Southampton’s sound is stronger than you think

Lou Sawdy

I grew up in Four Marks, near Alton, surrounded by my dad’s rock albums and listening to him play guitar and keyboards at home. That’s where my passion for music started. While other girls were into the Sugababes, I was blasting Guns N’ Roses and Pink Floyd! I began guitar lessons at nine with Virginia Pearson at school – moving from trying to play like Slash to learning classical pieces and ultimately achieving my Grade 8 – and continued playing when I later attended the University of Southampton.

At college I played in a couple of folk duos and an indie-rock band where I picked up bass, and threw myself into the local scene. During a year out of uni due to illness, I started songwriting constantly but had no way to record. My dad bought me a Boss digital 8-track, which quickly turned into a Mac, Logic Pro, and hours of YouTube tutorials. During this time I realised how few women and gender minorities were working as producers or engineers, which became the focus of my dissertation. That’s how I found 2% Rising, an organisation doing vital work to support underrepresented people in music.

After graduating I spent 18 months in sales, but during Covid I became more involved with 2% Rising. One of its co-founders, Katie Tahini, suggested I try studio shadowing. She introduced me to Neil Kennedy at The Ranch Production House, who happened to need an assistant, and after a week of shadowing he offered me the job.

Four years later I’m still there! Still loving engineering and mixing, and I’ve also become studio manager at Planet Sounds, helping rebuild the space and run sessions.

Most of my work is in and around Southampton, including with my band Lost Post. I’m really proud to work and play in a city with such a strong grassroots network. SoCo Music Project, founded by John Haughton and Matt Salvage, supports young musicians through mentorship, workshops and studio access. I first joined them for a Playbook Q&A session and later spoke on a panel at the Parallel Conference. Now I help with their studio build and sessions and we currently offer free under-18 recordings, mentoring, community sessions and affordable recording for emerging artists. Their Sounds of South Central programme is doing brilliant work connecting young local talent with studio opportunities.

The musicianship in Southampton is incredible. You only need to go to a jam night to see it. One artist I’ve worked with recently is Anna Muir. After recording together, I watched her play at The Joiners with her band – a breathtaking performance that reminded me how lucky we are to have venues in the city that really nurture new artists. Grassroots spaces like this are essential, and community ownership models are helping keep doors open…but the cost-of-living crisis is still hitting studios and venues hard.

More recognition and funding for venues, freelancers and local businesses would make a real difference. For a city our size, Southampton punches above its weight, ranking highly for venue density and live events. There’s a huge range of genres, a constant stream of gigs, and a supportive network that helps artists grow.

Music has always been central to my identity, and I know that’s true for many people, especially those who are neurodivergent, struggling, or just looking for connection. Music gives people a language for who they are and what they feel. On a wider scale, music brings people together like nothing else. It doesn’t matter your taste – almost everyone listens to music and it can spark up conversation, debates, get people jamming together or even starting a band! In a world of screens and isolation, music still creates real community.

There’s so many exciting things coming up in the near future, and right now I’m working with several artists who haven’t announced releases yet, so I’ll have to stay quiet on that front. But there’s lots happening behind the scenes: The Ranch has opened a brand-new second studio which is now available for bookings, and the SoCo studio at Planet Sounds is nearly ready. We’ve already run a few sessions and it sounds fantastic. It’s exciting to see what’s coming next – not just for us, but for the whole Southampton scene.