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RaW Sounds has been part of Wokingham Today for five years this summer, bringing new music from rising stars and household names to readers for half a decade.
Every week, we get the run-down on the latest releases from bands local to Reading and Wokingham as well as dipping into gigs and events taking place in right on our doorsteps.
To celebrate five years of RAW Sounds, we caught up with the people behind it all: Chris Hillman and Andrew Merritt.
“It started as a result of lockdown,” Andrew explains.
Chris says: “I’d had the idea of putting a playlist together and linking it to the local scene, but playlists are ten a penny.
“So I got in touch with [former editor] Phil Creighton and asked whether he’d be interested in putting it into The Wokingham Paper, as it was then.”
“Everyone at the paper have been incredibly supportive, and always has been– it’s been great, the support that the paper has given.”
It began from those humble beginnings, he explains: “It was just a tiny article on a page corner then– and when I first started out I thought it would be impossible to find ten artists, even if only two of them were new, especially as it was just Wokingham we were dealing with.
“The paper seemed quite pleased with the reaction it was getting, and around a month later we started adding photographs.
“So I started getting in touch with people like Andrew, and a few times I said that I was doing the feature and seeing if they had any ideas for artists to include.
“I remember Andrew recommended Gemma Dawson, and sent a really great photo, and it evolved to include more and more of his work, especially with his connection to Wokingham Festival.”
Andrew adds: “And it meant, especially with the link to the playlist, that we started getting invited to gigs that we wouldn’t have otherwise.
“It was amazing how many people started getting in touch with us and inviting us to come to gigs, and we’d always follow it up.”
When Reading Today, Wokingham Today’s sister paper, began in October 2021, Chris explains: “Phil asked if we’d be interested in covering Reading too, and we said of course– so RaW (Reading and Wokingham) Sounds was the new name, and we started branching out.”
In their time as active parts of Berkshire’s music scene, both Andrew and Chris have seen a lot of changes in the landscape of music, both live and recorded.
Between them, they have years of experience in running music labels, gig photography, holding events such as Wokingham Festival, and music promotion, as well as an intimate knowledge of the music scene here in Berkshire.
“We really haven’t struggled to find quality– when you look at some of the bands who’ve come from the area: The Amazons, Rila’s Edge, Third Lung, and so many things originating in Reading right back from when I first started going back to gigs.
“You hear lots of doom and gloom about the industry, but the scene here has so many venues putting on music, and so much of it is good.
“And we’ve got so many scenes, as well as all of our great homegrown events like ReadiPop, Are You Listening, Wokingham Festival.”
When Chris had to step away from the RAW Sounds helm a few months ago, Andrew agreed to take over.
Chris says: “Andrew’s done a brilliant job while I’ve been away, and he’s done a brilliant job of keeping it going.
“We always think of it as championing the local music scene.”
Andrew adds: “The scene is really picking up again after the pandemic; the Reading scene especially is doing pretty well.
“There are more venues and more events than there were a few years ago, and people seem to be going.”
Chris explains that the playlist and the rundowns will continue to champion the scene here in Berkshire: “That’s something we’ll always want, to chart that progress, and it’s so impressive when you see bands doing it.
“Especially when you get to see that potential, and bands reaching their potential– we love to see that.”
RaW Sounds will continue to bring new music, events, photos, and reviews to Reading Today and Wokingham Today every week.
