Beatport & Anjunabeats name the next 'Beats In School' winner

Written by Remco on 15 January 2018 in News
Beatport & Anjunabeats name the next 'Beats In School' winner
Beatport and Above & Beyond’s trailblazing label Anjunabeats have revealed the Phase Two winner in the 'Beats In School' producer contest series.

With a huge response from aspiring trance and progressive talent all over the world, the entries were narrowed down to 20 standout finalists. After an intensive judging process, Anjunabeats selected 28-year-old producer Joel Freck from Nova Scotia, Canada, as the winner. Joel’s life-changing prize includes a year-long label mentorship with Anjunabeats, one of dance music's most celebrated labels.

“We were really impressed with the quality of submissions for the Beats In School competition, with the shortlist full of familiar faces from Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy radio,” says Gareth Jones, Senior A&R at Anjunabeats. “Joel, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer, yet his demos show a maturity and creative approach beyond his handful of releases. His tracks captured the uplifting Anjunabeats festival sound and we look forward to channeling that energy into some new productions over the next 12 months.”

For five years, Joel Freck has worked towards a music career from his hometown of Nova Scotia, Canada. So far the DJ-producer has released music on rising labels such as Alter Ego Records, Export Elite and Ride Recordings, but his sights were always set on Anjunabeats. “As soon as I saw a contest for Anjuna, I knew I had to submit,” he says. “It has been my dream ever since I started producing to become a part of their team.”

Joel is excited to take his “energetic and uplifting” productions to the next level alongside the experienced Anjunabeats team. “I believe Anjuna’s production value to be second to none, so anything I learn throughout this experience will be valuable to me as an artist,” he says. “Ideally in five years I would like to be doing this full-time, hopefully as a member of the Anjuna family.”

In addition to the Anjunabeats mentorship, Joel's comprehensive Beats In School prize includes hands-on support from Beatport and its partners (in collaboration with the Association for Electronic Music), training from Point Blank Music School, and coordinated press and social media support. As part of the Hardware Homework initiative, each winner will also work closely with specialists from leading brands including Serato, Roland, Pioneer DJ, Native Instruments and many more. Additional prizes come from Adam Audio, Urbanears, iZotope, Native Instruments, Landr and Roland Cloud.

With Anjunabeats finding its Phase Two winner, Beats In School is moving into Phase Three. The next winner lands a year-long mentorship with Hospital Records, the iconic UK drum & bass label led by Tony Colman, aka London Elektricity. A full announcement is coming soon.

 



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