CTEMF & British Council Connect ZA Announce BassXchange Winner

CTEMF and British Council Connect ZA Announce Brighton’s El.Train as BassXchange UK/ZA 2015 Winner

Submissions for  the 2015 BassXchange UK/ZA competition have been judged by a tough panel including Cape Town Electronic Music Festival headliners –Felix Laband and Four Tet.

Today, British Council's Connect ZA and CTEMF proudly announce Brighton-born producer El.Train as the 2015 BassXchange UK/ZA winner.

"It had the most interesting track selection” said Four Tet during the judging process “and he'd made his own edits and versions of tracks to use.”

This announcement follows a 4-week hunt by the British Council's Connect ZA and CTEMF who, together with Mixcloud and Red Bull Studio Cape Town launched the border-defying BassXchange UK/ZA Project in December 2014.  The project invites UK-based producers to submit a DJ or Live mix showcasing their own material.

El.Train, real name Luke Nyeke will be jetted off to Cape Town, South Africa from 3^rd to  9^th February 2015 where he will be given the opportunity to showcase his music through the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival Programme, be immersed in one of the globe’s most diverse and rapidly growing electronic music scenes and be given the chance to collaborate with South African artists in Cape Town’s world-class Red Bull Studios.

“I uploaded my mix for the BassXchange competition but then thought nothing else of it,” explains El.Train “when I opened the e-mail to find out I'd won I was so shocked.”

“I'm really excited to come over to South Africa and share my music with the people in Cape Town and also to experience South Africa as a whole.” He says. “My Dad is from Zimbabwe I've visited there a couple of times but have never had the opportunity to cross the border into South Africa."

Designed to be the ultimate cultural exchange programme for an electronic music artist, the BassXchange ZA/UK project aims to be a career-boosting opportunity for a bright new talent by offering the unique opportunity to visit South Africa, showcase their music at a leading local festival and network with the South African music community.

BassXchange UK/ZA 2014 winner Murder He Wrote described the trip as “a genuine life-changing experience” – his visit to Cape Town was the catalyst for starting his own label, which will soon be releasing music from South African artists.

Listen to the mix here: http://www.mixcloud.com/lukenyeke/bassxchange-ukza-2015-el-train/

This project is part of the SA-UK Seasons 2014 & 2015, a partnership between the Department of Arts & Culture, South Africa and the British Council.