BIMM at Reeperbahn Festival
On Friday 22nd September, four BIMM acts – Berlin band Serge & The Blue Racoons, London-born rapper Lexodus, Brighton’s Frankie Furlow and Berlin’s electropop-duo Eveline – joined incredible names like Liam Gallagher, Beth Ditto, Newton Faulkner and Vance Joy as part of this year’s Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg.
Now in its 11th year, the festival hosted over 800 events spanning a range of genres across four days in locations around the city’s Reeperbahn. The festival has become one of the world’s most important music industry meeting places, with around 500 concerts by international artists and a programme that includes not only music, but fine art, film and literature.
The BIMM acts performed at a special BIMM live music showcase at Hamburg music venue Spielbude, and the event was a roaring success.
BIMM Group’s Head of Artist Development, Jake Shillingford, was excited to see great variety and vibrancy from all the BIMM bands performing:
“There was a fantastic atmosphere at the BIMM showcase stage. Serge & The Blue Racoons opened the event, just as a three-storey billboard behind them unveiled that secret guest Liam Gallagher was set to perform at the festival. The timing was very fitting given that they’re a Berlin band with a Britpop style.”
He continued:
“Lexodus and SKID really got the crowd going with their trap/hip hop vibes and Eveline captivated with a rousing electro set. Frankie Furlow brought up a hat trick of consecutive yearly Reeperbahn performances with a sense of homecoming and intimacy proving that they’re now building up a decent following in Germany.”
BIMM Berlin Guitar student and producer, Sacha Arnaud from SKID, shared the stage with rapper Lexodus and the band worked their electronica, jazz and trap for the energetic audience. Sacha found the experience an “absolute delight”, stating:
“Performing at Reeperbahn Festival with Lexodus was probably the highest point of our band adventure so far. Playing this festival gave us so much hope and motivation for our future careers. We met so many people working in the music industry and saw so many different bands. It was truly inspiring. We’re really thankful that BIMM allowed us to perform – we didn’t expect anything this big to happen only six months after we formed the band!”
Saturday saw the ‘BIMM Berlin Training Day’ – an event aimed at giving potential students a taste of what life at BIMM Berlin is like, with BIMM tutor Gordon Raphael at Angie’s Nightclub discussing how he accidentally became the producer of the multi-million-selling albums of The Strokes, and Vera Bohl at the Arcotel Onyx hotel giving tips and tricks on building your professional career in music business.
The renowned festival can be an amazing launchpad for bands and artists, with Jake Shillingford knowing more than most just what an industry springboard it can be:
“Two years ago, BIMM Brighton act, Fickle Friends, headlined the same stage, and they’re now signed to Polydor Records and recording their debut album in LA. Hopefully this year’s acts will enjoy similar success after their stellar performances at Reeperbahn.”
To find out more about kick-starting your career in music visit the website here.
