The inaugural International Music Summit (IMS) Asia-Pacific kicked off on 11th Dec 2014 at the beautiful W Singapore Sentosa Cove, featuring the crème de la crème of the music industry. Particularly, the dance music industry.
IMS, which began life in Ibiza, was created in 2007 and is now revered as one of the world’s most important music industry gatherings in the world. It’s also a platform for labels, agents, managers and brands to debate, announce and explain new initiatives and strategies music to the industry.
Presented by BBC Radio One’s Pete Tong, IMS is regarded as the premier platform for the thought leaders in electronic music is where announcements for the season ahead are made and deals are confirmed. With talks by some of electronic dance music’s foremost DJs, their managers, and owners of the most significant brands in dance music, it is a place for everyone who is anyone in the dance music industry to network and create important business relationships.
The first IMS Asia Pacific saw the attendance of specially invited guests, key opinion leaders from the scene, members of the media, as well as speakers such as Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, Steve Angello, NERVO, Stereosonic’s Frank Cotela, and Life in Color’s JC Ahn. Also, Dr. Gino Yu, PhD. Consciousness Researcher, Director of Digital Entertainment at Hong Kong Polytechnic University as well as founder of Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association.
Dr. Yu draws on his 30 years of experience in consciousness research to take us on a whirlwind ride through centuries of mythology and ritual to construct a metaphysical case for what is happening in electronic music culture today. Joining the dots between music and physiology, religion and ritual, symbolism and faith; he explains why he believes the global explosion of interest in electronic dance music is the contemporary awakening of the ancient practice of achieving higher levels of consciousness through music induced trance.
Why drug culture doesn’t work in Asia, the fundamental difference between East and West, what remains if you strip away the stories, art and rituals from religion, and why no-one in Asia has invented a technology which has made a global impact in the last 300 years. Can we really engineer a culture that works for society today which combines music and art to generate a transformative experience for everyone’s mutual benefit?
Watch and learn:
Keep up with Dr. Gino Yu via his Twitter here, where he shares
And if you’re kicking yourself for missing the first edition of IMS Asia Pacific, fret not! We hear that the summit will be making a return this year for 2 whole days 😉
For more information, visit IMS’ website or Facebook page.
