Re-al

Re-aL who? I hear you ask. Well they have been writing and producing dance songs from their studio in Bexley (England) since 1996. The founder members of the band Chris Crawley and Kevin Stoneham jammed regularly as teenagers writing simple melodies influenced by the House music scene. As their musical ability improved over the years, the pair realized that many of their songs which until then had been limited in terms of production could be fulfilled with the right tools. However, once their lips had been wetted with a midi sequencer the pursuit of better equipment had begun. Re-aL produce predominantly Progressive, Trance and House Music MP3 format being common for easy distribution although this is fundamentally for vinyl release. Their music is essentially quite eclectic ranging from dance tunes to a fusion of Indie Trance, synth rock and even some ballads. With the emphasis being a little more on “the songs” rather than linear dance “tunes”, there are quite a lot of vocals with a melodic edge as opposed to a fragmented dub feel.The focus on producing songs rather than tunes made things slightly tricky though in terms of breaking in to the underground scene where the need to placate a DJ and a dance floor is paramount. As a result Re-aL produced their inaugural white label called ‘Eyes of Truth” in the summer of 1998, a hard trance track which drives rather than perculates. It sold well in the top London records shops such as Tag Records and Plastic Fantastic and was distributed at home and abroad by Amato Distribution. It was then reviewed in Mixmag by Pez from 3 Beat Records and received the top accolade of 'Five Dancing Men'. As well as Chris and Kevin the band also consists of Steve Baldry who joined the crew in January 1998. Steve with his IT experience introduced the band to a PC based environment, exposing Re-aL to Hard Disk Recording, CD burning and MP3 creation which enabled them to create their own CD demos in-house and for internet / email distribution. In the summer of 1999 Re-aL released their second track 'Oblivion' a vocal trance track, again through Amato Distribution. It sold about 1000 copies and was featured on the world release of 'Gatecrasher 4'. The back end of 1999 also witnessed Re-aL's entrance in to the world of live performance. An hour of live thrashing synths, powerful beats and sublime vocals enthralled all who attended the Woolwich Wine Cellar venue, in south-east London. In 2001 Re-al released a further vinyl called ‘She Doesn’t Know’ which sold well in the UK and abroad. This year they have began to develop their own website from where their tunes can be heard in MP3 House Music format as shortened demos.Although Re-aL continue to write new material on a regular basis, much of the focus at the moment is on the improvement of the productional aspect of their music.