Mentors

Beatriz Artola

Beatriz Artola is a recording engineer and mixer based in New York City.

In the past 15 years she’s worked with everyone from Adele to Fleet Foxes, A$AP Rocky, Ryan Adams, Common, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Tegan & Sara, Mark Ronson, CeeLo Green or Dillon Francis.

Beatriz has received 2 Grammy awards for her work with Adele and Puerto Rican rapper Residente, and has been nominated to the Latin Grammys five times.

BeatrizArtola.com

Colin Benders

Few artists embody musical freedom like Colin Benders. A classically trained musician turned modular- synth visionary, he is known for his electrifying techno sets created entirely in the moment. His reputation, built almost entirely through his spellbinding performances, has led to a loyal following with attendees trusting in Colin’s virtuoso abilities, rather than expecting a series of well-known “hits”. It’s a beautifully mutual dynamic that lies at the foundation of his craft. With a flow of gigs across Europe and the rest of the world, Colin is in a constant process of refinement, working to deliver his very best every time. Devoted to exploring and deepening his connection to his modular machines, and the people who attend his performances, Colin Benders’ unique artistry continues to grow and evolve…

Originally known as Kyteman, he first came to prominence leading The Kyteman Orchestra, an ambitious project that fused rap, jazz and classical instrumentation. Its success established him as a fearless creative mind. Over time, as his curiosity deepened, so did his need for reinvention. The modular synthesiser became his outlet of choice, a limitless electronic ecosystem where improvisation and emotional expression merge in beautiful synergy.

ColinBenders.com

Danuel Tate

Danuel Tate is a keyboard player and composer of electronic music. He has been writing electronic music for the past 18 years, and his work with the group “Cobblestone Jazz” has given him international acclaim. He has performed extensively at many of the world’s largest music festivals, including three times at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

In between touring he teaches piano to a range of students. Trained as a jazz pianist, improvising is a large component of his lesson set. He prefers to teach the fundamentals of music theory aurally, and then progresses to reading and writing. Danuel stresses proper tone, rhythmic accuracy, and correct notes – in that order. He teaches contemporary piano, Hammond organ and synth programming at The Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Erik Breuer

A recording engineer and studio designer, Erik oversees the daily operations of Analogue Foundation Berlin, where he is the owner and in-house engineer of The Brewery, one of Germany's best-equipped high end studios. He has worked with Theo Parrish, Erykah Badu, Bootsy Collins, Jarvis Cocker, Patti Smith, J Dilla and hundreds more. As Red Bull's first and only studio consultant, he designed and built more than 20 permanent studio spaces in international locations such as New York, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Berlin and Melbourne, and oversaw their staffing and operation. At the annual Red Bull Music Academy, a traveling music symposium, Erik headed the studio team and ran workshops on recording and mixing for over 15 years.

Ilhem Khodja

Ilhem has been a vocalist, performer, songwriter, recording artist and vocal coach for over two decades. Born in France to a German/Hungarian mother and an Algerian father, her sound is as international as the wide range of cities she lived in, such as Berlin, London, Istanbul, Cape Town, Ibiza, Paris and now Mexico. She has also performed at some of the most coveted venues around the world establishing an international sound that presents a natural axis between soul, jazz, world and electronic music. Her holistic progression is evident in Ilhem’s myriad collaborations with songwriters and musicians (Ken Rose, Matti Klein, Bokar Cisshoko, Askin Arsunan, Benne Aperdennier, Sebastian Borkowsky, Paul Kleber) and producers (dOp, Tobi Neumann, Luciano, Masomenos, Magda, Mike Shannon).

ilhem.com

Jafary Nassoro Sefu

Jafary is destined to achieve great things and live a life filled with love. His father passed away when Jafary was just ten months old, leaving his mother to raise him until he turned six. To help alleviate his mother’s responsibilities, he moved to a village to live with his uncle. It was during this time that he began to learn about iNgoma (dance).

In 2010, Jafary started his musical studies by joining the Mwela Theatre Group. That same year, he began learning to play various Tanzanian traditional drums. Inspired by a drummer named Abdallah Membe, he decided to learn the drum set in 2011. The experience he had gained from playing different traditional drums proved to be a significant advantage, making it much easier for him to adapt to the drum set. In 2013, he was awarded a scholarship to study music for two years at Music May Day, where he excelled and became a merit student, even receiving a drum set as a prize. During his time at the Music Mayday Center, Jafary was selected as one of seven individuals to participate in the Global Music Campus in Ethiopia, attending two three-week sessions in 2017 and 2018.

Currently, Jafary is writing books and teaching music after graduating from the Global Music Campus in Addis Ababa. He has successfully authored a book titled "TANZANIA iNGOMA", which explains and teaches Tanzanian iNgoma. This book is recognized as the first of its kind in the history of the country.

Jafary's dream of becoming a writer was inspired by his observation of the beloved dances in his community slowly disappearing due to globalization. Seeing these cultural traditions fade away ignited a desire within him to use writing as a way to preserve and honor the heritage that was at risk of being lost. He intends to write over ten books to safeguard and promote various aspects of culture and heritage.

Mathew Jonson

Mathew started his journey with electronic instruments in 1986 and has been performing solo and as a member of Cobblestone Jazz since 1997. His discography spans many hit records such as 'Marionette" and "Typerope". He has remixed the likes of Goldie, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Moby, Nelly Furtado, and VCMG (Vince Clarke & Martin Gore). Mathew played the role of studio mentor with the RBMA in seven of the international editions. There he led workshops on improvisation, live performance, and studio production. His web show "Mathew Jonson's Synthesizer Favourites" produced by Sense Media and Electronic Beats TV has been well received in the music community. In his time spent in Tokyo Mathew played small roles in working with Roland Corporation in Tokyo and Hamamatsu. He also provided the original factory presents to Black Corporation for the Kijimi Synthesizer.

Freedom Engine Academy is Mathew’s newest adventure, and with it he hopes to create a community of free spirited people that will continue in their musical journey together.

Photo: Ambers Manchester

Maxime Léonard

After studying music and sound engineering, Max began his career as an entrepreneur in festival and concert production at the age of 19 by founding with 4 friends the Caprices Winter Festival in Crans-Montana in Switzerland with the invaluable support from the Montreux Jazz Festival and its founder Claude Nobs.

With a program of high standing, eclectic, ahead of its time, the Festival quickly grew attracting up to 80,000 per edition and rose to the top of the 3 biggest festivals in Switzerland with a budget of nearly 10M. In 2018 Caprices was elected BEST INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL at the Ibiza Awards.

In 15 years, the production company has grown significantly and has organized over 2,000 concerts and DJ Sets, such as Björk, Cypress hill, Deep Purple, Portishead, Radiohead, Robert Plant ( Led Zepplin), Carl Cox, Luciano, Ritchie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, Mathew Jonson…

Understanding as an artist the finer points of a promoter's work context is an essential tool for making good decisions and developing your career as best as possible. Different mechanisms, risks, constraints, perceptions, which make up the daily life of a promoter and which Max will be happy to share with the students of Freedom Engine Academy.

Nathan Jonson a.k.a. Hrdvsion

Nathan Jonson is an electronic music producer and composer who has been releasing music internationally for two decades as a solo act and as a part of numerous group projects. His music has taken him on tours around the globe while teaching production masterclasses along the way.

While living in Berlin, he developed a close working relationship with Ableton Live and became an alpha tester for their software. This allowed him access at the forefront of electronic music production and program development.

Nathan Jonson is currently on faculty with the Victoria Conservatory of Music’s School of Music Technology and Creativity.

Sarkis Ricci

Sarkis Ricci is a French jazzman and keyboardist.

His multiple disciplines include instruction on Piano Technique, Composition, Arrangement, Music Theory, Improvisation, Ear training, Preparing students for entry Exams, Audio engineering, Music Production, Editing, Mixing/Mastering, Sarkis began his studies of classical piano at the age of 5 and upon completion of the highest levels directed his studies with a focus on Jazz, at the American School of Modern Music, in Paris.

With both parents being Armenian folk dancers, his music has always been influenced by Armenian culture and artists such as, Komitas, Arno babajanian and more recently from jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan.

He is a resident of the "Gaswerksiedlung" in Berlin, a complex dedicated to art and more particularly to music, where he continues and develops his artistic work.