Biography

"Lyrics with a depth of pen akin to Bob Dylan, accompanied by melodies with the feel good factor of a party in full swing" - Soular Power Records

Raymond Hackland has been involved in music one way or another since he was a boy, initially with piano lessons and when he started playing guitar a few years ago. Up until the beginning of 2009 he was involved primarily in the management and promotional sides of the industry.

Everything people say about this business is true. This quote from Hunter S Thomson sums it up: "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

Working with other artists gave him further inspiration to engage his own songwriting skills... and in the process he gained great depth of insight into music production and arrangement. As he was often present during the production process, he had the opportunity to assist in the development of an extensive mix of recordings.

In July of 2009, through great encouragement from his partner, friends and family, Raymond made the decision to record his debut album, getting back to his musical roots to capture pieces of music that held his own energy, spirit and heart. He called upon friends of his; Jono, Clark Sorley, Alan Frew and Amy Belle to talk about the way music used to be recorded before all the gimics and tools were invented. This is how his album is being approached, rekindling traditional methods and bringing them into the 21st century...

The likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, early Bob Dylan material... these guys went in to record a song and the band played it LIVE in the studio. The public then heard and felt the chemistry created from these musicans playing together.

"We both felt that if the performance was really there at the heart of the song, it didn't matter much if there was some little musical error or a glitch in the track somewhere. There are mistakes on several of my Sun records... Sam (Phillips from the legendary Sun Studios) didn't care that much; he'd much rather have soul, fire and a heart than technical perfection" - Johnny Cash

Based on the rough tracks which have been recorded so far, Raymond has already been offered slots across Europe as well as playing a variety of gigs and festivals in his home country of Scotland.

From the soul searching-prayer-like darkness of Rest In Pain, to the energetic, upbeat and at times hilarious Liquid Love, Raymond’s songwriting seems to know no bounds and there’s no subject too taboo or too mundane to tackle. He takes his live audiences on a journey of belief, of hope and humour, inspiring the listener to reflect on their own lives and see that life is indeed what you make it.