How Does “Migrant” and “World” Music Change Local and National Cultures? An Insight from the Cologne Carnival, Related Antiracist Networks and Recent Cultural Politics

Nina Glick Schiller and Ayse Çağlar have invited migration scholars to constructively question the transnational paradigm by “locating migration”. Based on our work on the dynamics of the Cologne carnival, this chapter assesses the impact of “migrant” and “world” music on local and national cultural policies. Cologne’s history has always been shaped by migration, even though the enrichment of the music and carnival scene, thanks to migrants, has been recognised and celebrated only for a couple of decades. Over the last 30 years, Cologne’s carnival as well as the broader music scene in Cologne has undergone profound changes: new repertories pertaining to different social and religious references, updated lyrics of songs, hybrid styles with sources from musicians with multiple origins and links between the anti-Nazi resistance movements and current anti-fascist initiatives. Diversification processes have been initiated both top-down and bottom-up, leading to resilient changes concerning the use of musical references and the visibility of new cultural actors. We analyse the creativity and openness of the cultural scene of Cologne, taking into consideration political consciousness, decision-making and the re-shaping of institutions and the short- and long-term strategies and effects of cultural politics. Starting from a local case study, we broaden our perspective to regional dynamics and put these in a broader national and supranational context.