EuroNoize Final Technical Report

One of the central goals of EuroNoize was the creation of a model for the dissemination of the work of DiY music artists. Musicians and bands working in this tradition have historically operated on the margins of bigger and more established institutions and networks. Straddling the worlds of visual arts and music, they often lack access to funding, infrastructure and technical support that other parts of the art sector receive and tend to communicate their work directly to small local audiences in independent venues. The artists we have been working with are used to performing in very small venues, and their production and touring costs are often self-funded: music and videos will be recorded at home, covers and t-shirts designed and printed by individuals using ‘low fi’ means and products distributed directly via free online platforms. These conditions also mean that often rely on informal networks of collaborators and local support for touring and it is not unusual for a band or solo artist to travel to perform in another country and borrow equipment (drum kits and amps are not easily moved from one location to another and are expensive to hire) or receive material support (accommodation for example, sleeping in the flat of the promoter or a local band member). Local audiences in these small venues are frequently without prior knowledge of the work of independent touring artists so even attendance at gigs rely to some extent on the local ‘support act’ who might bring their own local followers and other informal networks. In this way, meaningful collaborations are created, and the generosity that has defined the practice of DiY artists is reciprocated when the local act tours later to other countries. Our intention with EuroNoize was to provide the opportunity for a selection of artists from across Europe to develop these informal networks by meeting each other, but also, more importantly, to think about a new framework in which to present DiY music. Our use of the Eurovision song contest format gave us a radical new model to work with, different from the decentralized network of small venues described above. We organised a large event with eleven musicians and an equal number of film makers, hosts and a ‘backstage’ interviewer in a large venue with excellent bespoke technical support.