In another case of The Man doing something right, Red Bull has invaded Seattle, not to actively sell their overly-caffeinated wares, but to educate and showcase a crop of truly worldwide talent. Seattle is lucky enough to join such cities as Berlin, Dublin, Sao Paolo, and Cape Town as this year's host city for the Red Bull Music Academy, a five week program that brings a truly international mix of beat-enthusiasts together to learn about the historical, technical, and networking aspects of the music industry.

The Red Bull Music Academy is focused daily on educating the selected attendees (chosen long ago, so you'll want to keep an eye out for the 2006 application) with lectures from established entities in the music industry. Whether it's learning about music production or the best ways to handle hotel-life as a globe-trotting DJ, the Academy aims to provide its students with a breadth of knowledge about how "the biz" works. There is also time provided for musical collaboration between these individuals as well, giving the chance for attendees to put their knowledge to work. Considering that flight and accomodations are taken care of by the Academy, this is designed to be a truly landmark experience for Academy attendees.

So this event sounds absolutely fabulous for people in the Academy, but what does that mean for the rest of us? In short, it means that Seattle is practically overrun with talent for the Academy's duration. Promoters, freed from the burden of having to deal with flights and accomodations, are able to get some larger names (in town as lecturers) to play for less financial risk. Many Academy attendees are just looking to play in a new setting, so Seattle's clubs become a backdrop for showcasing some up and coming acts. In short, it's a win for everyone involved, especially those of us filling our role as consumers.

The festivities started Monday, and the enthusiasm thus far bodes well for the next few weeks. The breakdancers at Soul City were treated to some east-coast hip-hop flavor from Wajeed of the Platinum Pied Pipers. Tuesday's edition of Oscillate at the Baltic Room had the crowd moving, initially to local DJ Eddie's eclectic mix, followed by the clicky techno of Sweden's Andreas Tilliander, and closed out by the disco/proto-house of Morgan Geist. Last night Belltown's See Sound Lounge was overrun by the Academy, with attendees making up the bulk of the crowd at this night of head-nod approved downtempo. Locals Sun Tzu Sound brought the local heat alongside DJs from Lithuania, Poland, and New Zealand, with the night's laid-back beats punctuated with occasional MC input (big props to St. Louis' Black Spade). There are events scheduled nightly at venues all over the city, with more events being added at the last minute. With some of these events being free, there's no excuse to not catch an event or two to check out some of who may become the next big thing. Oh, and if you happen to drink a Red Bull while you're there, I'm sure the academy sponsors won't complain.

Red Bull Music Academy
Term 1: November 6 – November 18, 2005
Term 2: November 27 - December 9, 2005
Parties All Over - See website for schedule/details