Two of DSU’s most creative societies have come together to release a charity single this Christmas; sleigh bells and all.
*UPDATE: The single is available to buy on Bandcamp NOW! Click here to download the track.*
Two of De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU)’s most creative societies have come together to release a charity single this Christmas; sleigh bells and all.
The Music Society and Music Recording Society have joined forces to write, record and release a brand new song to celebrate the festive season and raise money for mental health charity Mind.
Matt Coll, a second-year Music Technology student and Treasurer of the Music Society, said: “Christmas is a time for giving – and what better reason for giving to charity than an 80s synth pop track?
“I approached the Music Recording Society back in September with the idea of doing something for charity, because we’ve got the performers to facilitate it. The first idea was to do something 80s and cheesy and we’ve drawn on a few influences.”
The original composition – called '(For Christmas) I Am Coming Home' – was written in just a night by four members of the Music Society.
The track features a whopping four vocal tracks as well as synths, guitars and sleigh bells.
“It’s about going home for Christmas and makes sense to us as students,” Matt continued. “It was myself, Jack Cahill, Robyn Morley and Kait Baker-Smith, and they all came round my place and we wrote the bulk of it in a night.
“The demo had to be ready for early November and I fiddled with it for four weeks – I’m still fiddling now – and then I made a cheesy little demo.
“There’s a big start on saxophone plus a load of synths and a lot of guitars.”
For Music Recording, a new society for this year, it was a project that they were keen to jump on; as chair Will Rowe explained.
“We’ve had a number of things going on this year but this has been our first truly major project. We’re brand new and just thought that this sounded brilliant.
“It’s got an awesome potential to go really big and everyone knows that Christmas and cheesy music is a match made in heaven.
“We’ve had drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, synths, and four sets of vocals as well as sleigh bells and are aiming for a first play on DemonFM on Friday 2 December.”
The track was recorded in its entirety in De Montfort University (DMU)'s Queens Building recording studios.
The track will also be available to purchase, with all proceeds going to a charity close to both societies' hearts. Matt explained: “We’ve worked with Mind before and we have raised money for them.
“Mental health is something that everyone can get behind for all sorts of valid reasons.
“I would be happy if 100 people bought it for a pound each but I bet we could do even better than that!”
And for Will the track is just another opportunity to show the great work that one of DSU’s newest societies can do. “What [Music Recording] try and do is collaborate with as many different people as possible,” he said.
“We brand ourselves as open to anyone who wants to get into recording right up to those who are already in recording and love it.
“We’ve had a few live shows, been on DemonFM and at local venues with local rock bands. This is what I want to do for a career; not only is it fun and a hobby but it’s what I actually want to do.”
You can also find out more about the Music Society and Music Recording Society by visiting their pages under the Activities tab.
The completed track features 12 Music Society members and was mixed by three students from the Music Recording Society. To buy the track on Bandcamp and support mental health charity Mind, click here.
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