NORWAY (VIP NEWS) — As the exchange and support of new European music in Europe is one of the main goals of EuroSonic Noorderslag, the special European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP) was introduced in 2003.
Each year ETEP brings together the leading European festivals, radio and other media and stimulates them to ‘exchange’ a selection of artists and as of June 2010 the program has resulted in 147 shows by 62 European artists from 20 countries and counting…
So who was the winner? The artist with the most bookings from ETEP festivals after their performance at EuroSonic was The xx with 11 shows and Iceland’s FM Belfast were close behind with 9 confirmed shows.
“At first we were a bit intimidated by the thought of playing mostly for industry people and we started worrying, but as soon as we started playing we realized that they are of course people too and like to dance and listen to music. The show ended up being incredibly fun with a jumping crowd and wet walls and sweaty dancers. We got offered to play at really nice festivals after this show and that made it even more worthwhile.” FM Belfast, Iceland
The top 20 most booked acts;
The xx UK 11
FM Belfast IS 9
Charlie Winston UK 7
Ellie Goulding UK 7
Marina & The Diamonds UK 7
Band of Skulls UK 6
Jamaica FR 5
Isbells BE 4
Schlachthofbronx DE 4
Serena Maneesh NO 4
Sophie Hunger CH 4
Stornoway UK 4
Admiral Freebee BE 3
Crystal Fighters ES 3
Everything Everything UK 3
Joensuu 1685 FI 3
Lucy Love DK 3
Seabear IS 3
And So I Watch You From Afar IR 2
Chapel Club UK 2
C-Mon & Kypski NL 2
Since its launch many of bands have played under the flag of ETEP and gone on to be successful and established festival acts, proving that the program works and supports artist development. Acts that have benefitted include; Franz Ferdinand, Kaizers Orchestra, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Moneybrother, Within Temptation, Wir Sind Helden, Beatsteaks, Disco Ensemble, Infadels, Goose, Gabriel Rios, Seeed, Digitalism, Loney, Dear, zZz, Blood Red Shoes, Lykke Li, The Do, Surkin, The Ting Tings, Yelle, Baddies, White Lies, Yuksek, The xx, Sophie Hunger, Charlie Winston and FM Belfast.
