MUSIC

Bristol’s Dreamboat Records are looking very buoyant indeed. Kid Pensioner weighs anchor.

’Tis the season to be jolly and Dreamboat Records have every reason to be ho-ho-ho-ing. Freshly installed in swanky new offices, riding high on a soundtrack album featuring hunk of the moment Robert Pattinson, the label have stepped up a gear and are taking over Start The Bus for a week of music, art and merriment. Dreamboat mogul Ben Baldwin explains: “It's a big Christmas party running over a week, with a mixture of comedy, music and art from people we love and admire.” Highlights? “We are looking forward to it all, but the Sunday night should be special with an hour of comedy from Adam Buxton (we are releasing ‘Adam and Joe's Song Wars’ record on 6 December) followed by This Is The Kit, who we are bringing over from Paris especially to play with an extra special big band they've put together. The Welsh band night on the Tuesday should be a cracker and, of course, on Monday, Gravenhurst doing their first Bristol headline show for a long time will be great.”

What’s changed since we last profiled the label? “This past year we've started to make a real mark on the indie industry, and it’s great walking into radio stations or press offices now and having people know who we are and more importantly who our acts are. There’s been some real success for Brooklyn band Bear In Heaven, whose acclaimed album ‘Beast Rest Forth Mouth’ has taken them on a couple of world tours and seen great press worldwide. We've also done some great projects like a film soundtrack with John Parish, and our most recent release ‘Wriggle Out The Restless’ by This Is The Kit is really taking off – we’ll be taking them to SXSW as well as out to the European festivals to grow things even further in 2011.”

What’s the Dreamboat ‘hands-on’ ethos? Making clear they would never direct a band on their music, Ben explains: “We love to be involved in the creative side of the releases, and often start working with a band on the album well before it is finished. We act as a sounding board through the tough times, give a hand with art ideas and then pull everything together. There is nothing more satisfying to hold than the freshly delivered CD or vinyl after working for months and months on a project. I also personally love joining bands out on the road, working with them as we move around, so with plenty of bands touring this year it has been a privilege to ride with them.” 

So what changes in the music business are they noticing? “There is a shift towards people starting to buy vinyl and CD again. We're seeing that when something is beautiful and lovingly put together, people are willing to part with their money to own it.”

This Adam Buxton fellow and Vol. Two of ‘Song Wars’. Explain. “I’m of a generation that grew up with Adam and Joe on the TV and I still think they are one of the best comedy acts around; their 6music radio show is just fantastic. I concocted the idea one afternoon listing to one of their podcasts, so we approached them with the idea of a ‘Song Wars’ vinyl and they loved it.” Any song wars favourites? “I think Joe’s ‘Dr Sexy’ is a work of genius – it’s just so sexy. However, Adam's track ‘Coming Back from Holiday Blues’ is actually a really great song in its own right! It's his least favourite, but for me it gets on the album for musical merit alone.”

DREAMBOAT RECORDS’ SERIES OF START THE BUS GIGS BEGAN ON FRI 10 DEC. FFI: WWW.DREAMBOATRECORDS.CO.UK
 

Copyright Kid Pensioner 2010

Tweet