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‘WE WANT TO KEEP THE BEST OF SCOTTISH & TALENT UP HERE'
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SOMA SKOOL is a one-day event that attempts to inspire, educate and motivate the Scottish music industry heroes of tomorrow. Mark Edmundson gets the details.
ack in 2003. w'hilc thc .-\thcns ol' tltc north was
hostiitg thc MTV Awards and thc l)car (irccn
l’lacc its lirst MUsic Works c\‘cnt. tltc lattct"s cinincnt rccoi'd lahcl was in thc lah concocting a uniquc skill sharing cxpcricncc to corrcct tltc tlisptll'il} hctwccn Scotland's grcat thirst and passion for music and thc lack ol locus and opportunin ll ol‘l'ci‘s this crcatiic wcalth. 'I‘Itat sanic sclli-st)‘lcd signposting conVcntion was Sonia Skool and it is now approaching its third ycar ol’ pointing aspiring musicians and music cntrcprcncurs in thc right dircction. ‘()nc ol‘ thc prohlcins with Scotland is that thcrc is quitc a lot ol' talcnt drain.’ cxplains Richard Brown. Sonia Rccords‘ gcitcral managcr. ‘Wc l‘clt that thci'c was a gi'cal hu// ahout music and w'c thought w'c‘d highlight tltc carcct' choiccs and husincss oppot'tunitics that arc on our doorstcp.‘
Attracting school lL‘tl\'Cl'.\. .studcnts and thc inaturc disillusioncd alikc. Sonia Skool is thcn in a position to alcrt thcm to thc choiccs and scr\ iccs a\ai|ahlc on tltcir doorstcp. 'Wc want to cntcrtain pcoplc hilt at tltc cnd ol~ thc da} wc want to inakc surc pcoplc know who thc_\' nccd to spcak to; to l‘ccl inspircd hut actually know what thc ncxt couplc ol stcps arc going to hc.~ says Brown. ‘\\'c“i‘c tr)ing to do as mttch as possihlc in an cl'l'ort to catcr for as man} pcoplc as
possihlc. .-\ho\‘c all wc want to kccp thc hcst of
Scottish talcnt tip hcrc.‘
To this cnd thcrc arc hands-on workshops with produccrs and dcsigncrs. carccr study prcscntations l’roin l).ls and hands. cquipincnt dcinonstrations. industr) scntinars and a hcax'} prcscncc l'rom tltc likcs ol‘ thc rccord lahcl union Bl’l to Btisincss (iatcway and thc Princcs 'l‘rust. Tlicrc arc of coursc ncw attractions to this scars" Skool too. namely a
102 THE LIST to .80 Mai .ft‘x‘ro
podcasling l‘oruni courtcs} ol‘ Radio Magnclic. an Xl-‘M inastci‘class in radio hi'oadcasting and a dcnio and discussion ol sound tracking and dcsign l'i'oin Sznalas. cach hantntcring hoinc that l)l\' cthos wc did ii and so can )oll.
‘lt‘s kind ol‘ a long tci‘ni plan to tr_\ and cncouragc
pcoplc to takc a risk. 'l‘hci‘c is a ltugc ainount ol
crcatis'c talcnt in Scotland. llltlll} highl} succcsslul hands and l).ls. hilt thcrc arcn‘t that llltlll} husincsscs. and although Sonia has hccn hascd in Scotland tor IS _\‘cars now wc nccd inorc husincsscs to rcach our lcch so that togcthcr as an industr} wc can shout a hit loudcr.‘
Also acting as a crcdihlc link hctwccn Scotland's carccr schiccs and thcir targct ntarkct. Brown rcads succcss not on!) in thc incrcasc in nunihcrs through tltc door htit iit tltc locus and qualit} ol cnquirics l‘t‘om Ihc w idc dcmogi‘aphlc ol' attcndccs.
'Wc'rc plcascd to hc attracting pcoplc l'ront Drumchapcl and Bcarsdcn. 'l'hc cit} has gixcn an aw l'ul lot to its o\cr tltc _\cars and wc'rc gctling to gch soinctlting hack to thc ncw hrccd. thc hright )oung things.‘ hc cnthuscs. '\\'|tat\ morc. tltc kccnncss ol‘ thc othcr partics inxolx'cd. rca|l_\ wanting to support tltcsc kind ol cxcnts. shows that thcsc organisations rcall} do want to liclp thc crcatch industr} ol' tltc luturc.‘ 'l'hc music ltttltlsll'} ma} not hc cas_\ to hrcak into but Sonia arc doing tlicir hit lo grcasc thc cogs and with plans afoot to takc Sonia Skool to lidinhurgh. look sct to continuc.
The Arches, Glasgow, Fri 31 Mar, 11am-3am. Tickets £5 (£1) from the Arches box office, 0980 240 7528. For a chance to win tickets, see page 13.
SomaSkoollI'tlist
items a Qtiick run down of lust some of the events planned for the shebang.
MN
I Radio Magnetic podcasting demonstration The celebrated internet radio‘ turnedpodcaster is hoping to demystify the internet buzzword by way of ovemew and demonstration geing out online. I Alex Smoke and Vector Lovers demos Digital sherpas to your Logic. Reason and Ahelton queries. the Boom artists lead yOu through the music, production and design process. I Sound Control kit demos Korg and Roland road test the industry's best shiny new hardware.
I XFM presenter demos Scotland's eminent radio station is on hand With an outSide broadcasting unit offering short training sesSions in mastering the airwaves.
I James Holden QM Pressures speCial guest on how he got to where he is today and how you might make it too.
I Seminars The ins and outs of getting yoorself signed as an artist. mtiSic licensing issues in TV. film and gaming, the media's impact on the music busmess and the importance of the old- tashioned tour discussed by those in the know.
I Guitar plug-in demos Traditional musiCianship and technolaflery together at last.
I Savalas sound track presentation Glasgow's post production, sound and multimedia dons address the importance of music in film and teleVision, taking a look at the development of sound tracking and deSign.
I Bulletproof design demos Looking at sleeve design and offering up hints and tips for budding deSIgners of the future. I BPl/MCPS/AIM Roadshow Three music industry organisations explain what all those initials stand for.
I Stalls and Advice Industry aides Busmess Gateway. Cultural Enterprise Office, New Deal for MusiCians. Learn Direct. Princes Trust. Careers Scotland are FE/HE are among those offering advice. See somaskoo/.com
(Mark Edmundson)