True North is celebrating music from the north-east of Scotland by gathering together some of its greatest artists.
Ben Torrie oversees the programming at Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA) and heads the team that organises the True North festival.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE JOB AT APA? I’ve always been interested in the arts and in music. When I was at university, I did a part-time job at the International Youth Festival, which then led into various jobs in the arts and I’ve been with APA for nearly nine years now.
WHAT IS TRUE NORTH ABOUT? True North is relatively new. This year is only the second. Last year was our first foray into the festival and it has been changed and developed, but the fundamental principles are as a weekend urban festival, inspired by the rich musical heritage of this region. The central focus is on singer-songwriters and the central role they play in the music industry.
HOW DID THE IDEA FOR TRUE NORTH INITIALLY COME ABOUT?The inspiration comes from the fishing industry and the bothy ballads right through to the more contemporary artist that has come from Aberdeen and the north-east, like Annie Lennox or Emeli Sande. We have used that as our inspiration to create contemporary programming inspired by that. That is where True North came from.
WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED IN THE PROGRAMMING SINCE LAST YEAR? Last year, we had a really successful first festival with some fantastic artists on board and it was a fantastic pilot for us. We have grown it and developed it and this year we have introduced a programming theme and we are focusing on women and the role that female arts have played in shaping the music industry, which has added another scale to our programming.
WHAT KIND OF THINGS WILL THE PROGRAMME INCLUDE? We have got several headline artists who are female and really contemporary and showcase the forward motion of the industry. We are taking the festival out across the city. We are performing in pubs, the Maritime Museum, an afternoon on the rooftop garden at the St Nicholas Centre and the majority of the acts performing at those venues are female. We have a panel discussion of five women who are talking about their careers and those who have inspired them. We also have a writing masterclass targeted at young female writers.
IT MUST BE DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE WHAT ACTS TO FOCUS ON AND CREATE A PROGRAMME AROUND THEM? It is full on and we want to make an impact with it. We want it to feel like something which has taken the whole city to heart and there are activities taking place all over the city. We have also scheduled it in a way that you can experience most of it. There aren’t too many things happening at the same time and you can see three different things one after another.We start with a huge list of fantastic artists who we would love to work with. It can be quite challenging pinning down these busy artists but we are pleased about how the programme has come together. We probably started programming it in earnest at the start of the year.
WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL? The Kate Bush night feels like a highlight to me, because it is a unique one-off and has been specifically curated for True North.
True North is at venues across the city from September 22 to 25. For the full programme see www.aberdeen
performingarts.com/truenorth