ANTIDOTE FOUNDERS REP ESWATINI AT ACCESS 2021

MBABANE – We might be a small country with a relatively small industry but the talent is no doubt being recognised internationally.

In the past days, Sizo Hlophe and Mmeli Hlanze (Antidote music co-founders) were invited to be a part of Access 2021. Access is a pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. The event is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe. It is organised by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit and pan-African organisation, in partnership with Reeperbahn Festival International, Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, Jo’burg Tourism, Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, Ditto Music, SACEM, Pro Helvetia, Tuerk Music, Kaya FM and Bassline.

discussion

This annual event took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 25 -27, 2021   with a strong programme featuring industry talks, pitch and networking sessions, workshops, exhibitions and music performances. Some of the topics of discussion included production essentials for producers, monetising music digitally (solutions and strategies for African indie talent), how to build a music brand that’s true to your sound, empowering African artists to get their music heard and talent development, incubation and investment models for African creators to name a few.

According to Music in Africa website, the opening night featured a welcome address by Music in Africa representatives and an award ceremony, where local legendary artists Thandiswa Mazwai and Vusi Mahlasela were honoured with the 2021 Music in Africa Honorary Award, followed by music showcases. Our very own Thobekile Makhoyane performed during the three day event and she brought her usual A- game on stage.

performed

Given that the event took place in Johannesburg, South Africa; the pair was joined by their own artist Sar Nilo, who also performed on the day. In an interview with this publication, Antidote’s Mmeli Hlanze said  Access the largest resource for information and exchange in and for the African music sector Music In Africa invited him and Sizo Hlophe (Antidote co-founder) to be a part of the event and represent Eswatini. Asked on how he felt at being chosen to partake at such an event, he said, ‘‘This was the highlight of the conference for us because we had the opportunity to pitch our work to an audience of various African delegates and music professionals from all over Africa. We had travelled with one of our artists, Sar Nilo and she made an impromptu performance after our presentation to an ovation.’’

He went on to add that they then got to connect with many professionals and organisations who were interested in creating partnerships with them and offering support for the work Antidote was doing in Eswatini, which is, creating sustainable music careers. While there, the pair made a presentation about the work that Antidote Music does in the country and how they have contributed towards the development of the music industry as a whole.

discover

Access showcases offer a curated platform to discover talent from across the continent’s new music scenes. This year, the Reeperbahn Festival renewed its partnership with Access and brought in some more exciting acts throughout the event. This included Master KG, Gigi Lamayne, Slikour, Sir Trill, Abidoza, Msaki (South Africa), Dendri Stambell Movement (Tunisisa), Wamwlduka Band (Tanzania), Urban Village (South Africa), Buhlebedalo Mda (South Africa) and more. Music in Africa is the largest resource for information and exchange in and for the African music sector.

The two day workshop addressed both established and aspiring record producers. It was facilitated by top record producers and engineers who were keen to share their top production skills on beat making, music arrangement, DAWs, plugins, mastering and useful production tools. In the past the pair have been invited to be a part of some of the biggest organisations outside the country. Most recently, Mmeli Hlanze worked with the largest streaming platform, Spotify.

opportunity

Hlanze was granted an opportunity to be a part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for YALI in the United States of America (USA) among nine other young leaders in the country. While working with the giant streaming platform, he created a marketing strategy for Spotify for Artists. This is an artist tool that helps artists have access over their profiles on Spotify and helps them grow their fan base and basically direct their career through different tools. His counterpart on the other hand managed to secure a partnership through their founding company, Antidote for three years with Poetas D’alma International Festival for Poetry where he has administered the movement of about 11 Swati artists in the past three years.

He is also a digital lab Africa fellow after winning the music category last year and a jury for the only fund that distributed relief funds for Swazi Artists. Yebo! Eswatini Art Fund. Their music company has given birth to immensely talented artists in Sar Nilo and !Sooks, who has gone on to win on the international stage.

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