大象传媒

From the ashes of Lowestoft rock group The Darkness a new band has emerged - as well as a recording studio in the heart of the countryside.

Ex-Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins along with his old band members Ed Graham and bassist Richie Edwards have launched a new heavy rock group The Stone Gods, together with Graham Coxon's former bassist Toby McFarlaine.

Dan Hawkins and Toby McFarlaine

The Stone Gods have been touring Europe and are playing a 'home' gig at Norwich's Waterfront on Wednesday, 30 January, 2008.

The band made its Suffolk debut supporting Thin Lizzy at the Ipswich Regent in 2007.

Recording studio

They've recorded their forthcoming debut album in Dan's new luxurious recording studio, Leeders Farm, in Spooner Row, near Wymondham.

Dan recruited his friend and experienced producer Nick Brine to work at the residential studio, housed in a 17th century farmhouse with eight bedrooms, a lake and a football pitch.

"From my point of view, quite often recording studios are sterile places to work," said Dan. "I want it to feel like a home from home."

Seasick Steve

They're hoping that a host of top bands will lay down tracks at the multi-million pound facility, with Seasick Steve - US blues maestro and one of the stars of Jools Holland's Hootenanny TV special - currently recording his album there.

"The focus is on getting the biggest acts we possibly can - the biggest acts in this country and from abroad," said Nick.

"Lots of residentials have closed down for various reasons but bands still like to be able to get away from London."

Unsigned bands

Nick is also looking to attract unsigned local bands to use the studio, when there's the opportunity.

"When there are no major bands coming in, we can do a thing called downtime, so they can get last-minute bookings and you can drop the rates so they can work in a world-class environment with world-class engineers," he said.

Although Dan is looking forward to taking the music he's recorded in his studio on the road, he doesn't think touring will be as glamorous as it was with The Darkness.

"We won't be flying to the UEA in helicopters this time, we'll probably drive ourselves," said Dan.

The travelling arrangements aren't the only departure from The Darkness' style.

"The Stone Gods have a much harder sound," said Dan. "There are still crossover singles, etc, and we're hoping for a widely received album.

"Towards the end in The Darkness it became a pretty unrewarding exercise really on a lot of levels - I won't go into it. It's just nice to be in a band with three other guys who are really, really into what they're doing. It's a new lease of life for me," added Dan.