Music AS Language
Sessions
International Music
Competition
The goal of this competition is to feature upcoming artists on international platforms and to give them the opportunity to work with some of the best music professionals in the world.
We will use our team of producers, artists, teachers, coaches, and engineers to judge the competition. We will award at least one lucky individual/band the opportunity to record a single at one of the leading recording/mixing studios in the world, with a leading producer, and Music As Language as the publisher.
Further, artists will be featured at a special New York “MAL Sessions” concert where they will have the opportunity to meet industry pros in engineering, performance, and lighting.
Application Deadline
The 2021 Competition Has Closed
Check Back Soon for Information on the 2022 Competition
APPLY NOW
Questions? Let us know!
Meet the Judges
Sebastian Gonzalez
Guitarist, composer and music teacher from Bogotá, Colombia.
In 2001, Sebastian became part of the Colombian project Mauricio & Palo de Agua, a group that published three albums (Canto Caribeño, Contigo, Viernes) under EMI Music.
Top hits include: Niña, Canto Caribeño, Darte un Beso, Dame tu Amor, and Esa Muchachita. Mauricio & Palo de Agua have been nominatinated for the Shock and Nuestra Tierra awards in Colombia, won the Golden Sigla Award at the Latin American Festival in Milan, Italy and have received two nominations for the Latin Grammy Awards (best new artist, best tropical song).
Currently in New York City, Sebastian currently performs with the bands Outernational, The Ritualists, and Axel Music Box, and produces projects at Premier Studios in Times Square.
nuestra-voz.org/sebastian-gonzalez-talento-sensibilidad-y-disciplina/
AP Tobler
Multi-Instrumentalist and Songwriter from San Jose, California
Annapurna “AP” Tobler’s musical journey began with the discovery of drums at the age of 8. She explored the sounds and composition of grunge, hard rock, metal, and jazz through her studies, adding guitar and bass to her instruments studies in the years that followed.
AP has been gigging regularly since a young age, performing at high profile music events such as PASIC, Sweetwater Gearfest, and touring with the School of Rock AllStars. She drums professionally for local bands, and performs with the dynamic Street Drum Corps.
AP started writing and recording original music in 2018. Her versatility as a multi-instrumentalist has allowed her to compose and perform all tracks for her songs.
Esha K.
Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer/Songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area, California
Esha K. is an alternative-rock/indie vocalist and songwriter with extensive experience within the music industry.
Esha is passionate to use her position as a woman in the music industry - and as a person of color - to bring a fresh perspective and sound to the alternative rock genre. She has performed nationally and internationally in a variety of venues, from cafes in the Bay Area to iconic music venues in New York City.
Esha has worked for the Recording Academy and has also been hired as an artist consultant, working with upcoming artists to develop their artist brand and set up the foundations for their own careers.
Currently, Esha K. is furthering her postgraduate studies in songwriting at BIMM London, one of the U.K.’s most prestigious music institutions.
Majhon Phillips
Music Educator and Manager in
New York City
Majhon Phillips is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist in New York. She earned a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Languages (both Summa Cum Laude) from Southeast Missouri State University.
Majhon also holds a Master of Education (Global Studies and Music) degree with honors from the University of Illinois. Majhon furthered her studies in music at the Liszt School of Music Weimar in Germany and at the University of Missouri.
Majhon has performed across America and Europe, in such locations as Notre Dame Cathedral, Frauenkirche, St. Mark’s Basilica, Carnegie Hall, Tool Shed Studios, Tabard Theatre, and The Bitter End.
She is also world-renowned for her teaching style using a blend of traditional and rock methods, and has coached more than 300 up-and-coming artists. Majhon’s students have won state and national competitions in music and have toured internationally. Her friends and colleagues at Universal Music Group, Republic Records, The Recording Academy, ASCAP, and NAMM help promote and push her students to achieve all they can in the field of music.
The ultimate goal is finding your voice. There’s always a place for new voices in the world of music.
Marco Pisani
Modern Guitarist from Italy
Marco Pisani has a strong passion for both electronic and acoustic music. His influences vary from contemporary Jazz to Fingerstyle, and his artistic intention is to share stories through music becoming the soundtrack of other people’s life.
Currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Production at Berklee College of Music, he has released his first solo album “The Unconventional” in 2019. Over the past ten years he has gained extensive experience within the music industry touring the world as orchestra musician for Princess Cruises, and performing in festivals and theatre shows across Italy and Spain.
Jazz guitar legend Lee Ritenour said about him: “I think that Marco is a guitarist that has all the right ingredients... good sound, phrasing, feeling and versatility. Marco has progressive rock, jazz, acoustic chops, plus an abundance of technique and most important, the obvious love for the guitar and music.”
You can discover more about Marco Pisani’s music on his social media and in all digital stores like Spotify or Apple Music.
Brian (Bt) "Gibbs"
Record Producer from the San Francisco Bay Area
Brian (Bt) "Gibbs" is co-owner & principal at Skyline Entertainment & Publishing (Tool Shed Studios) in Silicon Valley. With 30+ record credits in 2020, Gibbs uses his B.M. from Berklee College of Music (Jazz Composition) as a record producer, mixing engineer & immersive mixing engineer. He has worked on many records for Bay Area artists including Los Tigres del Norte's "Realidades" (2015 GRAMMY Award for Best Regional Mexican Album, including Tejano).
Gibbs is also a 10yr+ Recording Academy voting member working within the San Francisco chapter Producers & Engineers Wing, District Advocate Captain (CA-19) and Grammy U mentor. In addition, he was 2020 Section Chair for the Audio Engineering Society (AES) San Francisco, AES Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship Task Force and is a current Co-Chair for the AES 151st Convention (Fall 2021).
In addition to presenting at multiple AES conferences on immersive mixing techniques, he has also presented multiple times at Music Expo (SF & Boston) Berklee College of Music, Cal State University campuses, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Webster University and other audio engineering educational institutions. He is also a current SMPTE member in the San Francisco section.
One of Gibbs' primary focus is on diversity & inclusion across all disciplines and genres of music creation, both behind the microphone and behind the record.
Ignacio Lecumberri
Musician & Producer | Audio Engineer | Audio Technician from Argentina
Ignacio earned his MRP II from the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Science in 2011.
He was the recording engineer for the 2018 Latin Winning Producer of the Year Linda Briceño on “11” & “Segundo Piso” (MV Caldera) and for the Latin Grammy winning project “Marc Anthony for Babies.”
As an engineer and producer, he has worked with artists such as Ruben Blades, Sheryl Crow, Avenged Sevenfold, Jorge Glem, Busta Rhymes, Trey Songs, Bad Bunny and Ozuna.
As an audio technician Ignacio has worked in projects for Atlantic Records, Michael Brauer studios, NJ High School of Technology, Criterion Acoustics, Jungle City studios, and Arcade Songs studios.
He is also the owner of Suite 484 LLC (Music Production & Artist Development) where he manages projects for Argentinean freestyler & rapper Cacha, who currently has more than 5 million views on Youtube and 1 million streams on Spotify.
Ignacio holds a distribution agreement with Ingrooves (UMP) and a sync license with HBO for the upcoming television series Dias de Gallos.