Sounds like a success with TV and film makers

Sep 10 2009 By Christopher Knox, The Journal

One of the region's up-and-coming music businesses may be tucked away in the back streets of Newcastle city centre, but it has its sights set on becoming a global brand, having already seen its tunes used on one of America’s most successful TV shows. Christopher Knox found out more about Loft Music.

Under the Loft Music banner, the enterprising pair began expanding into the video game sectors and found that the music of their house band Trafik , of which they are both members, tied in perfectly with some of the more high octane racing titles, and were soon approached by SCE Studio Liverpool to use some of their music on the PlayStation 3 game Wipeout HD Fury.

Considering that the Wipeout series has used music from dance veterans such as The Prodigy and Orbital, it is fair to say that the pair are in good company.

"Our music really seems to have hit a nerve among video game developers, mostly because it includes elements of rock, dance and even classical music, which helps create the perfect immersive atmosphere," Mr Archer said.

"Our sound also seems to have become really popular in the US and we are excited about the opportunity to exploit that market over the coming years."

Much of this growing popularity in the US has a lot to do with the intervention of popular crime series CSI: New York which has used a number of Trafik tracks.

The series, which has become a household name among UK crime fans, has also agreed to use an additional track over the coming months after the pair received backing from export agency UKTI.

The popularity of the music in the US prompted the pair’s decision to set up an office in New York and it now hopes to do even more work with some of Hollywood’s biggest production companies.

Last year about 40% of the company’s revenue was generated through soundtrack work, with the majority coming from TV and film projects, including The Sopranos and Michael Mann’s Miami Vice movie, so there was plenty of reasons for them to feel confident about setting up shop in the Big Apple.

Mr Archer said: "Although we may seem small over here in the UK, we didn’t feel that this should prevent us from having a presence in the US, especially as our sound was becoming so popular over there.

"We now hope to add staff to the small office over the coming years and see our US expansion as a major step in building up the company."

The fact that the pair realise the potential of their music as a brand is really the key to their success, even more so when you find out that Trafik is in fact Archer and Elliot.

"We want to give the band its own space to breathe, away from the day-to- day business," said Mr Archer.

"This has served us well and has given us more freedom and allowed us to be more creative about the type of music we make.

"I think you have to treat making music as a business as there is so much competition.

"It’s about getting your music heard in a variety of different ways."

One way of getting your music heard is by playing live, and that is exactly what Trafik have begun to do.

The pair have just held their first gig at their Kings House base behind Central Station to promote songs from their upcoming album The Great Un-named.

Tonight sees the band play at the Institute of Digital Innovation in Middlesbrough, where they will showcase the album as well as a music video for new single Paid Up In Full, which was created by J6 films, which is based at the wider DigitalCity area of the town.

"Our first gig was fantastic and has given us a taste for the live scene," Mr Elliot said. "It’s important that we take the band out on the road, as our work in other fields has prevented us from doing so in the past.

"The music industry seems to be making a big push towards live performances and we want to be a part of that.

"Also, it’s all about the enjoyment factor. I come from a performance background and its something we definitely enjoy and want to continue with."