Being the UK鈥檚 second city it鈥檚 hardly surprising that Birmingham has such a massive music scene with a whole range of bands and artists. It is, however, a surprise that the city鈥檚 musical voice is often overlooked. Step up Chris Downing, a Brummie who鈥檚 determined to get this music out there. Weird and Wonderful
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Chris has started his very own weekly podcast featuring Birmingham鈥檚 best bands and artists on Myspace. It鈥檚 called Brumcast and each edition is packed with weird and wonderful musical gems that never usually get heard. 鈥淚鈥檓 always trying to look for something I鈥檝e never heard of. A lot of the bands on the Brumcast have never even played live; some of them are bedroom producers and one-man electronic artists.鈥 Boiler Suits and Rubber Gloves Eager to highlight the city鈥檚 musical diversity and move away from typical radio friendly pop bands, Chris has delved deep into the world of a 13-piece gypsy band (The Destroyers); the 鈥榰rgent sounding Joy Division-like鈥 Fade To Sepia; boiler suits and rubber gloves (Misties Big Adventure) and the rewiring of children鈥檚 toys to make funky instruments to play dark and sinister music (Modified Toy Orchestra). Chris is very passionate about music and over the years has been in two bands, one called People Covered In Fish, the name inspired by a Terry Pratchet book. The second band was called Beastly, which he described as his 鈥渓ittle punk baby.鈥 Bless.
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Having moved on from playing music Chris now concentrates on listening to it and making others listen and believes that the internet is the way forward for the music industry. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the beauty of the internet; I鈥檝e had people from Norway and Australia showing an interest. And computers are cheap now, as a band or a musician you can make home recordings, you don鈥檛 have to go to a studio and pay a fortune for something that鈥檚 quality depends on the producer鈥檚 mood on that day.鈥 Blanket Bombing Brumcast has only been going for three months but already the response from fans and bands eager to get noticed is immense. To date, Chris has made 13 Brumcasts and is working very hard (and all on his own) to keep the passion of local music alive.听
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鈥淎t first I did a bit of blanket bombing on all local bands鈥 sites, and the response was amazing. I haven鈥檛 actually looked for any new bands for about a month now, they always come to me. I get loads of emails saying 鈥渓isten to this鈥.鈥 As well as interest from musicians, London-based label Fiction Records have also turned to Chris to help them scout out unheard talent.听 鈥淚 sent them a massive email and told them about loads of local crazy bands. I don鈥檛 know if anything鈥檚 come out of it but it was a cool thing to be asked.鈥 Obsessed He鈥檚 been into music for as long as he can remember; getting dragged around smelly old record shops by his father when he was a wee boy was not a problem for Chris.
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鈥淢y dad used to ask me what I wanted, and being a four year old, I always chose the most colourful sleeves, having no idea what the bands were like. I used to rifle through big bags of my mum鈥檚 old vinyl; I was a bit obsessed, actually.鈥 Inspired by new music pioneer John Peel, Chris wants Brumcast to open people鈥檚 ears to local music, bringing new and different sounds to them and has dreams of having his own radio show. Renaissance 鈥淚 try to mix things up a bit and not be too genre specific, Birmingham鈥檚 always been a grey area for music, it鈥檚 always overlooked. I want to start a Birmingham Renaissance. I would love to have my own radio show on unsigned music.鈥
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Maybe a musical revolution is in the pipeline for the city. 鈥淚 really enjoy making the Brumcast; I鈥檓 totally obsessed with music. I鈥檝e actually got to the stage where I鈥檓 wearing earplugs at gigs because I always stand at the front so that鈥檚 not too good. If I went deaf I think I鈥檇 kill myself.鈥 Check out Chris鈥檚 Myspace page and subscribe to the Brumcast if you want to open your ears just that little bit more. | 
