30 March 2010 NEWS RELEASE - Strode College music students release online album
Strode College Music Technology students have launched their own online record label ‘Strode College Records` and released their first album `Sound on Sound vol.1`. The album, which is a compilation of the students’ best work, is available for free download from www.strodecollege.bandcamp.com The album includes a broad range of music styles including dubstep, drum’n’bass, hip hop, acoustic pop and dub reggae.
Strode students are required to record and produce music for commercial use as part of their BTEC Music Technology course. For this project they also had to design their own CD covers and create promotional material including videos and posters.
The students launched `Strode College Records` and the compilation album at an event last week, featuring live performances from international student Sam Wasira also known as hip hop artist `Replay`, Jaz Miller of Sherborne, Sam Raywood of Othery nr Taunton and Holly Walshe who lives in Street. Around fifty people attended the launch event including Ben Shillabeer from `Sink and Stove Records`, Allan Trinder and Steve Bilsborough from Glastonbury FM radio. Some of the students played their tracks on Glastonbury FM later that evening, including budding music producer Sam Hadfield of Stoke-Sub-Hamdon, aka L.U.C.I.D.
Adrian Smith, Strode Music Technology Lecturer, said: “This is a new initiative for our students and it has gone really well. They learn a lot about how to make good quality music at Strode, but this project has also helped them understand how music is produced, marketed and promoted commercially. Gaining a broader knowledge of how the music industry works and learning new business skills will undoubtedly help them in their future careers. As part of the course our students are also required to perform live using music technology. To promote the album they will be performing in local schools in the next couple of months and at Strode Theatre on June 16 in an event called Sound on Sound”.
Strode Music Technology student Levi Minett, who lives in Stawell near Bridgwater, is really pleased with the album. He said: “The launch event was amazing and all the students put a lot of effort in to create really good products. The fact that you can download the music online is great. I am also organising a gig later in the year to promote my band ‘Inside the Dream’
