Record deal for Rays students

Tuesday August 25, 2009

Maestro: Ray Holroyd has guided his Hammersmith students to a global record release.

Ray Holroyd isn't content for his music students to graduate with just a piece of paper. They are walking away with a global record release, a high-profile gig under their belts and the world stage beckoning.

The indefatigable music lecturer at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College is giving his students their first big break by setting up their very own industry-standard record label, Grade 9 Records.

Ray and his budding stars released their first album under the label, Metropolis Sessions 2007-2009, on August 3 and almost raised the roof during a launch concert at the famous Barfly in Camden.

"I've had 17 years playing in bands and it's taken me that long to sign my first worldwide deal. So I wanted to save my students all that hassle and let them get straight in," he said.

The heavily-tattooed `straight edge' (that's no smoking, drugs or alcohol) vegan, 30, who grew up in South Africa and studied music in Los Angeles, has been teaching the two-year National Diploma in Music at the college's Hammersmith campus in Gliddon Road since 2001.

He struck on the idea of recording a collaborative song with his second-year students three years ago and says the new album release evolved from there.

"We recorded the song at Metropolis Studios, which is the biggest recording complex in Europe, and we got as many big-name engineers involved as possible," Ray said. "I wanted to give students an idea of what it's like to get a song recorded at a top-class studio and it was such an amazing experience for them."

Ray treated his second-year pupils to the Metropolis experience in both 2007 and 2008, before turning his efforts to releasing the recordings on to the world stage.

"Listening to the finished product, it struck me like a bolt of lightning that it was a complete waste of music not to do anything with it," he said.

Ray approached Copro Records, who had signed one of his previous bands and had a reputation for handpicking and nurturing new talent. The company agreed to a licensing deal for Grade 9 Records' first album, handling the manufacturing and marketing while Ray focused on the music production with his students and organising cover artwork.

"It basically meant I got to do all the fun stuff while Copro handled the boring stuff," Ray laughed. "They also have a worldwide distribution company called Plastic Head Distribution, which is the 10th largest in the UK, so we're getting this out to a worldwide market."

Four bands made up of Ray's current batch of students played a stellar set during the album's launch party at the Camden Barfly on July 12, as well as a group performance by the class's collaborative outfit, Quicksotic. The gig attracted about 150 people and Ray said he was bursting with pride as he watched his proteges take to the stage and belt out their tunes. "I was so proud of them at the Barfly, and for a lot of them it was their first gig," he said. "They didn't look like a college band at all - that's the whole thing about Grade 9 Records.

"I have milked all my industry contacts to get this off the ground and it's very important to me that this does not come across as a college record label. And as I was standing at the Barfly I thought `I have achieved this goal'. They were professional musicians doing their thing."

The album was released on August 3 and is available from HMV, as an iTunes download and from other music retailers around the world.

The recording project, which Ray plans to make a yearly activity for students, was funded by Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College and all proceeds will go to Buskaid and Music for Africa charities. But Ray hopes his students will be paid back for their efforts through experience and new recording contracts.

"I want them to see this as a two-year development deal. They will not only get their national diploma in music but a worldwide record release and a show at a world-famous venue," he said. "And I'm confident at least one or two of the bands have a really good chance to make a go of it and succeed."

Student Jason Khaleel, 21, who plays bass guitar in one of the college's most promising bands, Dogs of Mars, said: "The Barfly release party gave us the experience of working professionally, and now we're feeling pretty optimistic. Apparently there was a talent scout at the Barfly, and about a week later we were messaged on MySpace and asked whether we'd like to do a gig on August 2 at Bridgehouse 2 in Canning Town."

Jason couldn't sing his mentor's praises highly enough. "Ray has been amazing over the past few years, not only as a teacher but as a friend as well," he said. "He really does give
110 per cent to his students, and he's also an inspiration for us."

Ray is currently squeezing in some recording for his own band during his summer break, a new metal outfit called Maissiann, but said his mind was already buzzing with ideas for next year's batch of budding stars. "This is the first year that in my summer vacation I'm really looking forward to coming back and getting next year's artists going," he said. "We have literally all kinds of music styles - next year we'll have three pianists and some R'n'B singers - and that's half the fun of it. The whole thing is incredibly fulfilling."