The “Beat of Bavaria”: Listen to Bavaria as a Media Location

What does Bavaria actually sound like as a media location? This is exactly what XPLR: MEDIA in Bavaria wanted to find out and, together with partners such as the SAE Institute Munich, has launched a musical expedition: “The Beat of Bavaria”. The result? A unique sound that makes the Bavarian media landscape audible and fits in with XPLR: MEDIA as an initiative for Bavaria as a media location.

A sound journey through the Bavarian media landscape

For three months, students from the SAE Institute Munich were on the road for us to capture the acoustic heart of Bavaria. The participants developed their sounds from urban hip-hop vibes, electronic club sounds, traditional folk music and everyday noises such as the chimes of Munich City Hall and various original sounds. A total of nine producer teams submitted their own personal beat to our competition.

Strong partners and top-class jury

The winning beat was ultimately chosen by our community in a public vote and by a panel of prominent experts. Jakob Schleussinger & Chanrico Dombrowski's entry was the most impressive, taking first place with its mix of voices, sounds and musical coolness.

The jury:

• Sebastian Weiss alias Sepalot: DJ, music producer from Munich and member of the legendary hip-hop crew “Blumentopf”. As a creative mind and pioneer in the German hip-hop scene, he contributed his experience in the field of beat production.

• Helene Reiner: Presenter, DJ and journalist from Munich. Her work in the fields of music and media made her the ideal companion for the creative search for sound.

• Jakob Haas: Permanent cellist with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, expert in artificial intelligence and cultural ambassador for the hip-hop crew “Einshoch6”. With his interdisciplinary experience at the interface of classical music, hip-hop and technology, he was a valuable source of inspiration for the acoustic design of the beat.

• Dr. Franz-David Rumstadt: Founder and leader of the brass band “Die BlasBrothers” from Regensburg. For more than ten years, the band has been touring Bavaria with partly traditional Bavarian-Bohemian, partly classical and partly quite experimental brass music. Ten years ago, Franz Rumstadt initiated the “Brass Music Marathon”. In this event, he sets particularly extreme music records every year and generates donations for social causes in the region.

• Niko Backspin: Hip-hop journalist and Chief Cultural Officer of Serviceplan Culture. Niko Backspin has been following the German and international hip-hop scene for around 25 years and has conducted more than 2,500 interviews on YouTube with artists such as Shirin David, Xzibit, Curse, Samy Deluxe and Cypress Hill.

XPLR: MEDIA in Bavaria had the Munich radio station egoFM at its side as a media partner, while Serviceplan Culture supported the organization of the project.

XPLR: MEDIA has found its sound –  Here's what's next for the beat

The journey of “Der Beat Bayerns” doesn't end in Munich - as the sound of XPLR: MEDIA, Jakobs and Rico's beat will accompany us to events such as trade fairs, networking evenings and congresses in the future. For the first time, we will be presenting the sound of the creative industry at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas and Radiodays Europe in Athens in March. Would you like to listen in too? Then take a look at our social media channels - Sound will also be present here in the future. As a statement for an innovative, diverse and vibrant media location Bavaria.