Esbjerg creates space for new music

At Tobakken in Esbjerg this Sunday afternoon, an intimate concert is lined up. The small tables stand very close to the stage, and colored candles create coziness in the otherwise dim room. A both happy and excited atmosphere fills the small concert hall, for who will receive the Katapult of the Year 2022?

Katapult is an open showcase and award ceremony for young bands and soloists within all kinds of music genres, including folk, roots, world, hybrid, americana, samba, country, reggae, blues, flamenco, balkan, baroque, western, electronica, etc.

At the head of the award is Casper Mikkelsen, who is also the man behind many other cultural initiatives in Esbjerg, including Folk and Festival and Kunsten at glædes i kor. He also teaches percussion and ensemble playing at the music school MGK Syd in Esbjerg.

Anyone under 30 years can apply to participate, and the three participants are selected by a committee appointed by Folk & Festival.

– The purpose of Katapult is to give these bands and soloists a springboard to develop their careers and talents. I was inspired by a similar event in the jazz environment, Ung Jazz, which has existed for several years. I myself was in the band Magnus fra Gaarden, which won UNG JAZZ back in 2008. The competition was highly instrumental in gathering the energy and finding a common direction in the band. I want to help other soloists and musicians with that, he says.

New music for the city

Katapult does not offer mainstream music, or what you hear when you turn on P3 – and that is completely intentional:

– I want to make some music accessible to an audience that normally does not hear that kind. At the same time, I hope that both artists and audiences from all over the country experience that there is a stage for all kinds of music in Esbjerg. The city is often associated with especially blues and rock music, but the different genres can certainly thrive side by side for mutual benefit and joy.

This Sunday, Spraglgevær kicks off and fills the room with romantic smash rock. Then follows Bahima – a Copenhagen band that plays adventurous music with elements across styles. Finally, it is Sylfide's turn. With beautiful harp sounds, lead singer Helene Tungelund combines Nordic folk music with modern songwriting and elements from the world of pop.

– We can see that previous award winners do really well and several have, among other things, won DMA statuettes and performed at Roskilde Festival, so I hope and believe that we are helping to make a difference, says Casper Mikkelsen.

Esbjerg is the mothership

As the crowning achievement, last year’s winners, AySay, take the stage. Here, Middle Eastern folk music merges with a modern, Western sound. Drums, bass, and guitar meet the Anatolian saz, and when Luna Ersahin sings, she does so in Danish, Turkish, and Kurdish.

– Receiving the Katapult prize was a great experience. It is always nice to win something, but at the same time, a lot of useful feedback and new opportunities came with it. For example, we received 10,000 DKK for a live session in Thingbæk Limestone Mine, says Luna Ersahin and continues:

– Our music is driven by the idea that all cultures enrich each other and are equally valuable. That is also why musically we neither emphasize the Danish nor the Turkish/Kurdish. Many only know the media coverage of the Middle East, and with our music, we want to give a different picture as well. And music is a brilliant tool to speak to something common in us.

The band has, among other things, played at Roskilde Festival in the past year. It was a huge experience, Luna says. But also playing in Esbjerg for a somewhat smaller audience means everything to her. Her family came to the city from Turkey back in the 70s. Her father then owned the popular Middle Eastern supermarket Regnbuen in Torvegade.

– Esbjerg is the mothership. Here, my family can hear us play, also the older ones who are not so mobile, for example, my aunts. And I think it is important that art and culture have a place everywhere in Denmark. Not only in the big cities, explains Luna.