Demerara Records is promoting its first ever label showcase at the beautiful Cafe 1001 opposite Rough Trade East on Thursday 20th June. The gig, in the fairly new upstairs venue, sees four bands and artists in action. Two of them, Blu:m and Cholly, have been recent Fresh Faves. Pixi Ink has had support from BBC Introducing and Environmental Sound Foundation were on last week’s BBC 6 Music Introducing Mixtape and got a play on Tom Robinson’s Saturday Night Show. Blu:m are also a recent Mixtape choice.

The decision to put this gig on at the venue on Brick Lane in Shoreditch coincides with the first year of Demerara Records promoting Vanishing Point on the first Thursday of every month at the Ivy House in South East London. Label Manager Neil March says: ‘Our ethos from the outset has been to develop a not-for-profit platform for live new music which broadly reflects the kinds of artists who tend to come through Fresh On The Net and those I write about in my blog Trust The Doc. Working with limited capacity and budgets makes it hard to put on as many artists from beyond London as we would like but this gig in a slightly larger and more central location is a toe in the waters of potential expansion. So we really hope it will bring some new fans through the door’.

Cafe 1001 houses a fantastic 200-capacity live room with full PA and backline which has been brought to life under the management of a remarkable 20 year old called Sahera Walker. It was meeting her and being convinced of the potential and ambition of the venue that persuaded Neil to put a gig on there. ‘Sahera’s passion for new music and desire to work with promoters and play a part in making their nights a success was a decisive factor’ he explains. As well as managing Cafe 1001, Sahera is already an experienced promoter and blogger who produces her own printzine Some Might Say which she sells at live events.

Although the gig is billed as a label showcase, there are actually only two artists from Demerara Records performing. The others, headlining Indie Rock quartet Blu:m and electronic alt pop artist Pixi Ink were invited simply because Neil was impressed by tracks they sent into Fresh On The Net. As he explains: ‘That is actually how most of the bands and artists I put on at the Ivy House come to my attention. It’s a continuous reminder of what an absolute privilege it is to be a moderator and author for the incredible new music platform that Fresh On The Net is’. Three of these acts are also playing at the first ever Fresh On The Net Live on Sunday 21st July.

For information, more video and audio links and/or to get tickets at 25% discount go to Demerara Records Showcase.