In 2011, Boogat started to explore and use his parent’s language in his music. Being a first generation immigrant (his father is from Paraguay and his mother from Mexico), he explored his Mexican and Latin American musical heritage and mixed it with his own background in hip-hop. He quickly found and built connections with other artists all over the Americas and Europe who were doing the same thing. The result was a forward thinking amalgamation of Latin and world music which incorporates contemporary styles like electronic music, while keeping with the traditions of Latin music. This work provided him with a new and very enthusiast audience in his native Quebec and extended his artistic and professional horizons tremendously.

In just over two years and two album releases, we have been able to transform that initial interest into successful career growth outside of his primary market of Quebec. With the help of the Radio Starmaker Fund, we hired a publicist and radio tracker to introduce the project to other Canadian audiences. We could sense his momentum growing at the end of 2015 with a strong first tour in Western Canada, including performances at the Winnipeg and Regina Folk Festivals. This culminated with his Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year in April 2016 for his release Neo-Reconquista.

Outside of Canada, we have focused our attention on the United States and Mexico, with marketing campaigns for Boogat's previous and most recent record. Specific radio stations have been very supportive of the project and the band has been able to tour these markets. His work in Mexico in particular has given him the chance to reconnect with his roots and to engage with new audiences who are truly able to grasp the complexity and humour within his music and lyrics. The result was the development of a real fan base in these territories and we are already planning our return in 2017.

Touring and career wise, the next step for Boogat is to tackle Europe. He has been given a near-perfect opportunity to introduce himself into this new market via a showcase at WOMEX (World Music Expo) in October 2016. This event is tailor-made for an artist like Boogat as it’s one of the most important world music festivals in the world. The performance will put Boogat in front of many key industry players and acts as an anchor date around which we have built other touring in locales like Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels. Our goal is to release his latest album in Europe in order to familiarize the media and audiences with the project, while building on the WOMEX showcase to unlock summer 2017 bookings. This will also serve as a stepping stone for the next album cycle.

The Radio Starmaker Fund’s support has allowed Boogat to travel with more musicians, which makes for an incredible blend of live and programmed instrumentation, giving him the opportunity to showcase the best quality show possible. Without this key support, these essential opportunities wouldn't have been possible.

Guillaume Decouflet
Manager
Arts & Crafts Management