Issue 83 / November 2017

“Without a doubt,
Merseyrail Sound
Station has taken
me to the next level
as an artist”
MERSEYRAIL SOUND
STATION AT FIVE
The new music platform celebrates five years of supporting new artists
and delivering music to the commuters of Merseyside.
There are undoubtedly a great many of us who’ve been sat
on a train, bus or in another carriage of some description,
with our headphones jammed over our ears to dull out the
sounds of the rest of humanity. If not, picture it: a familiar
local tract or view flits past the window, and your choice of music
almost makes the scene romantic. Cinematically, you imagine
a camera panning over your shoulder, and the shot eventually
fades to black as the song you’re listening to ends. Soon enough,
you’ve arrived at James Street, or Chester, or wherever it is you’re
alighting and then it’s time to jump up, take off your headphones
and enter the fray.
For the majority of passengers around the country, this is
where your day’s soundtrack ends. You exit the platform, head
out into the world, and carry on amongst the usual bustle. But in
Merseyside, we do things differently. Whether you find it in the
underpass of Lime Street station, Southport station’s concourse,
or in the atrium of Liverpool Central, it’s clear to see (and hear)
that the North West is teeming with musical talent and, most
importantly, potential. Singers, buskers, musicians of all kinds
take to the pavements and streets of town centres, adding to the
polyphony of an age-old musical tradition. But what is a city to do
with it all? What can and should be done to nurture and protect
such a tradition? Enter, MERSEYRAIL SOUND STATION.
To sum it up, Merseyrail Sound Station (MSS) is an initiative
that brings together musical artists from all over Merseyside
and offers, quite literally, a platform of exposure to those artists.
The project exists to celebrate both the value and variety of local
musical talent, while underlining the inherent relationship between
a regional music scene and its transport infrastructure. Whether
it’s a case of the latter being used by gig-goers to attend live
shows, or by budding artists themselves to make it to their preshow
rehearsal or soundcheck, the synergy between Merseyside’s
music scene and its travel network is clear.
The project acts primarily as a ladder for many musicians from
the grassroots of their local scene as they look for opportunities to
be heard and get to the next stage of their career. For the past five
years, the project has served artists and bands across Merseyside
with opportunities to perform at a wide range of events, from
established events such as Africa Oyé and Sound City, to more
busker-friendly events like the annual Tickle The Ivories in
Liverpool One. The project’s own Live Tracks events also bring live
artists into a train station to perform as the trains arrive or depart;
by bringing the artist out of the more traditional live setting and
into the public eye, both performer and spectator alike can enjoy
original live music and a departure from the humdrum experience
of travelling from A to B.
Aside from these various opportunities afforded by the project
throughout the year, there is a careful focus placed on artist
development. Participants are also invited to enter the annual
Merseyrail Sound Station Prize competition that, while giving acts
the chance to bag a free year of Merseyrail travel, offers its winner
a multitude of invaluable tools for development through industry
mentoring. With festival slots at the likes of the renowned LIMF
and Liverpool Sound City on offer, plus studio recording time and
one-to-one advice from esteemed luminaries within the North
West arts sphere, it is a competition which receives a flurry of
entries each year. The competition culminates in a live festival
final (to be held this year in Liverpool Central Station having
moved from its original home of Moorfields) and is judged by a
panel of representatives from the likes of Liverpool Sound City,
Sentric Music, Pirate Studios and Bido Lito! – it’s a testament to
Merseyside’s scene that each year has seen the standard of the ten
finalists raised higher than ever before.
Back in 2013, SOHO RIOTS were victorious, sufficiently
impressing judges to take home the coveted prize. Lead vocalist
Andy Woodhouse is full of praise for the experience, which he
describes as “a genuine attempt to give a lift to artists that would
benefit from the exposure. It was definitely one of our highlights
and has led to some long-lasting connections and friendships
[within] the Merseyside scene.”
Keeping up the tradition of remaining in contact with fellow
Sound Station alumni, 2014 champion Daniel Sebuyange, AKA
BLUE SAINT appeared at this year’s Wirral Festival Of Firsts
alongside finalists Gazelle, The Shipbuilders and the winner of
the 2015 prize, Katy Alex. As a rapper, writer and producer,
Sebuyange performed a head-turning set at the Moorfields festival
in 2014, introducing the judges and commuters-come-punters to
a restless creative whose impressive CV includes comic artistry,
spoken word and performing at the Albert Hall with a heavy metal
band. “Being a part of the MSS project has had a long-lasting
and profound effect on me, both as a person and as an artist,”
Sebuyange remarked. Referring passionately to the industry
mentoring aspect of the MSS prize and how it has informed his
work, he also remarked that “artistically, [the mentoring] helped in
further developing and honing [my] skills, by giving me the tools
and resources necessary in order to do so, really pushing me to
experiment and try different things I’d always thought about, but
never actually applied.”
Another artist who appears to have lived and breathed the
accolade, using the title as a stepping stone to ever more ambitious
creative endeavours is Daniel Astles, known on stage as ASTLES.
Having come full circle since winning the MSS prize competition
in 2016, the Southport artist seems to have truly made the most
of all that the project offers. From working with producer Michael
Johnson (Joy Division, New Order) on his Live At The Nordic EP,
to organising his own launch night in an independent cinema to
celebrate the release of the record, Astles isn’t an artist you’ll find
resting on his laurels. While chatting to him about the amount of
activity that he has managed to cram into his 12 months as a prizewinner,
Astles reflected on the magnitude of his time within the
project: “Without a doubt, [the Merseyrail Sound Station project]
has taken me to the next level as an artist. It’s given me the chance
to begin to think about what my records actually sound like in the
studio, and how that’ll translate [into a] live setting. Really though,
it’s been about having the time and support to do just that. I’ve had
opportunities in the past year which have led to [writing] this new
EP, Full Of Wonder, which is a piece of art that means something
to me and will hopefully mean something to others as well.”
Astles is also keen to note the role that his local Southport line
has played in the grand scheme of his artistic journey. “Getting
the train to gigs and stuff has always been a big part of my actual
experience of being an artist. You know, sometimes I’d be on my
way into town feeling really nervous, and then other times I’d be
buzzing on my way home having played a boss show… I’ve even
written some songs on that train back, when it’s been an empty
carriage and I’ve just gotten the guitar out.” It’s abundantly clear
that Astles owes more than a little to the arduous but familiar
journey, as he suspects that he has spent more time on the
Liverpool-Southport train than anywhere else.
The long-running podcast, which has recently morphed into a
video session and has featured guests such as Hooton Tennis Club,
She Drew The Gun and The Vryll Society, is another product of the
project which aims to entertain train passengers while providing
a space for the region’s brightest talent to do what they do best.
Housed on the Sound Station website, which also serves to give
fans the latest news on the project and provide a what’s on guide
to gig-goers across Merseyside, the Merseyrail Sound Station
Sessions are a key element to the initiative.
Over the half-decade it has been in existence, Merseyrail
Sound Station has earned a special place in the hearts of up and
coming artists plying their trade in the region. The romanticisation
of the train journey by musicians harks back to the blues guitarists
of the Mississippi, and Sound Station proudly follows that tradition
by placing music alongside the transport mode. So, next time
you’re about to pop those headphones of yours on, why not keep
them stowed, and keep your eyes and ears alert. You’ll never know
what you could be in for, or whom you will discover. !
Words: Will Lloyd / @wjjlloyd
Photography: Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk
merseyrailsoundstation.com
The Merseyrail Sound Station Festival takes place at Liverpool
Central on Saturday 11th November from 3pm.
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