13 August 2007
The PRS Foundation with Clear Sound and Vision announce winners of the Unsigned Award 2007
The Performing Right Society Foundation (PRSF) in partnership with Clear Sound and Vision (CSV) are proud to announce the winners of the 2007 Unsigned Award for new music.
The initiative gives unsigned bands a unique opportunity to raise their profile and get their music heard. The winning acts will showcase their music in front of key players in the music industry at Dingwalls in London in February 2008.
They will also record a three track EP at a professional studio where the recordings will be edited and mixed. CSV will then work with the acts on the design of their EP artwork as well as master and press the CDs
Unsigned bands from across Central and Northern England* were invited to send in their original material spanning across any genre to be judged by a panel including Richard Holley, Creative Manager of Peer Music; James Amney, Managing Director of Weekender Records and Owen Guthrie-Jones of Don’t Panic. 106 entries were received from which the four winners were selected.
The winning acts are:
Last Harbour - a Manchester-based 7 piece www.myspace.com/lastharbour
Tensheds - a singer songwriter from Chesterfield www.myspace.com/tensheds
Onions - also from Manchester www.myspace.com/onionstheband
Kate Goes… - a Birmingham-based 5 piece band. www.myspace.com/kategoes
Charlotte Ray, director of the PRS Foundation for New Music said: ‘We’re really pleased to continue this unique opportunity for unsigned bands and we look forward to working with all the four winning acts.’
James Hobbs of Clear Sound and Vision said: 'Having heard the high standard of song writing ability from the four winning acts this year, Clear Sound and Vision are very much looking forward to working with the artists to develop an EP design which will complement their sounds and provide them with an opportunity to further their careers within the industry.'
To find out further information about the PRS Foundation, the Unsigned Award and the successful acts please visit www.prsfoundation.co.uk
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INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES AND PHOTOS OF BANDS ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Contact: press office on 020 7306 4777, press@mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk
Notes for editors:
· Background to the awards, this is the fourth year of the scheme which has already run in Scotland, Wales, London, the Southwest and the Southeast of England. Winners of last year’s award include Morton Valence who went on to release their 7" single "Man on the Corner"/"Sailors", and Conrad Vingoe who could recently be seen supporting Kate Walsh at the Union Chapel.
The scheme was also originally in partnership with Fopp Records.
· PRSF, The PRS Foundation for New Music is the UK's largest independent funder purely for new music of any genre. Its main aims are to stimulate and support the creation and performance of new music in the UK, and to help this reach a wide audience. The Foundation provides essential core support for creators, performers and promoters of new music and underpins exciting musical developments. This is achieved through its own funding schemes and partnerships with other organisations. Since March 2000 PRSF has supported over 2500 new music initiatives with a total of £9.5 million. www.prsfoundation.co.uk
· Established in 1997 Clear Sound and Vision provides a clear and personal style of design and manufacturing service for record companies, publishers and all users of audio and video formats. Their portfolio of customers varies from bands looking to manufacture a first release to small independent labels through to corporate organisations.
Clear Sound and Vision are able to supply an excellent complete one stop project management service including all aspects of design, reprographics, mastering, printing, special packaging, CD, DVD, vinyl manufacturing and total fulfilment. Clear Sound and Vision have project managed releases by a diverse range of leading artists and organisations including: Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Bjork and several Premiership football clubs.
Clear Sound and Vision can be contacted at sales@c-s-v.co.uk or by telephone on 020 8989 8777
www.clearsoundandvision.com
* Central and Northern England incorporates: Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
Band Biographies and quotes from the bands:
Last Harbour
Last Harbour are a Manchester-based band playing rustic, cinematically atmospheric songs that rattle and loom, at once epic and intimate, harsh and beautiful. Using instrumentation that might traditionally be associated with folk music, the band instead hammer and sculpt their music into unusual and beguiling forms, sometimes shot through with coruscating feedback but sometimes left to drift, ghost-like. This is music with a strong emotional content, both bitter and beautiful. The band effectively operates as a collective of like-minded musicians, all of whom are involved in other artistic work including illustration, photography, film-making and recording.
On being selected: ‘Last Harbour are really pleased to have been chosen for the Unsigned Award. The opportunity is one not to be sniffed at and we look forward to working with the PRSF.’
www.myspace.com/lastharbour
Tensheds
For the past two and a half years Tensheds has been playing his music to audiences all over the UK and Europe as well as supporting the legendary TCB Band in 2006 he has performed at the Cannes Film Festival, the Monaco F1 and also the Vladimir Palace in St Petersburg. His live performances have often been likened (not compared!) to those of Bob Dylan because of the way he seems to 'cover' his own songs.
On being selected: ‘Getting the support and recognition like this from the PRS Foundation is kinda like confirmation that you’re making the right choices. I’m looking forward to getting in the studio and working with other people. I hope to gain more exposure for my music and for me as an artist, to make contacts and maybe find the secrets to penetrating this impossible circle that is “the music business”.’
www.myspace.com/tensheds
Onions
Onions are Jim, Martin and Chris from Withington, Manchester. With a penchant for upbeat no-nonsense guitar pop, they formed in 2005.
On being selected: ‘We were all shocked and over the moon. Especially with the fact that we've been having trouble recording and getting our songs out to people outside Manchester, and the competition has solved both problems for us! Smashing!’
www.myspace.com/onionstheband
Kate Goes…
Are a five piece band from Birmingham, whose quirky unusual sound is a mix of clarinet, violin, drum, piano and bass.
On being selected, guitarist and clarinetist Joe said: ‘It makes my day, gives me something to wash for.’
www.myspace.com/kategoes