Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Selectors and music producers wishing to participate in the Red Bull Music Academy's 2007 staging in Toronto, Canada, have until May 4 to get their applications in to the Germany address.

Application forms are available on the website www.redbullmusicacademy.com. Among the requirements are pictures and a mix CD, in which the applicant expresses himself or herself through music.

On the website, it states that "The Red Bull Music Academy brings together DJs and music producers from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds to exchange their ideas about music and their knowledge of how life in the music industry works.

"The two-week term schedules aim to cover all major aspects of DJ culture, including music history, technology and production, business and skills. We invite a variety of accomplished international guests - from industry movers and shakers to pirate radio station operators, from turntablists to sonic theorists - to meetour students and tell their own stories in their own words."

The academy was first held in Berlin, Germany, in 1998. Last year, Feonia Williams of Red Bull said, Sawandi Simons became the first Jamaican and also Caribbean applicant to be selected for the academy and went to Australia. She said this has resulted in the United Kingdom's representative visiting Jamaica and working with Simons for a month, with collaborations with the Japanese representative also in progress.

Although Simons is the first successful Jamaican applicant, Williams said there have been previous participants from Jamaica. Among them are producers Jeremy Harding and Steelie and Clevie, as well as VP Records executive Chris Chin and journalists Winford Williams and Karyl Walker.

To facilitate the application process Williams is willing to package applications and send them to Germany. Prospective applicants can contact her at 424-6852.