Music 101** Red Bull Music Academy tour comes to the North West

• Applications are now open for the 2015 edition of the Red Bull Music Academy landing in Paris this October and November
• The Road To Paris Lecture Sessions for potential applicants across the UK take place in February
• Dates are Tuesday 3^rd Feb in Leeds with DJ Deep; Wednesday 4^th Feb in Liverpool with Francois K; Thursday 5^th Feb in Bristol with Ivan Smagghe; and finally Friday 6^th Feb in London with Gilb’R (Chateau Flight / Versatile Records)

The world-travelling music emporium Red Bull Music Academy announces details of a four-stop UK session series this February, paving the way to this year’s Academy edition in Paris, and inspiring the next wave of applicants.

The Red Bull Music Academy’s globe-trotting initiative welcomes 60 up-and-coming musicians from around the world for a month of creative stimulation each year. Collaboration is encouraged, packed in amongst the agenda of workshops, masterclasses and lectures from today’s musical luminaries, whilst a wider programme of public events fills the venues of the host city.

For those keen on experiencing the Academy first-hand, the application phase for the Paris edition is now officially open. To apply, simply download the application form at http://apply.redbullmusicacademy.com and follow the instructions. All applications must be postmarked by March 4th to meet the deadline, and music makers must be at least 18 years of age by October 24th, 2015 to be eligible. The Red Bull Music Academy 2015 will take place from October 25th – November 27th.

Dropping anchor in Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and London, the Road to Paris sessions will be a two-part affair. Kicking off with In Conversation with Mumdance, the 2014 Academy grad will discuss his experiences in Tokyo, divulging the ins and outs of Academy life alongside tips on the application process before opening up questions to the floor. With application forms available on the night, this is a unique chance for audience members to get the inside scoop on Red Bull Music Academy before they apply. Paying homage to this year’s Academy destination, a fine selection of French luminaries step in after Mumdance’s introductory pow wow to deliver a different lecture in each of the selected UK cities, mediated by established RBMA aficionado Emma Warren.

Each session will be open to an intimate audience of prospective applicants, and will be open to the public via application form through:  https://www.redbull.com/uk/en/music/stories/1331700686236/road-to-paris-paving-the-way-to-the-2015-academy

LEEDS – Hi-Fi Club – Tuesday 3^rd February

Launching proceedings in Leeds on February 3rd, self-confessed vinyl junkie, DJ Deep hosts the first lecture session of the series. A revered tastemaker on the Paris scene for pretty much the last two decades, DJ Deep cut his teeth as a resident DJ for Laurent Garnier at La Luna and Paris’ world famous Rex Club where he played alongside the likes of legends Lil’ Louis, Derrick May, DJ Pierre, Ron Trent and Chez Damier. He was then spotted by long time hero Derrick May who invited him to Detroit where he met a lot of his heroes of the time Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Carl Craig, Kenny Larkin and Stacey Pullen. 2015 sees the first releases of music from DJ Deep for nearly 15 years with and EP on Ron Morelli’s L.I.E.S and production with fast rising Roman Poncet on Tresor with 2 EPs to be released in the first half of the year and a full LP due on Desire records.

LIVERPOOL – 24 Kitchen Street – Wednesday 4^th February

Liverpool follows on February 4th, with a lecture from renowned French daddy of disco, Francois K. Occupying the highest tiers of acclaim, Francois K joins Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles among the forefathers of house, inextricably linked with legendary meccas of music Paradise Garage, Studio 54 and The Loft whilst evolving into the DJ/producer powerhouse he is today.

BRISTOL – The Christmas Steps – Thursday 5^th February

Bristol welcomes arbiter of Parisian cool Ivan Smagghe on February 5th, dishing out his electro expertise and trade secrets of the techno coterie. Occupying the upper echelons of French hype, Smagghe toes the line as one of the most sought after DJs to emerge from the capital. A key figure in the electroclash scene, his early Death Disco compilation solidified his persona as a seminal one-to-watch. Having garnered praise from the likes of James Murphy, Trevor Jackson, Optimo and sometime-partner-in-crime Andrew Weatherall, he can also be found treasure-hunting for musical diamonds-in-the-rough in his A&R role for established French label Kill The DJ, or hashing together compilations for Bugged Out and Fabric.

LONDON – Red Bull UK – Friday 6^th February

Bringing the series to a fitting end, the last session takes place at Red Bull HQ in London on February 6th, featuring Parisian royalty, Gilb’R, the label boss of Versatile Records, half of Chateau Flight with I:Cube, producer of The Big Crunch Theory with Lisa Li Lund, member of Aladdin with Nicolas Ker and rising solo producer and encyclopaedic DJ. From his days as a musical programmer and DJ for the legendary Parisian station Radio Nova to his productions, remixes and partnership with I:Cube as Chateau Flight and maybe most important with Versatile Records, the history of modern French electronic and dance music would look very different without Gilbert Cohen alias Gilb’R and his body of work.

With the recent release of various assets showcasing collaborations from last year’s Tokyo Academy participants, the Red Bull Music Academy Road to Paris looks ahead to the coming edition, and the next wave of hopefuls.

Red Bull Music Academy video content, lectures and radio shows available at http://redbullmusicacademy.com and http://redbullmusicacademy.com and follow @rbma on twitter