Ballantine’s and Boiler Room (re)join forces to support true music scenes around the world

31 January 2019 - Press release

Ballantine’s Scotch whisky and Boiler Room today announce their 2019 tour, the first project in the  whisky brand’s new True Music program. Promising to Take A Stand For True Music, it’s part of a longstanding commitment to push True Music scenes forward and support artists, fans, crews and the wider music community in the areas that need it most.
 
This year, while continuing to champion pioneering artists, Ballantine’s True Music x Boiler Room will also put those behind-the-scenes at the forefront, collaborating at a grassroots level to ensure local music scenes thrive across the globe. The project aims to support local communities in taking action against identified challenges in order to foster positive change and drive True Music scenes forward by providing support through financial, grassroots or mentoring initiatives.
 
The project comes as commercial, socio-economic and geographic climates continue to shift around the world, creating opportunities and challenges in the True Music landscape; be it venue closures, a lack of community support, regulatory pressures or limited ways to promote music. Against this backdrop, Ballantine’s True Music x Boiler Room will visit four important across four countries as diverse as Russia, Poland, Spain, and South Africa to identify the challenges facing these communities by rallying those spearheading the scene.
 
The new tour also marks a renewed three year partnership between Boiler Room and Ballantines which has previously  given more than 220 artists a global audience of more than 115 million viewers from more than 150 countries, thanks to its global True Music shows.
 
Ballantine’s True Music x Boiler Room will bring together diverse contributing voices united in thier passion and commitment to underground music; from musicians, to promoters, to venue owners, technicians, fans and more, for in-depth research and ongoing conversation. It kicks off in Russia with Natasha Abelle, the founder of iconic arts institution Arma 17, Sergey Golikov, who founded Rabitza (the club that was shut down by authorities in 2017) bass producer A-Fruit, Gosha Rubchinskiy’s soundtrack creator, the producer Buttechno, and more. Together, they make-up the voices in the project’s first documentary,  which looks at the challenges facing Moscow’s underground music scene and is available to view at https://truemusic.boilerroom.tv.  
 
True to Boiler Room and Ballantine’s form, each leg of the tour will culminate with a live show, featuring international and local artists and DJs who contributed to the research, to bring the ultimate celebration of the sounds and spirit of True Music.
 
Ballantine’s Head of Music, Tom Elton, said of the project: “Ballantine’s is about bringing people together and encouraging them to be their true selves, and nothing does this quite like music. Music transcends borders and is universally understood – it’s the language we all share which is why we are so passionate about promoting, protecting and progressing True Music around the world.
 
“Ballantine’s is on a mission to give back and to play our part in supporting music scenes, and there is no better partner to do this with than Boiler Room. For more than four years we have celebrated and showcased amazing artists from all over the world; now is the time to take it  a step further and work alongside these communities to give real support where it’s needed.”
 
Boiler Room Founder and CEO, Blaise Belville, added: “Giving a platform to underground club music is the entire ethos Boiler Room is founded on, so taking our long-standing partnership with Ballantine’s in this direction was the logical next step. We’ve celebrated authentic True Music artists together for years so are excited to take this further and ensure our partnership leaves a positive impact on these individuals and the communities who enable them to thrive”.
 
In addition to the Boiler Room partnership, Ballantine’s will be pledging its commitment to music communities around the world by investing a multi-million pound sum in several global music inititatives and will work with artists, fans, crews and the wider music community to help push True Music scenes forward. Some of the first-year initiatives include;
 
True Music Spaces: Inspired by a True Music pop-up in South Africa, Ballantine’s is creating a global network of physical spaces that support and enhance local True Music scenes in the areas most needed; be it through free recording, practice and performance spaces for artists or new music experiences for fans, created in partnership with the communities themselves
 
True Music Futures: A mentoring initiative that gives the next generation of music creatives access to some of the world’s leading artists, managers, music journalists, photographers, and more
 
True Music Fusions: A global talent incubator bringing together emerging talent to make their True Music ambitions possible. Whether that’s new music, set production, stage lighting or album artwork, True Music Fusions sets out to connect like-minded individuals to leverage each others’ skillsets, with Ballantine’s providing the funds to help make their projects a reality
 
True Music Series: Now in its third year, a global art and music project that vibrantly showcases stunning creative work, commissioned by creative individuals from the True Music community on limited edition gift packs. The compelling creative designs are now on millions of Ballantine’s Finest and 12 Year Old packs worldwide
 
For more on True Music visit  https://truemusic.boilerroom.tv/