In a rare feat of neighbourly peace and harmony, Leeds and Bradford have combined to produce a compilation album showcasing the cream of the experimental talents in Yorkshire.

Shipley-born Simon Glacken and Thomas Bellhouse have produced the first record for their burgeoning label, Brew Records.

With bands such as Mucky Sailor, I Concur and Year Of The Man representing Bradford, it becomes clear just how diverse and impressive the bands on the rest of this album will be.

The pair formed the label in June this year after receiving a grant from the Scarman Trust.

Simon said: "I put the idea forward saying this is what we want to do and they gave us the money to do the CD.

"We want to try to make enough money to put out another CD - a single from I Concur.

"The compilation is a bit more experimental than what normally gets released.

"A lot of the labels around here are putting out indie stuff.

"What we thought is that there is a lot of this more experimental stuff around but nobody is trying to push it out there.

"We are just trying to get people's attention really to show what is going on round here."

The boys are also planning on following the release of the album with a set of gigs, concentrating on the Leeds area, particularly the Brudenell Social Club.

But Simon said: "There are loads of venues which we are planning on using because we want to move it around.

"Some venues are more appropriate for certain bands, so it just depends on what we are planning really."

Although the label has concentrated on bands from Yorkshire on their debut compilation, Simon believes they could start looking further afield in the near future.

He said: "I think we are just quite familiar with the local scene and so we just wanted it to represent what's going on in the Yorkshire area.

"But if we plan on doing a future record we will no doubt look at more out of town bands or even bands from out of the country."

The pleasant thing about listening to the record is that the usual post-indie backing with a screeching singer is largely ignored.

The likes of Forward Russia are ignored in favour of the more subtle and tactful pace of bands such as I Concur and the electronic blur of Solus Locus.

Of course chainsaw guitars and thunderous drums are never too far away from any of the proceedings, but the entire album does sound reasonably fresh.

Simon said: "There is a ridiculous amount of stuff going on in West Yorkshire at the moment - the amount of bands and labels is huge.

"So much of it is actually good as well - I mean obviously not all is so good, in fact some of it is rubbish.

"But in places like Leeds, there is such a high standard so everyone who tries to start a band has to meet that level.

"Obviously we have been getting a lot more attention as well because of the bigger bands such as the Kaisers and the Pigeon Detectives.

"But in somewhere like Hyde Park, everybody seems to be in a band, and so other people think hang on, I can give that a go'."

On the strength of the delights on offer on Brew Records Volume One, this competition is only serving to bring out the best in a scene that has been growing intensely for some time.

  • The compilation is set to be released officially on Monday, December 10 and will be limited to just 500 copies. A preview Brew Records Launch at the Brudenell Social Club, Hyde Park, Leeds will take place on Saturday, December 8.