aaamusic | On 18, Mar 2012

Producers – featuring Lol Crème, Trevor Horn, Stephen Lipson, and Ash Soan – are to release their debut album Made In Basing Street through Last Records on May 28th 2012. The announcement follows a successful series of live performances and interactive sessions across British universities in March, which has seen the band perform to thousands of students in the UK and receive an avalanche of support across local press and radio. The tour afforded music students the opportunity to promote, soundcheck, roadie, film and perform alongside the Producers on such legendary tracks including ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ and ‘Slave To The Rhythm’. Later quizzing the group on their past achievements and the state of the music industry today – proving as entertaining as it was informative. In turn, the tour had a revelatory effect on the group too, one commenting, “You can get a grant, to sit in the state of the art facility and play guitar all day, every day!”

Made In Basing Street is the result of five years’ worth of performing and honing from this collective of extraordinarily highly regarded producers and artists which have, over the past 40 years, scored over 200 hit singles and albums. Named after the street that houses Sarm Studios and recorded in that legendary West London studio, it grew from the idea of playing live as the antidote to the studio, “our only ambition was to play the barfly” says Trevor laughing, which then saw Stephen and Lol pulling in their closest drumming friend Ash and Chris Braide, and actually doing it. The project starting in the studio before moving to a series of secret London gigs, ramming the likes of the Camden Barfly to the rafters with guest vocalists including Will Young and Jamie Cullum. The live experience led to recording and writing songs, designed to be performed alongside some of the numerous hits with which they are associated.

Having established that Producers worked as a live outfit, the next step was to write new material, the result of which can be heard on Made In Basing Street. The album dives into the technicolour pop sound the UK has always basked in, with added rock heavy guitars on a number of tracks. Opening song ‘Freeway’ is about the unashamed love of driving on a 12 lane freeway and the spirit of the road – a reminiscence from Trevor Horn about driving beyond the Hollywood sign and seeing Los Angeles stretched out before him.

‘Your Life’ (“How many nights have you woken with tears in your eyes?”) is a wonderful example of Producers’ lush production contrasting with the raw emotionalism of its lyrics and subject matter. ‘Man On The Moon’ has an almost ambient intro with its experimental textures. A lovely ballad, it’s a guilty pleasure without the guilt, with production that is effortless in its immaculacy. ‘Every Single Night In Jamaica’ is gently thunderous, with symphonic touches and rhythmic shifts. An album highpoint ‘Garden Of Flowers’ has a lightness of touch that only comes from consummate studio technocrats and virtuoso musicians like these. The album draws to a close with ‘Watching You Out There’, like a poppy Yes or a rocky Buggles. Finally, there is You & I, ending an album of highly melodic, studio crafted pop-rock.

It’s evident on Made In Basing Street, each individual member has relished the opportunity to perform as an artist and enjoy the spontaneous art of songwriting. Hints of their shared production talents can be heard across a record which has been five years in the making, with the producer’s perennial dilemma ‘is this finished’ for once shared by all.

“You can play with lots of good musicians, but there’s something about a particular group of musicians that only happens now and again, if you’re lucky, I think. Where there’s a little spark” – Lol Crème

Watch the BBC Breakfast feature which ran this week HERE