Nordic Music Showcase Ja Ja Ja celebrates 10th anniversary as Nomex continues to flourish

26 November 2019 - Press release

This week, Nordic club night and website Ja Ja Ja celebrates its 10th anniversary. Over the past decade, more than 250 artists have performed at more than 100 Ja Ja Ja shows, kickstarting the careers of the likes of MØ, Aurora, Liss, Astrid S, Smerz, When Saints Go Machine, Olof Arnalds – and more recently, developing acts including Jimi Somewhere, Jacob Ogawa, Hanne Mjøen, Sløtface, Pom Poko, Fieh and Soleima.

Ja Ja Ja was founded by, and is still operated by NOMEX, the collaborative organisation ran by the 5 Nordic Export Offices: Music Finland, Export Music Sweden, Music Export Denmark, Iceland Music Export and Music Norway.

Offering a pan-Nordic platform to share information and best practices, NOMEX has since been used as a platform to develop pan-Nordic strategies and analyse the changes and challenges that the music sector faces.

Ja Ja Ja, one of NOMEX's key projects was set up 2009 as a Nordic club night and website, celebrating the very best music from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Speaking on how Ja Ja Ja helped ignite their international careers, Norwegian Bella Union-signed art punk band Pom Poko said: "We've played at both Ja Ja Ja Berlin and Ja Ja Ja Festival in Vienna, and both were really nice and packed with an enthusiastic audience. Playing your first shows in foreign countries can be scary, but Ja Ja Ja did such a great job of welcoming us and promoting the show, so the first few steps didn't feel as big. Plus it's really nice with a Pan-Nordic backstage to make new friends."

Whilst Ja Ja Ja may be NOMEX's most well known project, the work done behind the scenes continues to pay dividends. Recent breakthrough acts such as Sigrid, girl in red, Boy Pablo, Julie Bergan, Glowie and Ina Wroldsen all benefited from early support and belief from NOMEX and their respective music export offices through other NOMEX-led projects such as the Nordic Music Mission, Nordic Travel Pass, Nordic Playlist amongst others.

Speaking on Ja Ja Ja's role within Nordic artists' "export strategies", NOMEX member and Executive Director of Music Finland, Kaisa Rönkkö said: "We as export offices always emphasise the importance of a well-planned, realistic, but courageous “export strategies” - carefully exploring concrete routes and steps to market. For Nordics to get a chance to perform at Ja Ja Ja is one very important step in the export route. In addition to putting time and effort into strategic planning, NOMEX, via Ja Ja Ja, is also able to set up solid goals for our artists and help them build their international careers.

Ja Ja Ja is an essential step in Nordic artists' international careers. It's important for NOMEX to have consistent projects running, in addition to the strategic work behind the scenes and changing ideas and experiences. I'm proud we've been able to be patient in building a brand – not only in UK and Germany, but within our own industries – the stronger the brand and reputation of Ja Ja Ja is, the more it feeds the desire of export ready Nordic brands to apply for Ja Ja Ja – and grow internationally as a whole."

This Thursday, Ja Ja Ja will celebrate its 10th anniversary at The Lexington, with performances from Finnish rising star Jesse Markin, Norway’s Moyka (fresh off the back of supporting Sigrid on tour) and Swedish sensation Elias.

Ja Ja Ja will return in 2020 with more shows in London, Berlin, and for Ja Ja Ja Festival in Vienna.

For more information, visit: http://jajajamusic.com/

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