New Nokia Music Films Directed by Emerging Filmmakers Abteen Baheri, Emily Kai Bok, Bob Harlow and Tyrone Lebon Reveal the 'Real' Music Landscape in America

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Nov 16, 2012) - Nokia Music, a free music streaming service from Nokia that offers free and unlimited access to playlists and songs on Nokia Lumia smartphones, today announced an exciting new documentary series. The Nokia Music produced series will feature six short films created by some of the world's most respected independent directors including, Abteen Bagheri, Emily Kai Bok, Bob Harlow and Tyrone Lebon. The films will begin airing on Sundance Channel in January.

Each film in the series will explore the music landscape in six cities, telling the story of music's evolution in America while also capturing the perspectives of music fans from all walks of life. The results are authentic narratives about the 'real' music scenes of the United States. The song "Bright Lights" from Austin-based critically acclaimed blues, rock and soul artist Gary Clark Jr.'s Blak and Blu album will be featured in the promos and the closing credits of the series.

Jyrki Rosenberg, Global Head and VP, Nokia Entertainment, says, "Music has always inspired various forms of pop culture and since music and film have always gone hand in hand, the idea to produce a music documentary came naturally. We are also excited to work with these emerging filmmakers and see America's different music scenes through their eyes. We look forward to shedding some light on music communities that are rarely put in the spotlight." He continued, "Sundance Channel's continuous celebration of independent filmmaking and their spirit of creativity make them a perfect partner in this venture."

"Austin is a city made up of many different styles and cultures. It's a place that showcases the diversity of people from all over the world. From jazz to hip-hop to country to blues, and electronic music: it's all represented in the music scene," Gary Clark, Jr. "I'm grateful to be a part of this series."

Abteen Bagheri, music video director, says, "The goal of the project is to uncover the culture of an American city -- specifically through music -- and allow everyone to experience the scene as if they've lived it. It's great to see cities and their music scenes for the first time, looking in with an outsider's perspective."

Film enthusiasts will be able to follow each director's journey across the country on www.nokia-music.com, which will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes content such as director's blogs, pictures from the road and video diaries. The films will be available on Sundancechannel.com after they have premiered on the network.

Tyrone Le Bon, who has previously directed video shorts for Nike, says, "I'm really happy and excited to be involved in this project. Shooting documentary films about exciting musicians in cities I've always wanted to explore is really exciting and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be involved."

Nokia Music is now available in the United States on our full range of Lumia smartphones -- including the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 on AT&T, Lumia 810 on T-Mobile and Lumia 822 on Verizon.

For more information visit www.nokia-music.com or follow #Music_Nokia

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Nokia Music
Nokia Music features playlists that are curated by an expert team of global and regional musicologists, spanning a wide spectrum of genres from underground Detroit house tracks to New York Philharmonic favorites. Completely advertisement-free, and requiring no registration or subscription, Nokia Music allows consumers to enjoy the songs of their favorite artists without any disruption. Nokia Music can also be enjoyed offline so consumers can listen to their favorite playlists anytime, anywhere.

For more information visit www.nokia-music.com or follow #MusicGetsYouTalking

About Sundance Channel
Sundance Channel is the destination for What's Next, Now. Showcasing both today's creative icons and the emerging talent of tomorrow, Sundance Channel tells credible, authentic, and emotionally immersive stories of Invention, Fashion, Film, Travel, Design, and Enterprise. Launched in 1996 and owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc, Sundance Channel provides perspectives dedicated to founder Robert Redford's mission to celebrate creativity. www.sundancechannel.com

About Gary Clark Jr.
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire Gary Clark Jr. is the type of artist who comes along once in a lifetime. Ever since becoming the only newcomer to perform at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival two years ago, the Austin native has been astonishing audiences across the country, and at every major summer music festival in 2012, with his sonic journeys that are equally soulful and psychedelic. His current album Blak and Blu -- a rocket ride rushing from the Mississippi Delta of a century ago to a point somewhere ahead of the horizon -- bowed at No. 6 on the Billboard Album chart and earned Clark unanimous critical acclaim for the inventiveness of his blues, rock, and soul combo. The New York Times called Clark "a guitarist of deep magnetism and tremendous feel," while Spin declared, "there truly is nobody else like him around." A command performance at The White House for the Obamas, alongside Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, and Buddy Guy, led the President to remark: "He's the future."

About Somesuch & Co
Somesuch & Co was founded in the summer of 2010 by Sally Campbell, Tim Nash and Nick Gordon. Sally and Nick previously worked together at Academy Films; Sally as a Partner/Producer and Nick as a Director. Before Somesuch & Co, Tim worked for six years at Atlantic Records gaining recognition as one of the top music video commissioners.

The three make a strong team and the company has gone from strength to strength, building a fresh and varied roster including Kim Gehrig, Daniel Wolfe, Ewen Spencer and Bob Harlow as well as directors from international partners Iconoclast; So Me, We Are From L.A and Romain Gavras. The company also successfully champion new talent such as Emily Kai Bock, Ben Strebel, Abteen Bagheri and Tyrone LeBon.

Somesuch & Co have made commercials for San Miguel, Stella, Guinness, Nokia, Ballantines, Skoda, Seat, Doritos, New Look, Vodafone, HTC, Cobra, Coca Cola and Asics.