Leamington’s Sixtyfours are rocking with the best

The four-piece band made up of Alex Curtis, Jason Nicholl, Ollie Reece and David Mulcahy, all from Leamington, describe their sound as a cross between rock and hip-hop.

They have been together since 2009 and with the help of Dee Spiliotopoulos, of Coventry venue the Kasbah, have built up a reputation as one of the best bands in Coventry and Warwickshire.

As a result they were invited to the BBC’s Musicians’ Masterclass at the historic Abbey Road Studios where they could meet record label bosses, radio DJs and successful artists and find out more about what it takes to make the jump from being promising artists to established stars.

Alex, Sixtyfour’s lead vocalist, represented the band at the event.

He said: “BBC Introducing is an initiative that aims to develop and expose new musical talent and the local BBC radio stations across the country selected artists that they felt were ready to move on to the next level with their music and deserved the opportunity to attend this event.

“We have been getting our songs played quite a lot by BBC Introducing in Coventry and Warwickshire and we were their featured artist for the month for July.

“They chose us to attend and it was great just to be able to meet some of the people from record labels, radio DJs and current artists to learn from them and their experiences.”

Urban artists such as Wretch 32 and Ms Dynamite gave talks at the event and Alex also spoke to Radio 1’s Huw Stevens and Zane Lowe about what it takes for them to notice a new band before he handed demo CDs to the DJs.

He also took part in a a song writing workshop with Tom Robinson of BBC6 Music, who has a number of hit songwriting credits to his name.

Sixtyfours have already played several high-profile shows at the Kasbah supporting the likes of Mercury award-nominated Ghostpoet and American band Fun Lovin’ Criminals.

Dee, promotions manager at the Primrose Hill nightspot, sees a lot of new bands come through the doors but spotted something different about Sixtyfours from the start.

He said: “I have been working with the guys for a while after being really impressed with the way they performed and their very unique sound.

“We have lined them up some great support slots at the Kasbah and they have always gone down really well in front of the crowds.”

For more information about Sixtyfours and when they will be next performing at the Kasbah visit www.sixtyfours.co.uk or www.kasbahnightclub.com