Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Singer Cat-Una returns to Leeds Beckett to record album for Music Futures Fest launch
Cat, who graduated with a BA Hons in Music Production and Performance in 2016, will perform and record her album with a live band in the music studios on Headingley campus in January as part of the School of Music’s Futures Fest programme.
Futures Fest is a programme of activities designed around employability and skills development outside of the normal teaching curriculum. The programme runs over three weeks across all areas of the school and includes artists-in-residence, field trips, invited industry lectures, industry events, studio challenges, certified software training and other specialist skills workshops.
First in the programme is a week-long graduate workshop with Cat. A number of current music students at the university will be getting involved with the album’s production as engineers, musicians or providing general support.
Cat said: “I am really excited to get the opportunity to return to Leeds Beckett to record more songs. The School of Film, Music and Performing Arts has continued to be incredibly supportive of my career since leaving the university.
“And the skills I learned on my course have set me up to be able to pursue a career in music.
“Hopefully some of the students who come along to the residency will get the opportunity to get involved with the album recording, as well.”
Cat, whose music is available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music, is signed to record label Monomyth Records, which was founded and is run by Leeds Beckett senior lecturer Bob Brazill.
Bob, who teaches Music, Sound and Performance, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming Cat back to Leeds Beckett. We feel as a department, that it is of vital importance to offer our alumni some development structure and support within the industry.
“Cat is a real success story of the School who at her core is an artist, and has well-crafted songs topped with a unique vocal ability.
“From her studies at Leeds Beckett, Cat learned to feel comfortable within a recording environment and worked with other students in the music department, helping to provide solid performances on various projects.
“Her residency is a great opportunity for current students to get involved with a fabulous artist who is starting to make waves within the industry.”
Leeds Beckett’s Headingley Campus is home to five music-recording studios, each with a control room and live area with instruments, and five additional digital studios with Avid Artist series controllers.
Cat-Una’s new album will be released later this year. In the meantime, catch Cat and the band playing at the Domino Club in Leeds on 9 January.
This graduate opportunity builds on the artist-in-residence programme at Leeds Beckett which has been running for five years, and has welcomed experienced artists Chris T-T, Ian Prowse, I Monster, Utah Saints and folk-rock singer Tom Williams, who Cat recently supported on tour.
Tom, who was the students’ artist-in-residence in 2016, recorded his album All Change with around 15 Leeds Beckett students as his backing band, engineering and production team, with the album featuring in 6Music’s top ten albums of 2017.
This year's Futures Fest programme at Leeds Beckett includes 48 hour studio challenges, AVID ProTools training, how to build a studio, graduate recording workshops, mastering workshops and a Music Industry Event with UK Music and BBC Introducing.