Being the UK’s second city it’s 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’s musical voice is often overlooked. Step up Chris Downing, a Brummie who’s determined to get this music out there. Weird and Wonderful | | Brumcast on the site |
Chris has started his very own weekly podcast featuring Birmingham’s best bands and artists on Myspace. It’s called Brumcast and each edition is packed with weird and wonderful musical gems that never usually get heard. “I’m always trying to look for something I’ve 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.” Boiler Suits and Rubber GlovesEager to highlight the city’s 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 ‘urgent sounding Joy Division-like’ Fade To Sepia; boiler suits and rubber gloves (Misties Big Adventure) and the rewiring of children’s 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 “little punk baby.” Bless.  | | Sounds good! |
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. “That’s the beauty of the internet; I’ve 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’t have to go to a studio and pay a fortune for something that’s quality depends on the producer’s mood on that day.” Blanket BombingBrumcast 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.  | | Brumcast poster |
“At first I did a bit of blanket bombing on all local bands’ sites, and the response was amazing. I haven’t actually looked for any new bands for about a month now, they always come to me. I get loads of emails saying “listen to this”.” As well as interest from musicians, London-based label Fiction Records have also turned to Chris to help them scout out unheard talent. “I sent them a massive email and told them about loads of local crazy bands. I don’t know if anything’s come out of it but it was a cool thing to be asked.” ObsessedHe’s 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.  | | Brumcast in your pocket |
“My 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’s old vinyl; I was a bit obsessed, actually.” Inspired by new music pioneer John Peel, Chris wants Brumcast to open people’s ears to local music, bringing new and different sounds to them and has dreams of having his own radio show. Renaissance“I try to mix things up a bit and not be too genre specific, Birmingham’s always been a grey area for music, it’s always overlooked. I want to start a Birmingham Renaissance. I would love to have my own radio show on unsigned music.”  | | Brumcast flyer |
Maybe a musical revolution is in the pipeline for the city. “I really enjoy making the Brumcast; I’m totally obsessed with music. I’ve actually got to the stage where I’m wearing earplugs at gigs because I always stand at the front so that’s not too good. If I went deaf I think I’d kill myself.” Check out Chris’s Myspace page and subscribe to the Brumcast if you want to open your ears just that little bit more. | 
