We’ve curated a Spotify playlist of some of our favourite tracks from artists connected to Pie Factory Music and the Thanet music scene.
Listen below:
If you would like your track to be considered for our playlist, send a Spotify link to evan@piefactorymusic.com
We love to showcase the emerging artists who have come up through our organisation, and are now making their way in the big wide world!
Adam came along to our Live Room and Band Factory sessions for years, becoming the go-to guitarist for other young musicians to reach out to for help on their tracks! Adam is now about to go on tour with his band Rats Nest – “a 3 man Punk band consisting of aggressive vocals complaining about the corruption of society and other social affairs, on top of fast drums and mad guitar solos”. Check out their Bandcamp and download their music here. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You can listen to one of their tracks below.
The dates for the tour are below – head to a gig and support live music from Thanet!
JULY
12th × Hastings @ Crowleys Bar
13th × Dover @ The Booking Hall
18th × Newcastle @ Trillians
19th × Edingburgh @ Bannermans
20th × Gateshead @ The Black Bull
21st × Northwich @ The Salty Dog
25th × Derby @ The Hairy Dog
26th × Bristol @ The Fleece
27th × Newcastle-Under-Lyme @ Lymedale Bar
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AUGUST
1st × Blackpool @ Rebellion Festival (Introducing Stage 6:30pm – 7pm)
My name is Reuben-James, I am doing an internship placement at Pie Factory Music for 4 months to learn the ins and outs of how to run a business. This blog is of my first experience at Pie Factory Music, talking about what I did and what I learnt.
Day One
On my first day of my Pie Factory Music internship, I arrived at 12pm and was introduced to Zoë, an employee at Pie Factory Music. Zoë interviewed me in order to learn more about me and my traits. I learned that Zoë is a singer and runs different youth operations in Thanet. I was told about different events the Pie Factory Music are hosting, such as a youth club every Monday and concerts at the Ramsgate Music Hall. Once the interview and induction was complete, I sat down in the office and began to work on a SWOT analysis of the Pie Factory Music social media presence. I found that they have clear branding and with a few changes can improve their social media greatly. Whilst I was making my SWOT analysis I spoke to Caroline, who I met last week, about her role in the Pie Factory Music business. She has been working at Pie Factory Music for 17 years now. Furthermore, I learned that she is the finance manager, she works on invoicing, payroll, banking. She has to report the finances to the company house. She is a member of the senior management team. One of her responsibilities is maintenance around the building. She also has other responsibilities such as writing policies and HR management. She told me about the history of Pie Factory Music and I learned that it was created 17 years ago by Caroline and Brian (an ex-trustee). The Pie Factory was originally named TYMAZ, which is a cool synonym. TYMAZ was located in the council offices until it was renamed Pie Factory Music and moved to Ramsgate.
After I was finished speaking to Caroline, I spoke to Luis. He is a youth work team leader, Luis works 5 days a week and hosts different sessions for young people. On Mondays he hosts 3 sessions, a volunteering group, a Duke of Edinburgh and a live band group in the evening. On other days of the week he does a variety of functions. Luis also attends meetings, he makes sure sessions go as planned, he answers emails. Even though Luis has a wide range of things to do at Pie Factory and is very trusted, he has only worked here since July of 2017 which shows he is a quick learner and can adapt to situations.
On Monday, I returned to Pie Factory Music for a youth session in which the studio is available for young people to record their music and express themselves. I sat in the studio with the engineer, Matt, who was mixing all the sounds and making edits to the song. It was fascinating to see how much knowledge of Logic Pro X he had, making edits effortlessly. I got to learn more about how the whole system works with Matt talking to the rappers in the recording studio and them talking back even though they were in separate rooms, and I also learned how Matt records separate takes, and can take the best parts from each take to make sure the final product is perfect and exactly how the rapper wanted it. I began to further understand how frustrating it can be for an artist having to record the same part of a song again and again. One rapper had to repeat one line over 20 times until he got it perfectly, once comparing this perfect take to his first takes where he made errors, you could hear the frustration in his voice, but it wasn’t an issue in the end as with a click of a few buttons Matt had levelled the audio to sound more energetic.
Day 2
On my 2nd day at pie, I began by learning about their upcoming projects such as their masterclass at Dreamland Margate. I was given the task to make a post on their social media platforms to promote the event. I could see that Zöe had taken on board the tips I gave her last session about using emojis to boost the colour and appeal, as Zöe was making sure I used emojis.
Once I had posted online my next task was to reformat the poster to a certain size in order for Dreamland Margate to also post about the event on their website. I used an online tool to help me edit and make sure all necessary information is in the post. From this I learned that even when you have a specific role at an organisation, sometimes tasks may come out of the blue that you have to deal with. Although I have little knowledge of photo editing, I used an online tool and figured out a way to make it work. Once I had finished making the post for the Dreamland Margate website, I sent them to Zöe, who then forwarded it to Dreamland to post. I felt like I had learned a new skill that will stay with me, and in future I will know what to do if I have no software available.
Once I had completed those tasks, me and Zöe started talking about interesting topics, and I showed her a video about online privacy.
By Reuben-James Gilbert
We’ve got some exciting updates to share from our Thanet Emerging Artists Programme!
Music Industry Masterclass: starting up an independent record label, and releasing your own music
On Thursday 15 November, 6-8pm we are holding a FREE masterclass for young people aged 11-25 at Elsewhere, Margate. We’re really excited that Michael McClatchey (Moshi Moshi Records) and Sammy Clarke (Art’s Cool) will be sharing their journeys, experience and expertise in setting up independent music projects, and self-releasing music.
No need to book, just turn up from 5.30pm to hear from our industry experts, and gain advice, guidance and inspiration.
Elsewhere Presents: Thanet’s Finest
On Saturday 17 November, our Young Producers will be putting on their first ever gig at Elsewhere in Margate with a line up of Thanet’s Finest young talent and emerging artists!
Click here to join the Facebook event to find out more, and scroll down to listen to a playlist of tracks by the artists performing on the night…
Doors open at 7pm. Tickets on the door are £3 for under 18s / £5 for over 18s (ID essential).
As part of our Thanet Emerging Artists Programme, funded by Youth Music, 5 of our Young Producers and a Senior Member took part in a studio exchange with Raw Sounds – a music programme for young people with mental health illnesses based at Raw Material in Brixton. On Saturday 8 September 2018, the group from Pie Factory Music travelled to Brixton to start producing tracks with the Raw Sounds group and practitioners, and on Saturday 15 September the group from Raw Sounds came down to Ramsgate to finish the tracks with Pie Factory Music participants and practitioners.
Click below to read the digital report of the exchange, made up of photos, videos and Tweets, and encompassing blogs from the Young Producers.
Listen here to the finished tracks from the exchange: ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Town to City’ – great work guys!
We’re so pleased to introduce our six Young Producers who will be working with the Pie Factory Music Creative Team over the coming year to produce their own music events in Thanet, as part of our Thanet Emerging Artists Programme.
Read on to find out who they are…
Billy Nutcase
“Hi, My name is Billy Nutcase, I am excited about the Young Producers, because it can open so many doors for me and my group into music, especially getting our stuff out there, so we can do the only thing we really want to do with our lives, with touring and working on projects as a team. l am very excited that I am on board.”
Frank Perkins
“Heyo, I’m Frank Perkins, I’m 17, and I am a Young Producer at Pie. I enjoy all aspects of music, but especially songwriting. My dream is to see an audience, of more than just close mates in a summer house, proper vibe to one of my songs. I aspire to succeed with Pyscho Killer by Talking Heads playing in the background.”
Rocco Marche
“My name is Rocco Marche and I am from Broadstairs, I am 17 and am an aspiring musician. I play guitar and sing in my band who write our own music and have played a few gigs with pretty good success, recently we have started recording our music which is why the Thanet Emerging Artists Programme would be so useful. I previously attended Pie Factory Music for a while but took a break to do exams and rehearse. I recorded a song at Pie Factory Music with help that went very well and would love the opportunity to learn how to do everything myself along with learning other useful skills that will hopefully help me throughout my career. Since I am currently taking an AS in music technology I have a relatively good understanding on producing music and getting around a digital audio workstation along with other knowledge on music and music technology as a whole. I am reliable, eager to learn and work well in a team.”
Evan Williams
“I’m 17, and I sing and play rhythm guitar in a band called Vendettas. I study music technology at Chatham and Clarendon sixth form, so I’m used to producing music, and recently have been producing music myself along with the rest of my band. As a Young Producer, I just want to set up successful gigs that everyone involved will enjoy.”
Adrian
“Hi my name is Adrian, I’m 14 and I am a member of the Thanet Young Producers. I’m very excited about what we are going to do in the future. This can open a lot of doors for me and my group Ill Freaks.”
https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/adrianyoungproducers
Justin Goodban
“Hey, I’m Justin Goodban and I live in Ramsgate. I just turned 24 and I’m thrilled to be a Thanet Young Producer now. I’ve been making my own music since the age of 12 and I’m still trying to find a way into the music industry. My interests in music range from playing to producing in many different genres, organising gigs and creating live visuals for events. I hope to make the most of my time as a young producer and I hope to gain more experience and knowledge in promoting events.”