Debt Records

An independent record label based in Manchester

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Press Release: An Open Recording Session in Manchester Central Library

Events, Felix Hagan & The Family, Louis Barabbas, Open Recording Sessions

Independent label Debt Records shatters the silence of Manchester Central Library with a one-off recording session… and everyone is invited.

The beautiful Henry Watson Music Room will be converted into an informal studio space where people can watch (and contribute to) the recording of a specially commissioned song written by Louis Barabbas and Felix Hagan, arranged and performed on the day by members of the label roster plus special guests.

Attendees will see how a modern record is put together – from set-up and orchestration to tracking and post-production – all in the space of two hours. Label staff will also be on hand to answer questions for anyone interested in the music industry.

All ages are welcome: either come for the full session or just drop in (and out) whenever it suits you. The completed song will be available free to all attendees at the end of the day.

This event takes place between 17:30-19:30 on Thursday 14th May and is part of Manchester After Hours. Entry is FREE.

Antwerp Mansion’s Sessions of March

Events

Antwerp MansionDebt engineers Dan Watkins and Biff Roxby have taken up residence with their mobile recording company WR Audio inside Manchester’s crumbling Antwerp Mansion for The Sessions Of March, a series of audio-visual sessions organised by departing Mansion manager Kris Extance.

The project aims to bring together acts from the venue’s legendary span as Manchester’s most infamous (and possibly most structurally dangerous) music space. From the days when it was a squat to its eventual official licensing and renovation (and later inevitable money-spinning student rave haunt), Antwerp Mansion has hosted a lot of great bands over the years, many of which are returning one last time to take part in these sessions. Expect to see a few Debt Records acts when the completed sessions are unveiled!

Debt at the Dancehouse

Alabaster dePlume, Becca Williams, Events, Richard Barry, The Bedlam Six

Debt at the DancehouseOn Saturday 16th October 2010 – as Manchester’s In The City delegates nurse their wine-hangovers and fringe promoters stack up the unused chairs – Debt Records will throw open the doors of the beautiful Dancehouse Theatre for its annual live extravaganza.

For one night only, the Northern Ballet School’s sumptuous art deco headquarters will be transformed into a hub of independent music and performance, brought to you by Manchester’s cooperative imprint Debt Records.

Debt is a label ready to admit that the music industry is currently in a condition whereby live performance is, for the first time since the formation of EMI in 1931, the only dependable way in which a artists can realistically and sustainably ply their trade. What better place then to hold this independent label’s annual party than in the splendour of a 1930s proscenium arch auditorium?

The timing is not insignificant. The three day ITC conference that precedes Debt At The Dancehouse is a world famous music industry event that will facilitate (albeit naively) many local bands being seduced into performing for no pay by fringe promoters promising them the attentive ears of hungry and sympathetic industry representatives (who, in reality, will all be half a mile away in a hotel getting drunk). Debt Records is not opposed to the ITC conference – indeed a number of Debt associates are taking part and Debt’s technical director Dan Watkins is on the team recording the event – but this showcase will be an antidote: an evening of exceptional entertainment free from agenda or artifice.

The Debt Records team believes that no space should be ignored when planning a concert. They have to date performed and organised shows in museums, churches, libraries, olive groves and derelict buildings but, for their yearly label celebration at least, they prefer to be old fashioned: a theatre is the proper place for an evening’s entertainment, especially in a time when the world outside seems so uncertain.

According to BBC Manchester, last year’s Debt At The Dancehouse elicited “a general feeling of bonhomie”. This is precisely the sentiment musical performance should be associated with rather than the commonly accepted posturing of the recorded industry. It is with a spirit of inclusion – as well as independence – that Debt Records is run. Come see for yourself on 16th October 2010.

The line-up is as follows:

John Fairhurst – “As gripping as it is totally different” – The Guardian
Louis Barabbas & The Bedlam Six – “Excellent in every way” – BBC 6 Music
Becca & The Broken Biscuits – “Thoughtful, emotional music that cuts to your heart and feeds your soul” – BBC Manchester
Red Tides – “Music that sounds like the last day of summer, like shadows creeping across golden fields, like the echoes of a time long past finding their way into modern-day dreams” – Manchester Music
Richard Barry & The Chaps – “A talent that Vivian Stanshall would roll around in flames for” – 3 Weeks Magazine
Alabaster dePlume – “Absolutely stunning, evocative, confusing, tragi-comic. I felt like laughing and crying – I didn’t know whether it was poetry, music or theatre, all I know is that it was wonderful” – Shambala Review
Hannah Miller (from Moulettes) – “Complex & beautiful… Intriguing & unique” – Mojo

Plus a special Debt Supergroup to close the night…

£5 advance; £8 on the door.

Tickets available in person from the box office (0161 237 9753) and online.

We hope to see you there!

Debt at the Museum

Becca Williams, Events, Honeyfeet, Louis Barabbas, Richard Barry, The Bedlam Six

It’s Un-Convention time again.

From the amazing team who brought you the public recording of an album in one day (plus a dozen international conferences and showcase events) comes Un-Convention Salford 2010 – number twelve in the Un-Con series – held in the city where it all began.

Debt’s first signing Louis Barabbas & The Bedlam Six have played at two Un-Conventions so far, and this year our little label has been asked to curate a stage of its own – a Saturday afternoon acoustic showcase in the Edwardian Engine Hall of Manchester’s People’s History Museum.

The Debt Records Stage at the People’s History Museum will be the only Un-Convention event open to the general public as well as to pass-holders (free entry).

In addition to providing music Debt’s own Louis Barabbas will don his “industry cap” and join one of the panels at Sacred Trinity Church. The discussion – entitled “Building A Sustainable Career In Music: 9-5 What A Way To Make A Living” – takes place at 2.30pm on the Saturday.

He will then be playing with The Bedlam Six on the Now Then stage at The Rovers Return at 9pm.

Line-Up for the Debt Records stage is as follows:

12.00 – 12.30 Becca & The Broken Biscuits
12.35 – 13.05 Sarah McQuaid
13.10 – 13.40 Richard Barry & The Chaps
13.45 – 14.30 Honeyfeet
14.40 – 15.10 Kaya & Captain Temper
15.15 – 15.45 Phillious Williams
15.50 – 16.20 Red Tides
16.25 – 17.00 John Fairhurst