Beyond Music and its first album production "Same Sky" have received a lot of attention in the international press. The idea of the collaboration platform, the unique connections created between artists and the special pieces of music selected for the album are celebrated.
The album was submitted in two categories for the GRAMMYS - "Best World Music Album" and "Best Producer of the year (non-classical)" for the work of our artistic director and producer Larry Klein.
In the iTunes World Music Chart, our album hit #1 in the United States and Top 10 internationally!
Here are some of the press articles in alphabetical order and some text passages from it:
Nature’s Acoustic Alchemy
(Note: The well-known art and photography magazine from France has dedicated a 20-page long story to Beyond Music!)
"It is a unique project: twenty-three musicians from all over the world have connected via an online platform and are meeting for the first time in person a La Fabrique to record ten colllaboratively created songs. Guiding them is the world-renowned producer Larry Klein (...) He's a four-time Grammy Award winner (...)"
"Konstanze Wiedemann, (...) the (...) Bavarian CEO of Beyond Music describes the philosophy and process behind this “online musical meeting site”: "It is a closed platform that you have to be recommended for in order to register (...). We invite young and experienced people - singers, instrumentalists, composers and songwriters - to register on the platform and complete a form that details their skill sets. The goal is for other artists to contact them so they can develop new work together. (...) The winners are invited to an all-expenses paid meet-up to record an album in a live-work studio (...) at La Fabrique."
"Beyond Music is funded entirely by a philanthropic Swiss-German couple’s non-profit foundation. In his old age, and without any children to his name, Beat Curti is trying to follow in the footsteps of Andrew Carnegie, the archetypal entrepreneur philanthropist. With their Beyond Foundation created in 2007, Regula and Beat Curti support projects at the intersection of art and mental development (...) The albums anticipate the philosophy of the Beyond Music Project: to bring people together in an increasingly divided world."
"During the two days we were able to attend the Beyond Music Project recordings, we kept meeting small groups of musicians wherever we went. The place is full of nooks and crannies where you can gather privately away from the other, while allowing newcomers to come and widen the circle."
"For Ivorian Syssi Mananga, the experience allowed her to break down barrieres. 'Many musicians are confined to one genre. They will never collaborate with someone who plays jazz, country or Afro-beat. At La Fabrique, I was able to work with people who I have nothing to do with what I usually do.'"
"The guitarist Eduard Glumov who is also composer, singer, producer, among many other things, also emphasized the forward-looking and altruistic aspect of the experience: 'Today, if you want to be successful in the music industry, you have to follow the latest trends. At La Fabrique, all we were told was: 'Create, experiement, play with the unknown - we look forward to hearing from you:'"
"Heather Bond is thrilled to have been able to broaden her horizons. 'I live in Nashville in the United States. In other words, I had no idea what an oud, a kora or a duduk was. It's amazing how little we're exposed to world music in America. Just to hear someone sing in a language other than English!'"
"Sandro Friedrich, who traveled from Switzerland with part of his impressive collection of two hundred flutes, believes that improvising together enables deeper connections than is possible through verbal exchange. 'I have more chemistry with musicians I met here, from other continents, than I do with the local who lives on my street. (...)'"
Watch 'Our Colors' Video From International, Collaborative 'Beyond Music' Project
"The video for "Our Colors," premiering exclusively below, offers a look inside the ebullient creativity that led to Beyond Music, Vol. 1/Same Sky (...)"
"'It was a pretty amazing experience, I think, for everyone involved -- kind of life changing,' Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Tracy Chapman) tells Billboard. 'Here we were with this great studio, built in a 19th century tannery, and right in the middle of Van Gogh country, in these beautiful surroundings to make a record. The circumstances were so ideal. It was really a very catalytic and energized atmosphere.'"
FORBES
Behind The Scenes Of The Beyond Music Project
"Same Sky: Beyond Music Volume 1, is a wonderful collection of inspiring new music, the product of a collaboration between artists from all over the world, all produced by the project’s artistic director, Los Angeles native, Grammy-award-winning producer and legendary musician in his own right, Larry Klein."
"Klein told me that the experience of working with these musicians was life-changing both for him and, he believes, for them as well. He believes the collaborations among them will continue and that he will continue to work with many of these artists on various projects going forward."
"I will leave the last word to Regula Curti, who said of Same Sky, 'The musicians have expressed with their songs what their wish is for a better life together in this world.' And that is indeed something worth listening to."
GRAMMY.COM
Superproducer Larry Klein Releases Two New Tracks From Forthcoming Album, ‘Same Sky’
"'I think that music has an extraodinary and very mysterious power. It's such a basic element for human beings. It completely obviates these sort of artificial boundaries that divide us like religion and nationality and geographical place of origin,' Klein said in a trailer documenting the project. 'The metaphorical implications of this project are amazing, really. It demonstrates the extraordinary power of music.'"
"Prior to meeting in France, musicians from all over the world worked together to make demos via an online platform hosted by BEYOND MUSIC. The winnining 10 songs out of the 100 submitted were selected and the artists were flown to Europe to record."
"The 2019 Producer of the Year nominee, who oversaw and produced the album, called it 'revolutionary' in a statement."
JAZZIZ
Project Brings Together 23 Artists from 17 Different Countries to Create New Album
"Same Sky, out August 23, is the result of a first-of-its-kind global music project that brought together 23 artists from 17 different countries at Studio La Fabrique in the South of France to create a new album of originals. The project began via an online platform, Beyond Music, set up by the Swiss non-profit Beyond Foundation, supporting projects uniting cultures through music."
“'I believe that the Beyond project (…) goes completely contrary to what the trends are right now in the world,' says Larry Klein, who served as the album’s producer and artistic director."
JAZZIZ
New Music Monday: Beyond Music “Ma Ding Wo Avale One”
"'Ma Ding Wo Avale' is one of the songs from this social-musical-cultural experiment and one of the tracks from Same Sky. It is a crisp neo-soul song with a deep groove written by American John Lumpkin and Cameroon singer Danielle Eog Makedah, and it was inspired by Makedah’s daughter, who was born with physical and mental disabilities and cannot sit or speak, but especially loves when her mother sings to her."
"The first-of-its-kind album Beyond Music Volume One Same Sky from online collaborative platform Beyond Music features 22 artists from 17 countries, along with an all-star roster of musicians and engineers, all under the guidance of four-time Grammy winner and three-time Grammy Producer of the Year nominee Larry Klein."
"The new songs written for this album address a host of urgent topics, including how women bear the brunt of dealing with challenges that arise from water crises. Other themes include citizens attempting to remain hopeful in difficult circumstances, the unconditional love for disabled children in countries with poor medical care, and forced marriage of young brides in the Far and Middle East."
"Klein assembled the core band of all-star musicians, session players including Dean Parks, Ed Harcourt, Adrian Utley, Manu Katché, Clive Deamer and Dan Lutz, who have collectively played with Sting, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, Patti Smith, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Radiohead, Portishead and beyond. The album was mixed by Tim Palmer, Stephen Lipson, Tchad Blake, Adam Greenspan and Maxime Le Guil, and mastered by Bernie Grundman."
SHORE FIRE
Beyond Music Volume 1 / Same Sky Hits #1 On iTunes World Music Chart In U.S. and Top 10 Internationally
"First-Of-Its-Kind New Project Born From Beyond Music’s Collaboration Platform That Builds A Unique Worldwide Network Of Musician"
"BEYOND MUSIC Volume One / Same Sky has reached #1 on iTunes’ World Music Chart in the United States and is Top 10 internationally in a number of other countries. The first-of-its-kind music project brought together 23 artists from 17 countries, who met and networked through a new online collaborative platform to create a definitive global music album, overseen and produced by 2019 GRAMMY Producer of the Year nominee Larry Klein."
theFRAME - broadcast interview with Larry Klein
Taking 'World Music' Literally
"Larry Klein is a Grammy-winning producer known for his work with Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Tracy Chapman and many others. His latest project, Beyond Music, is a partnership with the Beyond Foundation - a non-profit dedicated to encouraging global collaborations. The result is "Same Sky," an album of 13 songs produced by Klein, featuring 23 musicians from 17 countries."
WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL
Same Sky, Talented International Artists Come Together Through Digital Platform
"In terms of production ad arrangements, Volume One Same Sky is designed to be an easy listen, appealing to a wide audience. Even though many international artists are involved, this is not exactly a world music album. You’ll find mainstream pop, well-constructed neosoul, Americana, hip hop and then various captivating songs that are rooted in tradition."
"The tracks that focus on world music are the ones that attracted my attention the most, including the excellent “Saat Al Rahman” where global music meets classical, featuring the fabulous Seville-based Israeli singer Mor Karbasi; the engaging Arabic fusion of “Egyptian”; and the edgy global electronica and Indian hybridization of 'Our Colors.'"
Larry Klein: Beyond Music
"We recently did an interview with producer Larry Klein that will run in an issue of Tape Op in 2020, but here's an excerpt about a recently-released project he worked on called Beyond Music."
Cross-Cultural Collaboration
"When 23 musicians from 17 countries converged to create the recent Same Sky for Beyond Music, it was the precise illustration of the concept that music is the universal language. By all accounts, the project took place in complete harmony."
Und jetzt alle zusammen!
"Was damals ein abstrakter Gedanke im Kopf einer Frau am Ufer des Zürichsees war, ist heute eine digitale Plattform namens Beyond Music. Musiker aus der ganzen Welt können sich miteinander vernetzen."
Weltweit gemeinsam musizieren, trotz Corona
"Durch die Corona-Pandemie wurden weltweit Konzerte abgesagt, Künstler hatten plötzlich nicht nur kein Publikum, sondern auch keine Einnahmen mehr. Um die Kunstschaffenden aus ihrer Isolation zu holen, bringt die gemeinnützige Plattform "Beyond Music" MusikerInnen aus aller Welt zusammen. Mit 80.000 US-Dollar jährlich finanziert, werden die Besten unter ihnen eingeladen, gemeinsam ein genreübergreifendes Album unter der Regie eines Namenhaften Komponisten zu produzieren."