Edinburgh band release debut single despite never being in same room

THEY are the international band whose music spans across three continents - despite the fact most of the members have never met.
This collaborative internet band was formed over the last 3 yearsThis collaborative internet band was formed over the last 3 years
This collaborative internet band was formed over the last 3 years

And now, an Edinburgh-based group formed after interacting online are gearing up to release their debut single, even though only two of them have been in the same room together.

‘Out of View,’ started by capital musician Dougie Bonner, brought together five musicians from across the world to collaborate on one track.

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But other than drummer Dougie Bonner and guitarist Ian Whitehall, the members have never met in person - relying solely on email, Facebook and music app Vocalizr to communicate.

The Highland piper from AviemoreThe Highland piper from Aviemore
The Highland piper from Aviemore

Songwriter Dougie originally came up with the basis for ‘The Last Race’ while a member of Edinburgh band The Guilty Party in the 1980s.

He contacted friend and original Soup Dragons guitarist Ian to add his part and the song began to take shape.

Bassist Niyi Oludipe, piper Ross Weir and singer Tara-Lynn Sharrock later added their talents to the track, which took around three years to complete.

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“I’d had this melody in my head for years, but I had just never got round to writing the song until I reached out to Ian,” Dougie said.

The band's Nigerian bassist, who now lives in EdinburghThe band's Nigerian bassist, who now lives in Edinburgh
The band's Nigerian bassist, who now lives in Edinburgh

“It’s like an author who never finishes a book, it sits there forever almost taunting you until you actually pick up a pen. I had fallen away from music, but I had this resurgance in interest.

“I made the melody using GarageBand and sent it over to him, he recorded his guitar part using Audacity and sent it back to me and it was exactly what I had in mind.”

Dougie advertised for a bassist over classified listings site Gumtree and found Nigerian-born Niyi, who now lives in Ratho, to collaborate on the song.

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But while the instrumental parts of the song were recorded in Scotland, the vocals were produced more than 10,000 miles away in Melbourne by singer Tara.

The band formed over the past 3 yearsThe band formed over the past 3 years
The band formed over the past 3 years

Dougie initially auditioned for a singer on Reddit and was contacted by former X Factor Australia contestant Tara after a months-long search.

“She did all of her own recording by herself,” Dougie said.

“It was the one part of track that we weren’t sure about, but Tara was exactly what we were looking for.”

Piper Ross was the final member to add his sound to the track after being discovered via Facebook.

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Dougie recorded his part of the track at a gig in Aviemore, before the finished product was sent off to sound engineer Iain McKinna at Offbeat Studios in the capital to be finished off.

Dougie said: “I had always envisaged Highland Pipes for a section of the song and this was the final piece of the jigsaw.”

He added: “I am extremely grateful to all who have contributed and made this possible by helping me finish this ‘tune’ that has been rattling around in my head for so so long.”

The song is set to be released on streaming platform Soundcloud and will also be available on Apple Music, Deezer and Spotify later this year.

A music video has also been recorded and will premiere on YouTube this evening.

For more information on Out of View, go to their Facebook page here.