eSwatini: MTN Bushfire, ARMC to host Arts Round Table

Together, MTN Bushfire and ARMC will host the annual MTN Bushfire Arts Round Table at this year’s festival in eSwatini on 26 May. The partnership was launched in 2022, laying the foundation for an annual opportunity for musician and music industry professionals to meet, engage, showcase and activate on a dynamic range of topics and outputs, building bridges between the African and European music markets.

The Arts Round Table is an annual industry workshop aiming to increase knowledge, best practices and market links for artists and other industry stakeholders in the southern African region, with a major focus on eSwatini. Every year, the Arts Round Table hosts experienced speakers from the region and around the world. The forum is facilitated by First National Bank eSwatini as part of its drive to support local arts development.

Discussion topics will include Amplifying Women’s Voices, Building Bridges: Exchange Between Africa and the World, Independent Africa: Developing, Understanding and Creating New Opportunities, and Events Safety, Especially for Women.

ARMC is a Berlin-based, female-led, executive-focused music industry conference that connects African music to the international market. This year, ARMC will focus on the urban and electronic music industries, and the Arts Round Table will feature delegates and speakers from Germany and Zambia, ARMC 2023’s focus territories.

ARMC will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 24 May. It will feature a mix of local and international delegates, and centre around the urban and electronic music industries in Africa and Europe. 

Opportunities for local artists

The MTN Bushfire-ARMC partnership is based on reciprocation and exchange in order to showcase emerging talent in eSwatini while providing a platform for local stakeholders from different arts disciplines to interact with top industry professionals. The connecting of African and European music markets at multiple touchpoints is envisaged to enable a range of opportunities for creative practitioners in eSwatini and the region.

A key outcome of last year’s partnership was the signing of eSwatini duo Qibho & Hanwah to Berlin-based independent record label Paradise Sound System and the subsequent international release of their EP Embili. Additional artists who have songs distributed by Paradise Worldwide include Sookz, Sarnilo and Mzwaa. 

ARMC is also working with eSwatini labels such as Antidote Music, Third Angel Records, Lion’s Den Entertainment, Teaniclubworld Music and Mateo.

This year, ARMC is supporting the attendance of a number of German-based artists at MTN Bushfire, enabling the introduction of German and other European contemporary music to the southern African market. The ARMC showcase will include Aka Kelzz, a British-born, Berlin-based singer-songwriter whose work is intensely personal, and Albi X, a Germany-based artist who explores complex identities and life realities, and celebrates his multinational heritage with a lyrical fusion of Lingala, French and English. 

Other artists are Swiss duo Okvsho, who mix their original musical background in beatmaking and electronic music with the sounds of the young and vibrant European modern jazz scene, and The Planetoids, an indie/synth-pop band from Hannover, Germany, with a strong interest in the intersection of science and contemporary art. The Planetoids will feature Namakau Star, a South African singer-songwriter, rapper, activist and ARMC ambassador, in an eagerly anticipated live collaboration, which comes after the release of their track ‘Make Up Your Mind’ in November.

More information about MTN Bushfire and the Arts Round Table is available on the official website.