Making Sweet Music

SUSAN SZYMBORSKI gets the lowdown on an exciting new scheme to help young local musicians.

IT WAS a sunny afternoon in Dingwall and something was afoot. Almost twenty teenagers had congregated in the otherwise quiet Bridgend Business Park. But, quite the opposite of hanging around with nowhere to go and nothing to do, these kids were about to get involved in an exciting new project.

Developed with funds from the European Union and National Lottery, Highland Alternative Music is a six month pilot scheme which aims to provide a venue, equipment and professional support to young, local musicians.

The non-profit organisation has been set up by a small group of volunteers and is headed by two well-known industry professionals; sound engineer and Highlands and Islands Enterprise Creative Industries Manager, Gareth Ince, and local DJ and events organiser Robbie Dunsmore.
 
Explaining the idea behind the initiative, Dunsmore said: “Highland Alternative Music was formed to meet a growing demand from young musicians for a venue in the Dingwall area to promote alternative genres of music. Traditional music is well catered for throughout Ross and Cromarty but it became evident that the needs of young rock and alternative musicians were not being met. You forget how little there can be for young people to do sometimes. This project offers a venue for rehearsal, recording, tuition and master-classes.”

In reality, the Highland Alternative Music premises consists of a hangout area (useful for meeting like-minded souls,) a small kitchen, sound booths and a good sized practice area kitted out with musical equipment loaned by HI~Arts.

Local bands and musicians can book time in the space to rehearse or work on professional recordings. At the end of the pilot, a compilation CD featuring some of the artists who have made use of the facility will be produced.

As simple a set-up as this is, Highland Alternative Music is already making a difference to Indie musicians in our community. Ince explains that over nine acts have already recorded in the facility, including Black Star Ritual and up and coming singer/songwriter, Chris MacGowan.

Reeling off the hectic timetable of new musical events, including Belladrum, Loopallu and the Skye Music Festival, he adds that the present climate is a good time for this venture, helping local artists to have the confidence and good quality demos to become involved.

Venturing into the building for the project’s open day, I was lucky enough to meet Highland Alternative Music’s 10th happy customer: seventeen year old Motty Parrott of Inverness band, The Soundtrack.
 
Despite having the ability to win a recent talent show at Inverness Royal Academy, The Soundtrack face the same problems as any struggling act. Motty explains: “We normally practice in a shed and although we’ve just bought an eight-track recorder, it’s hard to get good sound quality without someone who knows what they’re doing.”

Having travelled from Inverness to find out about Highland Alternative Music, The Soundtrack’s curiosity instantly paid off. Within a couple of hours, the band had made their first studio recording, produced with the expert skills of Dunsmore and Ince. Holding his new CD, Motty beamed: “We could use this on our My Space site. I definitely want to come back, I’m hooked!”

Let’s hope that it is not just musicians that are “hooked” on Highland Alternative Music. Funding for the pilot is set to end in July, meaning future funds must be secured if this commendable community venture will continue to make a difference to the Highland music scene and the youths that hope to be involved in it.

For more information, email: highlandalternativemusic@hotmail.co.uk .

© Susan Szymborski, 2007