A NEW band from Bradford on Avon is set for big things in the new year, after they were discovered by a fan at one of their gigs in Bristol.

The four-piece, The Daturas, have gone from strength to strength since music promoter Randall Phillips came to one of their gigs and offered them a helping hand.

At the time the band had no idea about the contacts Phillips had, but he quickly began creating interest around The Daturas, with notable producers eager to work with the band.

The band, made up of Joe Chowles, 23, Will Southward, 25, Isaac Phillips, 19, and Chris Marsh, 25, describe their music as indie/psychedelic folk, and admit they were extremely lucky to come across Phillips – who is now their manager.

Lead singer Joe said: “We were managing ourselves until Randall came along. He asked us if we wanted help and before we knew it we were working with Ian Grimble in a studio in Crouch End, which was completely surreal.

“We picked the six songs we wanted to record and then practised them until our fingers bled. Ian was an incredible person to work with, we all learnt a lot from our time in the studio with him.”

Grimble co-founded and runs the music label Comm-union, which works to promote major artists such as Gotye, Michael Kiwanuka, Daughter and Ben Howard. He has also previously worked with Cat Stevens, Manic Street Preachers and The Libertines. After finishing the recording, Grimble booked The Daturas in with Sean Magee at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, much to the band’s surprise.

Joe said: “It was an experience on a whole different level. The studio just has so much history that you can’t help but be inspired.”

The Daturas’ debut EP is called Overlooked By The End and is due to be released early in 2013. The band will also be performing in the Bradford Roots Acoustic Music Festival at Wiltshire Music Centre on January 12.