Guy Borg, Music Programmer of PRAGUE SOUNDS international music festival in Prague, answers the questions of the editor-in-chief of ORER magazine, Hakob Asatryan.
-When was the PRAGUE SOUNDS music festival founded and for what purpose?
-The festival was founded in 1996 under the auspices of then-president Vaclav Havel, who wanted to open up the spaces of Prague Castle to cultural events and music. In 2004, we moved away from the castle and expanded into the city, making use of a wide range of concert halls and other venues, as we continue to do to this day. The city itself is a big part of the festival, and we always try to match artists to interesting or unusual venues to create unique experiences for them and for our audience.
-There are many music festivals in Prague. What niche does your festival fill, what kind of music do you present to the audience?
-Our program brings together different styles and eras of music, always looking to illuminate the connections and relationships between them, so that each concert sheds an interesting light on those around it. I think this is what marks us out from other festivals.
-You represent already very well-known singers and groups and still young musicians who are taking their first steps in the music world. How do you choose the best ones? What are the selection criteria?
-We have high standards in terms of quality, and we’re always looking for a certain ‘factor X’ that distinguishes an artist from his or her peers. When it comes to legendary figures like Wayne Shorter, Steve Reich, or De La Soul (all of whom have performed at our festival), their uniqueness and achievements speak for themselves. In terms of younger artists, we’re interested in those who – like the legends that preceded them – are unafraid to go their own way and who can fashion something new and compelling from their influences.
– Over the past 27 years, there have been cases where a band or singer who first appeared at your festival later became a famous performer.
– There have been several such cases in our history. To give a few examples: Young Fathers and Ghostpoet appeared at our festival when they were relatively unknown, and subsequently went on to become stars in their fields. Gregory Porter was a similar case – he performed two club shows at the festival back in 2012 when he’d just released his first album. Of course, he’s now a Grammy winner and worldwide star. It’s one of the things we’ve always done as a festival: get behind upcoming artists that we feel have something special, and give them our backing and give them a stage on which to shine. It’s always satisfying for us to see an artist we believe in going on to achieve worldwide success.
–Does the festival have its favorite music genres?
– We don’t tend to think too much in terms of genres, but rather, as I mentioned earlier, to focus on what connects musical eras and styles and how they interact with each other over time. That’s our credo, I’d say.
-What interesting news does this year’s festival have and especially whose concert would you recommend going to?
This year we have jazz legend Branford Marsalis and electronica pioneer Oneohtrix Point Never, but also some of the best emerging artists from the younger generation: the American rapper McKinley Dixon, for example, who’s like a breath of fresh air in contemporary hip-hop. Or Nubya Garcia, representing the new London scene, where jazz musicians are drawing on influences from grime, jungle, R&B, and drum and bass.
– It is already known that the world-famous Armenian musician Tigran Hamasyan will perform at this year’s festival. What do you think of his art?
– Tigran is one of the highlights of this year’s program and will be performing at the closing concert of the festival – a solo recital in Prague’s beautiful Rudolfinum concert hall. He is a fascinating artist with a singular vision – not only highly technically proficient, but a musical explorer bringing various outside elements into jazz – whether that’s electronics or the beautiful modes of traditional Armenian music. We’re very much looking forward to his concert!
Hakob Asatryan
ORER.EU
You can get acquainted with the entire program on the website of the festival: Prague Sounds. The Festival.
You can buy tickets for Tigran Hamasyan”s concert at this link: Tigran Hamasyan | Prague Sounds. The Festival.
