Folk Spot Denmark is a project created to give folk musicians and industry professionals the opportunity to talk together and create new contacts and collaborations. This year’s edition was no exception, and delegates from near and far made the trip to Tønder to experience Tønder Festival and the selected orchestras for Folk Spot Denmark 2023.
We have spoken to some of the delegates to get a little insight into their work with folk music elsewhere in the world, and their experience with Folk Spot Denmark.
Name: Bavo Vanden Broeck
Company: Dranouter Festival
Based in: Belgium
What was your purpose for participating at Folk Spot 2023?
The (re)discovery of Danish and Nordic Folk bands, connecting with known en new contacts
What trends and tendencies do you see in folk music right now?
There is a lot of high quality instrumental music but a lack of accessible vocal music. Instrumental music is harder to present, and doesn’t reach that much audience apart from the die hard traditionalists. A younger audience is open to discover new genres, it would be helpful to have some more singing. Folk songs were the pop songs of another time, if we want to make the songs (and so the genre) more popular, we should use the potential that is in the song heritage and bring it to present times.
What is your impression of the Danish folk scene versus folk music in Belgium? (Differences and similarities)
The above is really a similarity. I feel there is good quality in education, but a lot of focus on instruments and techniques. Folk will always be a niche genre but there is a potential to widen it. Also we feel the need to expand international so to create a bigger market for the musicians to make it possible to make a living out of music.
Did you make some new contacts relevant for your future work?
Yes inside and outside the Folk Spot project. It was a really nice gathering with lots of relaxed network opportunities
Which were the best musical experiences during Folk Spot Denmark and Tønder Festival?
Danish Fiddle Quartet (they had the best understanding of what a showcase needs to be, it was short, decent introductions, not too much talking, variety in songs/tunes, some interaction, … and good quality. Optur, I also really enjoyed as they made it clear that they really enjoyed themselves, the energy was spread with the audience.
The combination with Tønder made it more interesting for me as I could also see several bands of interest in a perfect festival setting. The Mary Wallopers and Kila stand out for me.
Folk Spot Denmark er et projekt skabt for at give folkemusikere og branchefolk mulighed for at networke og skabe nye kontakter og samarbejder. Årets udgave var ingen undtagelse, og delegerede fra nær og fjern tog turen til Tønder for at opleve Tønder Festival og de udvalgte orkestre til Folk Spot Denmark 2023.
Vi har talt med nogle af de delegerede for at få et lille indblik i deres arbejde med folkemusik andre steder i verden, og deres erfaring med Folk Spot Denmark.
Navn: Bavo Vanden Broeck
Firma: Dranouter Festival
Land: Belgium
Hvad var dit formål med at deltage på Folk Spot 2023?
(Gen)opdagelsen af danske og nordiske folkeorkestre, og at møde både velkendte og nye kontakter
Hvilke tendenser ser du i folkemusik lige nu?
Der er meget instrumental musik af høj kvalitet, men mangel på tilgængelig vokalmusik. Instrumental musik er sværere at præsentere, og når ikke så meget ud til publikum udover de ‘die hard’ traditionalister. Et yngre publikum er åbent for at opdage nye genrer, og det ville være nyttigt med noget mere sang. Folkesange var en anden tids popsange, og hvis vi vil gøre sangene (og dermed genren) mere populære, bør vi bruge det potentiale, der er i sangarven og bringe det til nutiden.
Hvad er dit indtryk af den danske folkescene kontra folkemusik i Belgien? (Forskelle og ligheder)
Ovenstående svar er eksempelvis en lighed. Jeg føler, at der er god kvalitet i undervisningen, men meget fokus på instrumenter og teknikker. Folkemusikken vil altid være en nichegenre, men der er et potentiale for at udvide den. Vi føler også et behov for at ekspandere internationalt for at skabe et større marked for musikerne for at gøre det muligt at leve af musikken
Fik du nogle nye kontakter, der er relevante for dit fremtidige arbejde?
Ja, både i og uden for Folk Spot-projektet. Det var et rigtig hyggeligt mødested med masser af afslappende netværksmuligheder.
Hvilke var de bedste musikalske oplevelser under Folk Spot Denmark og Tønder Festival?
Danish Fiddle Quartet (de havde den bedste forståelse af, hvad et showcase skal være, det var korte, ordentlige introduktioner, ikke for meget snak, variation i sange/melodier, noget interaktion, … og god kvalitet).
Optur nød jeg også rigtig meget, da de gjorde det klart, at de virkelig hyggede sig på scenen, og den energi blev spredt ud til publikum. Kombinationen med Tønder gjorde det mere interessant for mig, da jeg også kunne se flere bands af interesse i et perfekt festivalmiljø. The Mary Wallopers og Kila skiller sig ud for mig.
