Discovering the British beat in Canadian music

Elton John composed his first five albums on a trusty old piano. And where is that piano now (must be worth a bit)? It is actually to be found in Canada’s new National Music Centre (NMC) which opened to great fanfare in Calgary on Canada Day. Also to be found there is the Rolling Stones mobile recording studio (faithfully renovated and fully functioning).

What does this mean – great British rock and pop alongside the history of aboriginal music, early Canadian music pioneers, centuries of musical instruments and the country and western hall of fame?  As the NMC’s President, Andrew Mosker, eloquently put it ‘The story of music in Canada is deeply tied to the story of music from Britain, both as a result of the course of history, and as a result of the influence that so many tremendous British artists have had both in Canada and around the world. Canada and Britain have both had a prolific impact on the global music scene, and our people are both talented artists and passionate audiences. Our shared history has built an impressive legacy in one of the most important forms of human expression.’

Along with Calgary’s new Film Centre, the NMC represents a bold step by the city to put itself at the heart of Canada’s arts scene. Built at a cost of C$191 million the NMC is an impressive architectural monument to music. The sweeping geometry is covered in reflecting tiles and straddles a road linking the new premises with the old King Edward Hotel which used to house a well known jazz club where the likes of BB King and Muddy Waters played. Having been closed for a decade this will become a dedicated jazz centre.

Calgary is already home to several successful music festivals – there’s the Calgary Folk Music Festival, International Blues Festival, Afrikadey, GlobalFest, the independent music of Sled Island and others.

The Centre aims to tell the story of Canadian music and add to the full value chain – from creation through rehearsal, production, performance and conservation. There are exhibition and performing spaces and a recording studio.  New and established artists will be encouraged to use the facilities – including making new music with old instruments. Exciting stuff.

As Britain can attest there is much to play for – music is big business. Music exports contributed £2.1bn to the UK economy in 2014. UK artists accounted for 13.7 per cent of the music consumed across the globe in 2014 – one in every seven albums sold (15.3 per cent of album sales in Canada).

The UK is one of only three net exporters of music (along with the US and Sweden) with royalties from abroad outweighing the payments sent outside of the country. Music is one of the most investment-intensive industries in the UK economy. Record labels and publishers invested a record £497m in new British music and talent in 2014 and over 117,000 people are employed in the UK music industry. And there are a host of associated professions – for example the UK has over 70 music law firms.

Andrew Mosker is keen to see international young talent drawn to Canada to experiment with Canadians in the new Centre.  It could generate some exciting new collaborations to further add to our shared musical legacy – that will be well worth listening out for.