Polymath musician Barry Adamson, rock writer Zoë Howe, and arts leader Gunvor Kronman to speak at TMW conference | Tallinn Music Week

Polymath musician Barry Adamson, rock writer Zoë Howe, and arts leader Gunvor Kronman to speak at TMW conference

The new music and urban culture festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) has announced new speakers of the conference, taking place on March 29th and 30th. The new additions to the speakers’ line-up include a polymath musician and composer Barry Adamson, one of the brightest rock writers of the 21st century Zoë Howe and Gunvor Kronman, who has turned arts into the engine for economy of Helsinki.

TMW 2019 Conference + Festival Pass at €225 and Conference Pass at €125 are on sale at TMW web shop

Scheduled to take place at the Estonian Academy of Arts on March 29th and 30th, the TMW conference will focus on the impact of arts on the economy. A special emphasis will be put on film music and the role of arts in urban and regional development.

Barry Adamson

One of the central figures of the film music section will be the musician, composer, writer, photographer and film maker Barry Adamson. From post-punk to film scores, he has enlivened British music for decades – from playing bass in the influential Manchester band Magazine and in The Birthday Party, and forging his own highly acclaimed solo career with a series of distinctive and thematically linked “film noir meets dark comedy“ albums, including the 1992 Mercury Music Prize nominated Soul Murder, and 1996’s Oedipus Schmoedipus, featuring Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave, and The Associates’ Billy McKenzie. Adamson’s ability to tell a story with music has also led him to work with some of the film industry’s most intriguing mavericks like Derek Jarman, David Lynch, Oliver Stone, and Danny Boyle.

The multi-talented Adamson will be interviewed by the equally talented author, artist and musician Zoë Howe, considered one of the best rock writers of the 21st century. Howe has written about artists such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Stevie Nicks, Lee Brilleaux and Florence + The Machine to name a few. Musically, she has worked with Viv Albertine, Mick Jones, Charli XCX, and others. Her new book called Dayglo! telling the story of punk icon Poly Styrene, will be published just in time for the TMW on 28th March.

Zoë Howe

Zoë Howe will also moderate a film music discussion “Hearing is Believing”, featuring Barry Adamson, artists and film-makers Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, and the music supervisor Lucy Bright, who has been in charge of the soundtracks for hits like “This is England ‘90”, “Assassin’s Creed” and “Marjorie Prime” as well as BBC/AMC series “McMafia” and the soon to be released “The Nest”.

TMW film music programme curator Anna Hildur will lead a discussion with the Icelandic composer, artist manager and music entrepreneur Sigurður Magnús Finnsson, dedicated to his long-term cooperation partner, the late Icelandic composer and author of some of the best-known Hollywood soundtracks Johan Jóhannsson.

The role of arts in regeneration of cities and regions is another focus of the TMW conference. The keynote speaker of the topic is Gunvor Kronman, who has put arts in charge of economy in the Finnish capital Helsinki. She has led the creation of the world class Amos Rex museum, the reconstruction of the Hanaholmen centre, is the CEO of the arts foundation Konstsamfundet and Kalevala Koru but also an active member of the team of the former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, dedicated to international conflict resolution. Samuli Woolston, founder of the Helsinki-based ALA architecture office will share some more Finnish success stories of city planning, all of them combining sensitive artistic design and cross-sectoral approach.

TMW 2019 conference will also look into the survival techniques of music festivals, the future of European nightlife in the era of gentrification, the fate of music video in the post-TV world and what can old-school record labels learn from the influencer generation’s net-labels. On both days international music expert panel will audition and judge festival artists performing on the night.

The ABC of music industry programme will emerge in cooperation with Music Estonia, the film music programme in cooperation with the international film and TV production company Tattarrattat.

Confirmed panelists of TMW 2019 conference.

TMW 2019 Conference + Festival Pass at €225 and conference-only pass at €125 are on sale at TMW web shop  along €55 Festival Pass and €150 Supporter Pass.

TMW 2019 Single Showcase Tickets are on sale at Piletilevi.

In addition to the conference and music festival TMW 2019 includes free city stage concerts, public talks, music activities for children, arts and design programme and TMW Tastes programme introducing the restaurants in the hip North-Tallinn district.

TMW is presented by Telia Estonia, main supporters Nordic Hotel Forum, Enterprise Estonia, partners Music Estonia and Estonian Academy of Arts. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Tallinn Culture Department, Estonian Cultural Endowment. The conference venue Estonian Academy of Arts is the only public university offering higher education in arts, architecture, design in Estonia.