Ayse Çağlar and Nina Glick Schiller have invited migration scholars to put constructively into question the transnational paradigm by “Locating Migration” (2011). Based on our work on the dynamics of the Cologne carnival (Salzbrunn 2014, 2022a; Ellinghaus and Salzbrunn 2019), 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 recognized and celebrated only for a couple of decades. During the last thirty years, Cologne carnival as well as the broader music scene in Cologne has undergone profound changes: new repertories referring to different social and religious references, updated lyrics of songs, hybrid styles with sources from musicians with multiple origins, 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 re-shaping of institutions and the short-term and long-term strategies and effects of culture politics. Starting from a local case study, we will broaden our perspective to regional dynamics and put those in a broader national and supranational context.