British Music Embassy and MQA to provide live-streaming opportunity for SXSW Official Showcasing Artists

The sessions are supported by the British Music Embassy, with the line-up curated by DIY Magazine, Jazz re:freshed Outernational and cSquaredLDN.

Bands and artists performing across the sessions include Theon Cross, King Nun, ELOÏSE mp3, Superbird and Noya Rao. The showcase will feature 30 minute sets from each act to be supported by MQA.

Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, the MQA team has created a technology that captures the sound of the original studio performance and they are kindly supporting this opportunity to bring fans closer to the artists in such an unprecedented time. Audio will be captured in 24 bit/96kHz and the MQA mix fed to a video stream to create an immersive experience we are extremely excited to share with you. The BME sessions will be live-streamed during the day from 14:40hrs (UK time) onwards via What Hi-Fi?’s YouTube channel; additionally, following the live-stream, HD videos of artist performances with MQA audio will be available for playback at www.mqa.co.uk/mqa-live.

Following the official announcement on 6 March that the City of Austin had cancelled SXSW 2020, the music industry has banded together to find alternative platforms for those musicians who have been affected to get in front of an audience.

In solidarity with the organisers of SXSW, the British Music Embassy has decided to hold the London studio sessions behind closed doors, utilising the live-stream to broadcast the performances to the wider music community, bringing some incredibly exciting new talent to the world stage.

Mike Jbara, MQA CEO said: “We’d like to thank all of the British Music Embassy partners for organising the SXSW sessions from London.  MQA is committed to enabling artists to provide the best audio to their fans in all listening environments: we launched our ‘audio+video’ solution last year and are very pleased to provide this support during these challenging times.  When high quality video is matched with MQA audio, our partners believe the experience is the next best thing to
being there.”

Charlotte Caleb, cSquaredLDN adds: “I would like to say a special thank you to Ant Forbes of Production Park who has gone above and beyond to secure this opportunity for these artists. When we were told that SXSW was cancelled we were absolutely devastated. Our musicians had spent thousands of pounds to make their journey to Austin and it was heartbreaking. However, in light of the progression of what is happening globally it is clear we must quickly adjust, continue to reinvent the way we do business in this industry and once again evolve to survive”

Yvette Griffith, Jazz re:freshed Executive Director, concludes: “Our OUTERNATIONAL initiative – which is Arts Council-funded and a partnership with British Underground – exists to create a springboard to international career opportunities for world-class artists in UK Jazz, including the likes of Shabaka Hutchings and Moses Boyd. After SXSW’s cancellation, finding a mechanism to create an international platform for this year’s artists was our highest priority, while considering the current health crisis. The opportunity created by British Music Embassy’s closed studio format has ensured our associated bands have the platform, while our partner MQA introduces the global reach element with high quality sound and production.”