Red Bull Music Academy Helps Musicians Showcase Their Talent

grassmass(Rodrigo Coelho) and Hiram Martinez are two of over 200 international musicians that are participating in this year’s Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA.)  I had the pleasure of meeting them both at the RBMA Drone Activity in Progress event at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth, Queens last Thursday night. The show of loud sounds and flashing lights introduced me to drone music and provided many musicians the opportunity to showcase their incredible talent.

São Paulo–based musician grassmass is part of the Brazilian duo Cassady who decided it was time to venture out on a solo career.  grassmass, who closed one of the stages at the RBMA drone event, plays the club scene in São Paulo and plans on debuting his personal electronic project in the next few months. The accomplished guitarist and bass player has become most comfortable with electronic music.

“I am really into Brazilian and African percussion and find electronic music the place where I can get the most freedom and enjoy bigger palettes and sound scapes,” said grassmass.

The Brazilian artist sent music from Cassady to the RBMA and was chosen as one of 2013 participants. grassmass used the RBMA drone event to experiment a bit with his music and prepare for his solo work.

“There is so much freedom as a solo artist,” grassmass said. “I have been producing music for almost 20 years now, so it’s about time.”

grassmass has also become more visual with his music and has started promoting it via Instagram.

grassmass is part of small contingent of Latino artists representing at this year’s RBMA. Mexican musician Hiram Martinez sent samples of his solo work to RBMA after a friend who attended the RBMA in Madrid made the recommendation.

Martinez was extremely excited to be chosen as one of the 2013 RBMA participants. The month-long event gives him an extraordinary opportunity to meet new people, make valuable contacts, showcase his music, and create a fan base.

Hiram, who is from the Guadalajara metro area, was a main guitarist in a post-rock band before working on his own electronic music. He knew early on that he was going to be a musician.

“I was always really interested in music,” Hiram said. “It was always an escape for me, on a lot of different levels.”

Hiram was excited and very nervous before his big gig at the RBMA drone event. It was going to be the first time he preformed his new music, which he describes as “down tempo melodic electronic/pop,” to an audience.

“In the beginning I was really scared,” confessed Hiram. “But it was the best experience. It really feels awesome to play my music and present it to people.”

Hiram Martinez is still working on his first project and his music is a continuous work in progress. He does not yet have a website or Facebook Fan Page, but be sure to follow him on Twitter to get the latest from this budding electronic musical artist.

If you are a music lover and want to hear work from up and coming artists like Hiram, check out the remaining RBMA events that run through May 31, 2013 at various venues across New York City.