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Born To Be Wide & Oxfam BUY WHAT YOU HEAR event, Voodoo Rooms, Thurs 5th November – FREE entry!
THE SCOTSMAN – Under The Radar
THE FLY MUSIC MAGAZINE:
![THE FLY]()
BORN TO BE WIDE WAS CREATED IN EARLY 2004 BY MUSIC JOURNALIST OLAF FURNISS AND RECORD COMPANY SCOUT BRODIE SMITHERS. THEY WERE SOON JOINED BY MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR MARTIN SMITH.
FRUSTRATED AT THE AT THE LACK OF A FOCAL POINT IN THE EDINBURGH MUSIC SCENE, THEY DECIDED TO DO THE ONLY SENSIBLE THING AVAILABLE TO THEM AND STARTED A SOCIAL CLUB FOR THE MUSICIANS THEY WORKED WITH.
THIS IDEA SNOWBALLED AND BORN TO BE WIDE QUICKLY BECAME A MEETING PLACE FOR MUSIC JOURNALISTS, RECORDS LABELS, PLUGGERS, A&R'S, PHOTOGRAPHERS, DIRECTORS, IN FACT ANYONE INVOLVED OR INTERESTED IN MUSIC & THE ARTS.
BRODIE LEFT BORN TO BE WIDE IN 2006 TO CONCENTRATE ON HIS SPORTING CAREER, WHILE MARTIN DEPARTED A YEAR LATER TO FOCUS ON WINNING AWARDS FOR HIS FILMS.
SUBSEQUENTLY STUDENT LESLEY ANNE BROWN AND EDINBURGH PROMOTER, DERICK MACKINNON STEPPED IN. THE LATTER'S NEW FOUND SOUND NIGHTS HAVE BEEN SHOWCASING LOCAL TALENT SINCE 2006 AND HIS MINI-SET FEATURING TRACKS BY EXCITING NEW ACTS, OFFER A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT IS HOT ON THE SCENE.
THE CONCEPT FOR BORN TO BE WIDE IS SIMPLE: ON THE FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH, GUESTS ARE INVITED TO PLAY THEIR FAVOURITE RECORDS OF ALL TIME AND ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE COMPLETELY SELF-INDULGENT. THE ONLY RULES ARE NO MORRISSEY/THE SMITHS AND NO JOY DIVISION, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS ALLOWED
NO DJ SKILLS ARE REQUIRED AND MUSICIANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING CDs TO GIVE TO PROMOTERS, JOURNALISTS, LABEL PEOPLE AND EACH OTHER. THE NIGHT HAS ALWAYS BEEN FREE.
OLAF AND DERICK WRITE A MONTHLY COLUMN IN THE SCOTSMAN REPORTING ON SCOTTISH ACTS, AND EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS DO AN EDINBURGH ROUND UP FOR THE FLY.
BORN TO BE WIDE HAS ALSO BEEN THE FOCUS OF REPORTS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF MEDIA INCLUDING A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD IN DAZED & CONFUSED, NME CLUB OF THE WEEK, A SPECIAL REPORT ON RADIO ONE'S EVENING SESSION IN SCOTLAND, AND PIECES IN THE SCOTSMAN, METRO, THE BIG ISSUE, NEWS OF THE WORLD, MUSIC WEEK AND RECORD OF THE DAY. MOREOVER, SCOTTISH TELEVISION RECORDED INTERVIEWS WITH OLAF AND GUEST DJS IRVINE WELSH AND KRISTIN HERSH.
SINCE RELOCATING TO THE VOODOO ROOMS IN APRIL 2008, THE SELF-INDULGENT DJ SETS HAVE BEEN PRECEDED BY SEMINARS WHICH AIM TO BE USEFUL TO MUSIC COMMUNITY. THESE BEGAN WITH AN EXCELLENT TALK ABOUT TOURING PRESENTED BY MARTIN ATKINS, FORMER DRUMMER WITH PIL, KILLING JOKE, NIN AND PIGFACE, AND OWNER OF INVISIBLE RECORDS. SUBSEQUENT TOPCS HAVE INCLUDED UNVEILING THE MIND OF A MUSIC JOURNALIST, MUSIC MANAGEMENT, MUSIC MAKING MONEY, PLAY NORWAY, HOW TO GET ON THE RADIO, HOW TO GET YOUR RECORDS INTO SHOPS AND LABEL NIGHT.
MANY OF THESE NIGHTS HAVE SEEN BTBW COLLABORATE WITH ORGANISATIONS INCLUDING THE MUSICIANS' UNION, THE ENTERTAINMENT RETAILERS ASSOCIATION AND THE ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC.
IN FEBRUARY 2009 BORN TO BE WIDE WAS INVITED TO HOST A PANEL ABOUT THE SCOTTISH MUSIC SCENE AT SCANDINAVIAN CONFERENCE BYLARM, AND WAS SUBSEQUENTLY COMMISSIONED TO ORGANISE SEVERAL SEMINARS AT SCOTLAND’S LEADING SHOWCASE EVENT, GONORTH.
PAST DJS INCLUDE MEMBERS OF TEENAGE FANCLUB, IDLEWILD, THE FIRE ENGINES, BELLE & SEBASTIAN, FOUND, THE GO BETWEENS, THE BETA BAND, BROKEN RECORDS AND THE FENCE COLLECTIVE, AS WELL AS SOLO ARTISTS SUCH AS MALCOLM ROSS, KRISTIN HERSH AND JAMES YORKSTON.
BORN TO BE WIDE HAS ALSO SEEN A WIDE RANGE OF MUSIC JOURNALISTS AND BROADCASTERS, WITH ROD STANLEY [EDITOR, DAZED & CONFUSED], VIC GALLOWAY [BBC] AND BRENT HANSEN [PRESIDENT MTV NETWORKS EUROPE] ALL GRACING THE DECKS AT ONE POINT. OTHER GUEST DJS INCLUDE FOOTBALLER-TURNED-COMMENTATOR PAT NEVIN, AUTHOR IRVINE WELSH AND COMEDIAN CRAIG HILL.
MOREOVER, IN ADDITION TO PILLARS OF THE SCOTTISH SCENE, BORN TO BE WIDE HAS ATTRACTED THE FOLLOWING SEMINAR GUESTS: SCOTT COHEN [PRESIDENT, THE ORCHARD], LAURENCE BELL [CO-FOUNDER, DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY], MICHAEL FULLER [DIRECTOR BUSINESS AFFAIRS, AIM], KIM BAYLEY [DIRECTOR GENERAL, ERA], RUNAR EGGESVIK [BOOKER, BYLARM].
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