QMA On Stage 2021

The second QM&A On Stage was hosted on September 9th 2021 as part of WAVES VIENNA festival. Musicians could apply through an open call and were selected through an external jury comprised of . Find more information on the open call in English here and in German here. The four winning acts presented their music at the QMA On Stage Showcase at WAVES VIENNA festival, moderated by Tmnit Ghide and Jay Choma.

The winning acts

AYGYUL

AYGYUL is a DIY musician, music producer and feminist with Russian roots. The ex-opera singer straight outta Floridsdorf combines her distinctive voice with electronic beats.
Due to the political situation in Russia, AYGYUL exchanges her hometown Kazan with Vienna at the age of just 21. There she finds herself and meets the poet and street artist Pati Avish, whose pen the lyrics come from. Together with her message for more empathy and self-care AYGYUL now wins over the audience of her dream city.
*Photo by Mani Froh*

Dacid Go8lin

Dafina Sylejmani aka. Dacid Go8lin aka. Duff Daddy is the founder of FEMME DMC, a purely feminine collective and event dedicated to hip hop in all its elements, her work takes place mainly in Vienna, but she makes her way across national borders both as a solo artists and with her collective.
*Photo by Mani Froh*

VERETER

Dark folk songwriting: melancholic, playful, brutally honest. Songs about penguins and toast, fire salamanders and pot faces. Songs about holding hands in times of racism. Despite their musical simplicity, or perhaps because of it, the poetic songs develop a powerful pull and land razor-sharp where it hurts. The acoustic stories of VERETER, the alter ego of Vienna's underground musician* Pete Prison IV (Bosna, Mekongg) are hard to let go of.
*Photo by Mani Froh*

JUNGLE JADE

JUNGLE JADE delves into the fluctuating mental states that come with trying to create roots in a new space. The duo is staunchly vulnerable, refusing to shy away from the internal dissonance caused by migration, mental illness, ambition, heartbreak, healing - and the joys in between.
*Photo by Mani Froh*

The jury

# Yasmin Hafedh (musician, slampoet, author), Anne Eck (musician, label owner)
# Kasun Jayatilaka (booker at WAVES VIENNA)
# Itta Francesca Ivellio-Vellin (music journalist at music austria, Sofar Sounds Vienna)

The prizes that were awarded

# Music video production by Josip Jukic-Sunaric, Mascha Peleshko, István Pajor (Granada, Spitting Ibex)
# Photoshooting with Tim Cavadini (Mavi Phoenix, Lou Asril, Oehl)
# Studio day with Julian Berann incl. Backing Band
# Microphone from Lewitt Audio