AN OXFORD musician has pulled together some of the city’s best unsigned talent to share with other music lovers for free.

Guitarist Aaron Delgado wanted to show people the best of Oxford’s flourishing music scene, without incurring the huge production costs of releasing a CD.

So the 24-year-old, from Southfield Road, East Oxford, hit upon the idea of making a completely free download album for music lovers to get a taste of the city’s talent.

Mr Delgado, who rocks out with group Phantom Theory, said: “I play guitar in a noisy two-piece band and so far in our career we’ve been lucky enough to share stages with some incredible bands.

“I’m a massive fan of record label samplers, especially when they are free, so I thought to myself ‘how cool it would be if there was a compilation of some of the awesome music that’s currently coming out of Oxford?’ “It’s hardly an original concept, but why not make it free to download in order to get it out to a wider audience?”

Mr Delgado spent the past two months contacting some of Oxford’s best-loved acts, both signed and unsigned.

The 15-track Spires album features tracks from bands such as Black Hats, Abingdon three- piece Dead Jerichos and the Winchell Riots.

Mr Delgado said that with the impending release of Anyone Can Play Guitar, a documentary about Oxford’s music scene, this was the perfect time to release the album.

The film documents the city’s stars such as Radiohead and Supergrass, but also lesser known acts held dear by city music-lovers.

He added: “I would say that what I have put together is a snapshot of some of the great talent around the city at the moment.

“All of the bands have provided their tracks completely free which, when you consider the often overlooked costs of rehearsing, recording, mixing, mastering, and petrol for an unsigned band, is very generous indeed.

“The Spires compilation is completely non-profit and no donations are necessary.

“The Oxford music scene is really in the best place it has been for a long time, probably since the early 90s.

“This is a fantastic, free way of letting more people know about it.”

  • Download the album at spirescompilation.co.uk