EAST Lancashire band Levellers 5 had a successful run during the heady indie heyday of the early 1990s but split 15 months ago. Since then, two of the group have not only recorded a new album of world music, they've also set up their own record label which they hope will provide a springboard for local bands. PAUL BARRY caught up with them at their state-of-the-art digital studio on the hills above Darwen.

THE first problem Ian Almond and Steve Lindley encountered when trying to get record companies interested in their album was with their name - The Full Zimbabwe.

While the impressive sleeve artwork is distinctly African, the album is a rich mixture of sounds which draws on influences from Africa, Asia and the Middle East as well as incorporating the chill-out attitude of modern dance culture.

But despite impressing record companies, the duo found the music industry wasn't ready for the challenge of marketing African sounds from deepest Darwen. They had already recorded the album, called Land Of The Vouty, in their own all-digital studio. So the next step was to set up their own abel, Sunbird Records, to publish the material.

Ian said: "I was talking to one record company bloke who'd heard the album. He heard my voice and said 'You don't sound African'. I said 'We're from Darwen in Lancashire - is that a problem?' People just couldn't get their heads round it."

Although the album contains samples of music from around the world, the tunes themselves are all the duo's own.

The pair say their name is a phrase they've been using for years.

Steve said: "It's like the phrase The Full Monty, but when we're talking about getting a really rich sound together, we say the 'The Full Zim' - The Full Zimbabwe." Steve said: "15 months ago the band fell apart. It was difficult keeping it together. There were nine of us but we could never guarantee all of us would be there. It wasn't quite The Full Zim."

Ian said: "Levellers 5 was a grungey thrash indie thing but we've been into world music for a long time, going to festivals like WOMAD and gigs all over the place.

"We experiment with instruments from other cultures, although we are probably not playing them as they are meant to be played. Our songs evolve all the way through.

"There's only one track on the album which starts the same way that it finishes. You just hear one thing and it makes you think of doing something else."

Steve pulled out a three-stringed lute-type instrument to prove the point. He bought it for £3 on holiday in North Africa and he doesn't know what it's called or exactly how it should be played. But a simple riff played on it provides the basis of one of the album tracks. Steve said: "We put on huge numbers of different layers of sound. We spend ages building it up and then thinning it back down." The duo hope to play their new material live, possibly with up to three other musicians helping them form an acoustic band to re-interpret the songs.

The pair shun populist world "heroes" like Paul Simon and Sting. They are sceptical of Afro Celt Sound System's formulaic mix of cultures. Pressed for their musical heroes, they opt for Transglobal Underground, who successfully fused Asian sounds with dance culture.

Ian and Steve's all-digital studio studio is available for hire, although they prefer the challenge of dealing with offbeat bands and ethnic artists rather than traditional guitar bands. They are also on the lookout for acts who they can help through their record label.

Write to Sunbird Records, PO Box 49, Darwen, BB3 0GQ, or call Steve on 01254 774945.

The album is currently available from Reidy's Music, Penny Street, Blackburn and Green Day Foods, Bolton Road, Darwen.

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