Here at Point Blank, nothing puts a smile on our faces more than seeing the success of our previous students. With this in mind, we’ve put together a selection of recent students who have all gone on to forge a name for themselves whilst studying with us.
First up is James Vaux who after 20 years in investment banking, decided to quit his job and pursue his passion in electronic dance music.
James took our Songwriting and Advanced DJ courses and is currently taking the Ableton Live – Introduction to Music Production. Soon after he launched his own DJ management, publishing and record label business, Fat Banker.
Fat Banker as a record label specialises in commercial house music and one of its DJ’s; Elias Bravo has already had great reception in the US Billboard charts. The other aspect of the business, Hailstorm, focuses on publishing and the deeper, darker forms of electronic dance music and kicks off with Pioneer’s Rik Parkinson as a major name.
James is making extensive use of the talent and contacts he’s discovered whilst being at Point Blank and has already taken on board a fellow music business student as an intern. With significant support from Pioneer, Fat Banker and Hailstorm will be causing a stir in 2012 and James is constantly searching for new talent from Point Blank for his business.
He says ‘It’s and amazingly impressive college. The tutors are first class and it’s great to be with so many talented up-and-coming musicians. The place has a real buzz and good students here deserve to make it to the very top!’
Watch out for the launch of Fat Banker and Hailstorm Music in later this month.
Thomas Pryle
Next up, Thomas Pryle who is currently on our Music Production and Sound Engineering Diploma. Three months into the course, Thomas was shortlisted for the Novation Remix competition.
Pryle says “Point blank has been very helpful for me – I’m early on in the music production and sound engineering course, and though beforehand I thought the introductory unit was going be a little bit simple as I am familiar with logic, every week I learned buckets. My tutor [Mike Daley] helped me improve my work flow and technique, offered time and advice on personal projects, and was illuminating on areas of the business I had not yet encountered”.
Simon Smith
Also on the list is Simon Smith who took both our online Ableton Live 1: Production and Minimal Techno courses.
He has recently signed an EP deal with Italian record company, Halfmoon Records and is planning to take our Deep House Course in the near future.
” As a resident DJ of a top 100 club I wanted to expand on my experiences. My ultimate goal was, and is to produce music that not only says something about me and my musical influences but ultimately catches the imagination of the crowd. I had the pieces of the puzzle at hand but Point Blank showed me how to place everything together with their informative and intuitive learning experience. My music is constantly evolving as I expand on the knowledge gained at Point Blank and thus has helped me develop not only as a DJ but more importantly as a producer”
Christian Martin
Last but certainly not least is Christian Martin who took our online Ableton Live Mixing Dance Music Course.
After applying the knowledge he gained with us, Christian has gone on to achieve success – “I would like to thank you for all your guidance in the Mixing Dance Music course last fall – I used all the techniques when I made my track ‘Waiting’ in November. I am proud to say that it was immediately signed for the dirtybird 7 year Hatched compilation that came out last week! Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s been destroying in the clubs too! Specifically, all the EQ’ing and compression info has really improved the way I make music.”
Christian Martin – Waiting. From the dirtybird 7 year “Hatched” compilation.
Point Blank are sponsoring the dirtybird Hatched tour. Click here to check out the details.
Congratulations to them all! We wish them the best of luck for the future and can’t wait to see their careers develop!
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