The Benefit of Song Compilation CD
By: Heidi Hopf
Generally speaking, it’s never a good idea to mix personal issues and business. Unless of course, you are the creative team that makes up the recording studio Subterranean Sounds.
After working together for over ten years Geoffrey O’Donnell (producer/studio musician) and Dusty Slater (sound engineer) decided to take their marketing tactic to a new and wonderful level.
A decade ago the basement of the home that would evolve into Subterranean Sounds was just a place to record themselves and their friends, as well as tinker away at music ideas. It wasn’t long before they realized that together they had the space and knowledge to make this into a business that would be a great asset for a city like Brantford that is brimming with musical talent.
“We thought to ourselves let’s get some local musicians in here, maybe we can help them with their sound. Slowly but surely it evolved into this!” Slater reminisced. “We wanted to connect with the local music scene. We kinda wanted to insert ourselves into that, and Geoff came up with the idea of doing a compilation album for a good cause.”
The cause they have decided to contribute to is The Brant Community Health Care System Foundation, specifically the Brant Community Cancer Clinic. The Cancer Clinic hit home for them on both a business and personal level.
“There isn’t anybody who isn’t or hasn’t been affected by that,” O’Donnell said. “And it’s literally four blocks away, so that way the money stays in the community and that’s a big deal to us too.”
So with cause and plan in place, the two set out to put their recording skills to use and create the compilation album The Benefit Of Song.
“So we kinda decided to round up all the usual suspects and nobody said no!” O’Donnell said with a pleasant surprise.
The studio was fortunate enough to gather a number of local musicians to donate their time and talents including Caffrey, Cody James Wood, Matt Huddleston, and Shaun Mulrain only to name a few.
Thanks to all the musician’s positive attitudes and high level of professionalism the crew was able to record twelve artists in just a month and a half. Each artist was given an hour time slot to record an original track. Both Slater and O’Donnell had so many complimentary things to say about our local artists that contributed, “I was so surprised at the level of songwriting talent!” stated O’Donnell.
In just a short period of post-production later, the live-off-the-floor compilation had been completed and ready for its soft release on social media.
Subterranean Sounds plans to run the fundraising campaign into the fall of this year. You can purchase the compilation The Benefit of Song for a minimum of ten dollars or any song individually for a two-dollar minimum at www.subsounds.bandcamp.com
Not only is purchasing this album a great way to support a local business while simultaneously supporting a great cause, but it’s also a fantastic way to spread the word about some of our very talented musicians.
Supporting local musicians goes beyond heading out to bars and buying drinks (although that is important as well). Support is also found through paying homage to these artists and letting the people involved in the causes they get behind know that they are a worthy asset. By purchasing this compilation you show everyone that is involved in the project that picking that artist was a profitable idea.
Not to mention, now you get to listen to the songs you were going out to hear in the first place anytime you want!
So next time you’re scrolling social media break away from the newsfeed and check out the buzz around the studio on their Facebook page. To find links to the CD and see the other musicians that have contributed, please go to The Benefit of Song’s Facebook page and have a browse.
Even better yet, hit up www.subsounds.bandcamp.com and support all these great causes.
