Tony Curr, left, and Gordon Macrae have started a record company and are looking for local talent. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0645457)
CALLING all musicians - two local lads have launched a record label which is already attracting international attention and they are looking for home-grown talent.
Bailiwick Records, the brainchild of school friends and music enthusiasts Tony Curr and Gordon Macrae, both 21, has already attracted the attention of rising bands from the UK and further afield.
‘It has moved really fast. We have been in discussions with musicians from the UK and from Guernsey but also a band from New York and one from Canada,’ said Mr Macrae.
He said Bailiwick Records was born when the friends were going to gigs while studying in London. ‘We used to go out to see so much music but often the bands were nothing special, then someone like Gossamer Albatross would come along and blow us away,’ he said.
They decided they wanted to promote the kind of musicians who appealed to them that strayed from the norm, so they decided to take a chance and approach Gossamer Albatross, a band from Hereford.
‘They were enthusiastic about our ideas and decided they would like to work with us, so we are releasing their single, The Ground Will Take Us Down, on Monday.’
He described the band as being multi-instrumental, fun and folk inspired.
‘It is folky but not beardy folk and it has a pop edge to it, with classical input from two violas and a cello as well as guitars and vocals.’
Mr Curr said he would be very happy to represent Guernsey acts, but only if they had the ambition and talent required.
‘We are not going to put any records out just because people are from Guernsey - but we are interested to hear demos and it would be great to represent acts who are good but have not played live much yet or had much exposure,’ he said.
‘We like a wide range of music - bands or solo acts - and we are planning to put on some shows here soon to give acts a chance to be heard, to have something to aim for,’ he said.
The label is also working with UK band Pengilly’s.
‘We are doing an EP with them. It’s already been recorded in a London studio by the same producer who records with Noah and the Whale,’ he said.
The pair, who went to Elizabeth College and have known each other from a very young age, said it was about time Guernsey’s long musical history was brought up to date.
‘Guernsey has always been a great place for music and the arts and now it’s time some local acts joined the national scene,’ said Mr Curr.
nÊFor more information, go to www.myspace/bailiwickrecords or www.bailiwickrecordingcompany.com.
Article posted on 24th October, 2008 - 2.29pm
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