The Danish World Music Scene
By Mik Aidt and Mikkel Hornnes
The "world music" category - Was salsa "jazz"? No. But there were still too few salsa records for it to be given a category of its own in the record shops. Many other styles had the same problem: samba, soukous, tango, flamenco, Arabian music and various combinations of ethnic and electronic genres. Each was too small on its own to make much of an impact on record sales and the media. In 1986, with his million-selling 'Graceland' album, Paul Simon has shown that there was a large audience for these new and different sounds from the Third World. The small recording companies selling African, Asian and South American music realised that they had to find a label under which to market this kind of music. "World Beat" and "Tropical Music" were proposed, but the most popular suggestion was "World Music". And that was how many kinds of electronic dance music and acoustic folk music from all sorts of countries, and from the cities as well as the villages, became bundled together under the umbrella of a single genre. On the one hand, they had very little in common; but on the other, the decision to market them under the single category of "world music" has certainly paid off. Sales of recordings in the "world music" sections of the shops and on-line stores have been rising steadily ever since, and throughout the western world there are record shops, music organisations, radio channels, magazines and trade shows that deal exclusively with the genre. That's also how it is in Denmark today, 20 years later; there are more than 200 bands and at least 1,500 musicians in Denmark playing so-called "world music", represented by a genre association, World Music Denmark, which receives an annual state grant of DKK 2 million (EUR 270,000). The non-western musical genres have acquired a foothold, and the bands have been made visible and provided with subsidies. |
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The Danish world music scene While some world music genres are enjoying rapid growth, others seem to be in decline. For the sake of clarity, we will divide the Danish world music scene into ten areas: 1. Salsa Examples include: Copenhagen has two night clubs presenting only salsa bands, and there are more than 20 "salsateques" in Denmark, eight of them in Copenhagen. 2. Reggae
The reggae scene has left its old hash-smoking image behind, and has thereby opened the door to new fans in an ever wider section of the population. 3. Brazilian genres There are also several Brazilian singers in Denmark who write and perform their own music: Danish jazz musicians and ensembles such as Jonas Johansen, Thomas Clausen and the DR Big Band have in recent years shown an interest in Brazilian music, which has resulted in some fine concerts and CD releases. In addition, there are a number of 'café bands', typically consisting of Danes who play bossa nova cover numbers. 4. Tango & flamenco The flamenco scene in Denmark is characterised by relatively few performing bands and active dancers, who, although few in number, are extremely dedicated and are happy to take on not merely the music and dance, but also the entire accompanying lifestyle. As a result, a visit to one of the country's flamenco clubs can feel like a cultural teleportation to Spain. Armed with a glass of sherry, the casual visitor can expect to encounter some intense experiences here. Such events mainly take place in small flamenco clubs, but records are also occasionally released by Danish flamenco artists, who may also perform across the boundaries of genres in other contexts, such as in Oriental Mood's "Oriental Cut" project. 5. African music The most prominent African names on the Danish world music scene come from West Africa, typically Ghana and Mali, and exciting new hybrids arise in collaboration with Danish jazz musicians, etc. Every year in June, a small African music festival is held in a park in Copenhagen, and attracts an audience of more than 500 people. Interest in African music hit a peak at the end of 1980s and during the 1990s, when three major 'Images of Africa' festivals were held. After a slack period, it now appears to be enjoying a revival. In 2006, Sylvester Agbedoglo, originally from Togo, received the prize for 'World Music Track of the year'. 6. Middle Eastern music In the late summer of 2006, the festival Images of the Middle East offered more than 100 concerts with Middle Eastern ensembles in nine different towns. The audiences at these events displayed an enthusiastic interest in the music, particularly in the larger cities, where many concerts were sold out. The explanation of why so few Danes play Middle Eastern music – and why there are so few teachers of Middle Eastern instruments – should perhaps be sought elsewhere. On the other hand, young Danish women have shown a great interest in learning belly dancing; it is said that more than 20,000 women actively practise belly dancing in Denmark. One of the country's very few outwardly-directed exponents of Middle Eastern genres in Denmark are:
7. Balkan & klezmer
Also experiencing increasing popularity is the klezmer genre. The leading and most personal Danish exponent is the singer: At the bottom of this page, under ‘Distribution & Sales', you can read about a klezmer success that, in just a few weeks, set a Danish record for sales of world music CDs. Instrumental klezmer bands are now sprouting up everywhere, and several younger jazz musicians have shown an interest in experimenting with Balkan styles, gypsy music and klezmer. Despite the fact that there is a large group of ex-Yugoslavians in Denmark, the vast majority of ensembles playing this kind of music on the established music scenes consist of ethnic Danes. 8. Boundary crossing
In the borderland between jazz and world music we find:
There is also a great deal of interest within the lounge, ambient and electronica scenes for 'ethnic spice', although they may not necessarily call the result 'world music' – many exponents of these genres would in fact prefer to avoid the label. Two of the country's leading names in this area are:
Bliss's Danish recording company, Music for Dreams has also signed a number of other world music-interested lounge DJs and duos. 9. Nordic world music In 1996, a folk music course was established at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense. Many Danish folk musicians are currently receiving an extra boost from the campaign Danish Roots, which began in 2006 and will last for three years. The campaign aims to market Danish music abroad, in recognition of the fact that the talent pool in this area has acquired great potential. Haugaard & Høirup, Instinkt and Eivør Palsdottir from the Faroe Islands have been chosen to spearhead the project. 10. Asian music |
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Ethnic music in Denmark During the period 2005-2006, the genre organisation ‘World Music Denmark’ undertook a study of musicians among immigrant communities in Denmark's three largest cities. These were especially characterised by North African and Middle Eastern immigrants. In the concluding report, Anna Lilje Flyverbom stated that the overall picture was one of "ethnic music milieux which are relatively isolated both from each other and from the majority community in Denmark. Most play with musicians of the same ethnic origin as themselves, and perform mainly for their own ethnic groups. Some perform with people of mixed ethnic origin or for multi-ethnic audiences, but the vast majority move within their own circles, which typically have a religious or ethnic association as their linchpin." If you want to learn more about such musical sub-cultures in Denmark, you would probably have to be able to decode a poster in Urdu or Arabic at the local greengrocer's. The report divides the musicians into two groups: those who play for fun or for money at traditional celebrations in their communities, and those who are more ambitious about their music and would like to tackle new pathways with it. In the report, 'World Music Denmark' proposes a number of initiatives which might enable the latter group to step forward and become part of the Danish world music scene. | | |
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More world music at music venues At the time of writing, the trend is for more and more smaller music venues to open up to world music, particularly because of its association with dancing. An old pub may suddenly start organising regular concerts with an African house orchestra, or a café may put reggae bands on the poster once a month. Salsa dancing has been growing in popularity over the last ten years, to the point that almost any company that claims to keep up with the times has invited a salsa dancing instructor to a company party, and it has also become normal for salsa bands to be booked at small rural venues. A new world music network has been established in Denmark between certain music venues and a world music club, Club Chico, which works to promote awareness of world music. The music venues involved are Stars in Vordingborg, Gimle in Roskilde and Vega in Copenhagen. The idea is that it can be of benefit to music venues to co-operate to promote and book exciting, high-quality world music acts. Over the past fifteen years, a special tradition has emerged in Denmark for holding major 'Images' festivals every third year, with a total budget of around DKK 50 million. These festivals and their impact in the media have helped to raise the profile of specific musical areas, such as African, Asian and Middle Eastern music, in Denmark. In 2006, the festival Images of the Middle East sold more than 200,000 tickets for performances of Middle Eastern music, dance and drama. Roskilde Festival takes place every summer and attracts more than 100,000 music fans; for the last ten years, a number of the world's biggest names in world music have been presented on the 'Ballroom' stage. Copenhagen carnival, held each spring in the park of Fælledparken, is now an event at which a wealth of Danish world music bands give up to 100 concerts over three days. For 2007, Roskilde Festival has decided to close the Ballroom stage and instead present the world music acts on the other stages. Something similar has occurred at DR, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, where the management decided in 2001 to cancel 'Global Beat', the weekly world music radio magazine on P3, the country's largest pop station, which had been presenting news from the genre every Monday evening for twelve years. Now world music is presented in the mainstream programmes, not just on Monday evenings. The same trend is visible everywhere: world music is breaking out of its shell. The music has proved its value, and certain artists and genres have become so popular that they have entered the ranks of the mainstream. The label "world music" is thus gradually losing its meaning as the area's styles are being integrated and merged into broader pop music. |
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Distribution and sales of world music The artists, on the other hand, are finding new paths. Take for example the ska band Babylove & the Van Dangos who through their activities and network at the website Myspace.com have managed to obtain gigs in Japan, and have now played 90 concerts around Europe. Or take a look at the Klezmer band Klezmofobia, which set a new Danish record recently, not just for sales of klezmer, but for Danish world music generally. At the end of 2006 they launched a new album at the remarkably low price of DKK 20 (EUR 3.00) – a seventh of the normal price of a CD. The CD was made and marketed by the recording company Tiger Music, and was sold in 55 "Tiger" shops (pound shops) all over the country. The newly-founded Tiger Music recording label initially released four CDs with four different acts, including one by Danish-Cuban musician Alex Mendez, and it is interesting to note that the two world music releases were the clear favourites among the buying public. For Klezmofobia, this has turned out to be an incredibly effective marketing tool; in the first two weeks alone, their CD 'Tantz!' sold 1,500 copies. It was soon sold out all over the capital, and a few months after its release, around 5,000 copies had been sold. In this way, the band proved that there was renewed interest in the genre even outside the ranks of dedicated world music fans. This may be a by-product of the general trend towards globalisation, or perhaps people's ears have just become more accustomed to unfamiliar sounds. In the case of Klezmofobia, the effects of this new openness could also clearly be seen at the hip Copenhagen night club 'Rust', where an audience that had barely heard of klezmer began to dance chain dances when their usual DJ, as a surprise, was suddenly replaced by the band. In 2003 the banghra hit 'Mundian To Bach Ke' had all the young people in the discotheques dancing with Indian movements, just as 'Ye Ké Ye Ké', 20 years ago, introduced an African folk melody to even the most exclusive discotheques - for the first time in European musical history. The strength of world music is its diversity. When pop music grows too boring and begins to ossify in continual self-repetition, world music again and again turns out to be full of stimulating input and unusual and interesting ideas. As far as anyone can see, its resources are inexhaustible. This article has been produced in co-operation with the periodical Djembe: www.djembe.dk |
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