“Professional tools to create music were always confined within a PC environment. We’d also never seen hardware that was portable, no bigger than the size of your hand, and with an interface dedicated to creating music,” said Mr Yutaka Owada, one of the founding members of CyberStep. He and his college friends found this undiscovered market potential, which resulted in “KDJ-ONE” – a portable music device which allows musicians to create music on the go, and have access to their creations anytime, anywhere.
To bring this idea to life, the company used Kickstarter to get support from musicians and gadget fans who are obsessed with the very latest cutting edge products. The project received an unprecedented amount of success, with 398 backers who in total pledged USD 158,449 to help bring the product to reality. Subsequently, the project also gained unanimous praise and attention from a number of famous musicians such as Mr Sid Wilson, a DJ from American heavy metal band Slipknot.
Now, CyberStep will showcase its creation at Music China. Ahead of the show, Mr Yutaka Owada has stated: “There are so many talented and forward thinking musicians in Asia, as well as a huge amount of young people who hope to one day tap into the music world. Music China can help us demonstrate the possibilities of the KDJ-ONE in the Asian markets by all means.”
For the company, the exhibition is an ideal platform to not only reach out to music talents, but to also share ideas with many like-minded innovators. “When you become an expert in some aspect, you will start to see there are a lot of improvements to be made in that market. With market knowledge, as well as confidence and some patience to learn and to realise the product, anyone can bring their idea to life,” Mr Yutaka Owada added.
Traditional craftsmanship also on show demonstrates the fair’s combination of innovation and traditionalism
Meanwhile, in what demonstrates Music China’s all-encompassing nature, the more traditional music making participants are equally as important to the fair’s success as innovators like CyberStep. Ms Judy Cheung, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd, said: “Over the years, the fair has evolved to be more in sync with the global musical instrument industry. We understand the market and the new generation musicians are craving for cutting edge electronic instruments and technologies, and they can find these on offer at 2017 edition. While at the same time, we continue to treasure the uniqueness of traditional craftsmanship and we’re excited to present a strong line-up of European traditional bow instrument creators to our visitors.”
Take for instance Luthier Erli Gurra, a violin maker from Albania who will exhibit for the first time at this year’s edition. Company owner Mr Erli Gurra learnt the craftsmanship at the Antonio Stradivari Violin Making School in Cremona, Italy, and developed his skills based on the most famous masters in violinmaking history, such as Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari.
Mr Gurra said: “I chose Music China to promote my own brand and instruments because I think it is the biggest fair in Asia. Through this platform, I hope to know more about this region’s music players’ preferences of choosing classical violins.”
Being a luthier, Mr Gurra hopes he can share the happiness that the violin gives him to other musicians. “The art of violin making is unique, and has its own beauty because it’s able to fill you with emotions. What I feel when I hear the first ‘voice’ of my own creation is impossible to describe. I do my job with a lot of commitment, and I pay a lot of attention to every single detail, so that everyone who plays my instruments can feel the same as I do. ”
Music China 2017 will take place from 11 – 14 October 2017 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. For more details about the show, please visit www.musikmesse-china.com or send an email to music@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com.
Other shows under the Musikmesse brand include:
NAMM Musikmesse Russia
14 – 17 September 2017, Moscow
Musikmesse
11 – 14 April 2018, Frankfurt
For more information about Musikmesse fairs, please visit www.musikmesse.com.
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Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,300 employees at some 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €647 million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services.
With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at:
www.messefrankfurt.com
www.congressfrankfurt.de
www.kapeuropa.de
www.festhalle.de
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