizations are volunteer based and
these volunteers are not 3professionals2. There might be and will be
problems associated with this. But people learn. In time as people from
local communities get to know and work with the presenter, all will be even
smoother. 
 
Warning..self promotion is coming up

 
I produce more than traditional concerts/recordings. We are working on a new
website for our artists for booking performances. Our current roster can be
seen at http://www.goldenhornagency.com <http://www.goldenhornagency.com/>
 
Please take a look at there. If any one of these artists/projects interests
you, let me know. It is good to know who is interested so that we can plan
better. Also, let me know if you are interested to be added to our
low-traffic press or presenter mailing lists.
 
One more thing
while it has been a giant struggle (financial and spiritual)
in the United States to survive as an independent label and promoter of
world music, we are progressing very nicely in Europe. I am actually getting
more booking successes for Europe for my artists and more distribution for
my releases. While this is wonderful, I find this a bit strange since we are
based in Northern California.

Best,
Ates
 
-- 
Ates Temeltas
Executive Director
Golden Horn Records
P.O. Box 5776, Walnut Creek, CA 94596, USA
Telephone: 1-925-930-7184
Toll Free: 1-800-969-9455
Fax: 1-925-938-8447
Website & On-line Shop: http://www.goldenhorn.com