More than a label: Leeds Easy Listening Records looks to rewire the city's music scene

While the traditional music industry often treats accessibility as an afterthought - a ramp here, a sensory-friendly screening there - Easy Listening Records is busy "smashing down the barriers before they even get there."

The label was founded by James Heselwood, the guitarist and founding member of Ultimate Thunder, and James Mabbett, a seasoned producer who has been releasing music under the moniker Napoleon III since 2007, with early ties to local institutions like Dance to the Radio.

They are veterans of legendary (and long-lost) venues like The Vine, and they’ve seen the industry from every angle - and now, they are using that experience to run a "music-making factory" designed to platform world-class talent that the mainstream often ignores.

At the heart of this movement is Ultimate Thunder, a psych-rock band that has spent 13 years evolving into what many would now consider a "Leeds institution."

Their resume is enough to make any "neurotypical" indie band envious: opening for Yard Act at Millennium Square, a place in Leeds Museum, and a documentary set to screen as part of this year’s Sheffield DocFest.

But for the founders, the success of Ultimate Thunder is just the blueprint.

As Mabbett puts it: "The main thing that we'd like to see is more people with learning disabilities operating at that world-class level because the talent that we see is unreal.

“It doesn’t make sense that there’s hardly anybody with disabilities with records out doing massive gigs."

Sensitivity over scales

The label’s philosophy is refreshingly punk: they aren't looking for virtuosos who can shred through a textbook; they’re looking for a "spark."

Heselwood explains that the magic often comes from those who have never been told "how" to play.

"I’ve never tried to show them anything, but they play some of the most amazing lines on synthesisers that James and I could never play. They just do it by ear... You capture it, and you're like, 'There's no one else in the world that will play that.'"

This approach has birthed a new wave of Leeds talent, including the "heavy, structured" psych of Illuminators and the solo work of Mate Eric P.M., whom the pair describes as a genuine "genius" for his 70s-inspired prog-jazz compositions.

"We were both absolutely blown away by it,” Mabbett recalls. “People are going to be shocked because we just couldn't believe how good this stuff is. The music in it is just, yeah, quite mind-blowing actually."

A peer-to-peer revolution

What sets Easy Listening Records apart is that they aren't just handing out stage time, but instead look at all facets of the music industry. From production and engineering to the business of promotion, the Hub is a "level-ish playing field" where a musician with autism might be the one engineering the label’s next big release.

As Heselwood notes, the goal is to foster an environment that is "attentive" rather than clinical - there’s no "playing poker" while the artist works.

It’s about building a community where, as he puts it, "it’s not just us leading and tutoring... it becomes really meaningful."

Mabbett then discusses a specific success story: a young man who came to the Hub not to be a frontman, but to master the board.

"We’ve got a guy who comes on who’s autistic, and he is really interested in music production. We are teaching him the ropes with that. He’s engineered a third album, you know?

“We’re trying to build a music-making factory.”

Or, a community as they both reflect, with Heselwood stating, “it’s not just us leading and tutoring - it becomes really meaningful."

A community rallying cry

In an industry where, as Heselwood jokes, "there’s money to be lost in music, and that’s all right," the label relies on a community that knows its worth.

When the previous organisation supporting them faced collapse, the Leeds scene - from Yard Act to Pulled Apart by Horses - rallied to keep the lights on.

"You don’t know that people are aware of what you’re doing, and then something like that happens, and you realise they were all aware and they wanted it to carry on," says Mabbett.

The mission remains simple: if you have the passion, they have the space.

There’s no pressure to perform on day one - just an invitation to "hang out" and see if the vibe fits.

As they look toward a red-carpet premiere at Hyde Park Picture House and a third album for Ultimate Thunder, the message to the city is clear: The talent is here. The barriers are falling.

And the music? It’s mind-blowing.

You can support Easy Listening Records by visiting their official website and donating to their cause, or by following them on Instagram and sharing their efforts across the musical spectrum.