STUDIO MONKEY SHOULDER LAUNCHES IN INDIA TO SUPPORT GRASSROOTS MUSIC COMMUNITIES

New music initiative presented by Monkey Shoulder and Worldwide FM

GURUGRAM, India, May 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Monkey Shoulder, a distinct Speyside Blended liquid, proudly launches Studio Monkey Shoulder, a new music initiative dedicated to empowering and celebrating the grassroots music communities at the heart of music scenes around the world. From today, trailblazer communities from India are invited to apply for an INR 10,00,000 fund to help turn their project into a reality.

From independent rehearsal spaces in Mumbai through to live venues in Delhi and online radio stations, places where people connect, create and discover music are critical to a thriving musical ecosystem. Studio Monkey Shoulder hopes to discover and spotlight these communities who are making waves and contributing to the rich tapestry of music in India, and across the globe.

The initiative is a partnership between Monkey Shoulder, and globally respected online radio station, Worldwide FM, and its esteemed founder, DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson. Studio Monkey Shoulder will lean on their expertise to award one Indian music community, collective or music organisation, the fund, to bring an original project to life this summer.

The Studio Monkey Shoulder winning applicants will receive invaluable support from Worldwide FM, Gilles and Monkey Shoulder. Collaboration will take the form of project development, production assistance, content creation and creative inspiration. Culminating in a global broadcast, Worldwide FM will showcase these innovative grassroots projects on air, with winners interviewed by Gilles Peterson. Participating markets include the UK, US, Taiwan, Nigeria and India. 

"This is exactly why I started Worldwide FM radio, and there are so many other incredible community-driven projects out there I want to uncover, which is what excites me about Studio Monkey Shoulder. We have no idea where this is going to take us but can't wait to see and hear it.," says Gilles Peterson, DJ and broadcaster.

Applications to the Studio Monkey Shoulder fund opened on April 02, 2024. To find out more and apply, visit the Monkey Shoulder website https://www.studiomonkeyshoulder.in/

ABOUT WORLDWIDE FM

Worldwide FM is an award-winning community and platform where marginalised voices, alternative perspectives and shared progressive values are brought to the forefront through music and culture. The radio station, founded by DJ Gilles Peterson, combines world-class broadcasting talent, cutting edge technology and a highly experienced team of producers and curators that reflect the diversity of an international music hub. Wherever the programming comes from, Worldwide FM tries to give voice to progressive artists and cultural figures who fight inequality in all its forms. Now working at the intersection of audio, video, editorial, film and photography, Worldwide FM works with like minded brands to deliver solutions and activations with huge global impact, listenership and engagement.

About Gilles Peterson 

Gilles Peterson is a broadcaster, DJ and record collector who hosts a weekly Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music that's one of the broadcaster's most popular music shows, helms independent record label Brownswood Recordings, and is the founder of online radio station Worldwide FM. Gilles also hosts the Worldwide FM radio station on the GTA V computer game.

Throughout his career, Peterson has promoted the new frontiers of jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. Starting by installing illicit transmitters and hosting shows for pirate radio station Radio Invicta, he later joined the newly-founded Jazz FM and, after that, joined the pirate-turned-legal station Kiss FM. In 1998, he was hired by BBC Radio 1, where he hosted a weekly show until his move to his current slot on BBC Radio 6 Music. 

He has been behind several game-changing record labels. Firstly, he founded Acid Jazz in the late eighties, and in the early nineties he started Talkin' Loud where five of the albums on the label were nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. His current venture is Brownswood Recordings and as a curator and collector, he's compiled over 100 albums.

In 2011, he founded the Steve Reid Foundation in memory of the legendary jazz drummer. The charity supports musicians who are ill and facing financial difficulties and, jointly with the PRS Foundation, runs the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award, which has supported upcoming artists such as Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia and Sarathy Korwar. 

Since 2005, he has hosted the annual Worldwide Awards in London and Worldwide Festival in Sète, France, and in 2019, he launched the new We Out Here festival in the UK. In early 2021, Gilles released the Str4ta album (with Bluey from Incognito) and his first full length book 'Lockdown FM - Broadcasting In A Pandemic'.