Competition of 2ndFLOOR e.V.: two days of free recording in the LOFT recording studio.
4x 2-day recording sessions will be awarded as prizes*
*through generous support of a good friend of the LOFT, we are able to award 1.000€ for the best application
Update 23rd of June 2021:
The winners have now been determined by the jury – here is the overview (in alphabetical order, by last name):
- Charly Härtel (main price for the best application: 1.000€)
- Emilia Golos (imho)
- Lisa Wilhelm (Lisa Wilhelm Quartet)
- Emily Wittbrodt (Trio “Vließ”)
Over the past 32 years, the LOFT in Cologne has become one of the most prominent venues for jazz and improvised music in Germany. In addition to the excellent acoustics, the two concert pianos (a Steinway D and a Yahama C3) have contributed to the success, but above all the recording studio belonging to the LOFT, which is known far beyond the borders. More than 1,000 recordings from the LOFT have been released on CD or digitally, and there have also been numerous recordings from the studio for DLF, WDR or SWR.
In the summer of 2019, the association 2ndFLOOR e.V., which organizes the concerts at the LOFT, announced the “recording project” competition for young musicians for the first time. At the time, the Steinway D grand piano was undergoing overhaul in Hamburg, and the freed-up capacity in the recording studio was made available by LOFT-operator Hans Martin Müller. Additional funding came from the Spielstättenprogrammprämie of the federal state of NRW, a price which the 2ndFLOOR e.V. has received for – among other things – the promotion of regionally effective bands and up-and-coming artists every time since its inception 12 years ago.
After the great success of the first recording project (among other things, two resulting CD releases), the announcement for a new competition in 2020 had already been prepared … but then, as is well known, everything came differently. Today, everyone is more or less arranged with the situation, and in January 2021 the association 2ndFLOOR e.V. and the LOFT were awarded the main prize of 25.000 € for their commitment mainly to the local music scene during the pandemic at the awarding of the Spielstättenprogrammprämie of the federal state of NRW, so that this year, the competition for the “recording project” can be announced again.
The offer is principally aimed at jazz musicians from North Rhine-Westphalia and jazz students at the universities in Cologne, Essen and Mainz. Bands with an average age of up to 25 years as well as soloists who are not older than 25 years can apply. The deadline for applications is 31.05.2021.
Required application documents:
- short curriculum vitae of the applicant
- two recordings (self-made documentation recordings – e.g. with Zoom – are also welcome)
- short concept (max. 1.000 characters)
- overview of the line-up including age information of the musicians
please send by mail to: info[at]loftkoeln.de
A total of four prizes each consisting of two full studio days in July and August 2021 are available. Applications with two pianists are possible. Through generous support of a good friend of the LOFT, we are able to award 1.000 € for the best application. A jury consisting of the chairmen of 2ndFLOOR e.V., Prof. Shannon Barnett and Prof. Sebastian Sternal, as well as the sound engineers of LOFT, Christian Heck and Stefan Deistler, will decide on the award.