Leckie To Lecture Tomorrow’s Record Producers

Faculty Music and Media – the University of Westminster’s student operated record label – have demonstrated their increasing ability to link their students to the cream of the music business by confirming that John Leckie will be addressing the University on 13 May.  His public interview, by Senior Fellow Keith Harris, will be followed by a Q&A.The event, part of Faculty’s India Soundpad collaboration with the Radiohead producer and the British Council, follows the 12 May release of an accompanying record of the same name, showcasing four of India’s top alternative bands.The bands: Indigo Children, Swarathma, Medusa and Advaita, who were handpicked and recorded by Leckie in a West Mumbai studio, are also coming over to the UK for the first time for a mini-tour that will take in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Oxford, the University of Westmnster and The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.“I’ve always been into Indian music after working with Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hariprasad and Gopal Shankar Misra doing records for Real World,” said Leckie on why he chose Indian bands. “I also produced K by Kula Shaker which was a million seller.”Katie Thiebaud, MD at Faculty said: “To realise a commercial end to the project with John Leckie is an exceptional opportunity for us. The day at Westminster will be an opening for our students and the band members to exchange knowledge & skills. The challenging bit will be touring 22 musicians with Barfly for two weeks after!”The university has been fostering direct and tangible links with the music industry in Mumbai for some time, with discussions currently being held with Bengal music company Sa Re Ga Ma to assist in the establishment of a business training college for the local music industry.In line with this strategy, The Great Escape will be hosting India Focus Panel discussions on 14 May. The discussions will look at ways to link the alternative music scenes in India and the UK, including addressing ways to develop effective touring circuits in India for local and international artists, creating and nurturing new relationships and removing real and perceived barriers to effective communication, collaboration and partnership.It is hoped that the links with the Indian Soundpad project will help to foster this direct industry relationship in the future, with tangible knowledge transfer partnerships within the Indian marketplace.www.facultymusic.comDownload the PDF of this press release from here.