Inky Wins the Philips Obsessed with Sound Competition 2011

The winner was decided by a jury of experts including Steve Lillywhite, who has produced albums for U2, Talking Heads, Morrissey and The Pogues, famous jazz saxophonist Benjamin Herman and Gert-Jan Blom, Artistic Producer of the Metropole Orchestra. After whittling down the 1,431 entries from countries such as Brazil, the US, India, and the Netherlands to a Top 15 with the support of Dox Records, the jury came together to deliberate over the winning track. When selecting the winning track the judges looked at the quality of the musical piece, tightness of the ensemble, sound quality, arrangement, originality and the degree to which the track indicates an ‘obsession with sound’.

Inky have spent five days in Amsterdam having their track re-worked by the entire Metropole Orchestra and then produced by Steve Lillywhite. Their journey has been recorded and shared on the Philips Sound Facebook page, and the music video that will be released today shows the final production with the band, the orchestra and Steve Lillywhite. The video is available on the Philips Sound Facebook page.

Inky entered the competition for the opportunity to have their work reviewed by industry experts. The 5-piece band are all inspired by different genres of music, including electronic, jazz and rock, all bringing something different to the final sound. These influences can all be heard within the winning track.

Inky entered the competition for the opportunity to have their work reviewed by industry experts. The 5-piece band are all inspired by different genres of music, including electronic, jazz and rock, all bringing something different to the final sound. These influences can all be heard within the winning track.

Whilst at the recording Inky said: “The re-working by the Metropole Orchestra captures our music in a way we never thought possible. It has been such an honor to work with such amazing musicians, and to be the first Brazilian band to be recorded by Steve Lillywhite. We can now share our track in true to life sound as Steve has produced it, something we never imagined for one of our tracks. Thanks to Philips for making this possible.”

Regarding the competition Steve Lillywhite commented: “Inky have been great to work with, and seeing a band at this stage in their careers brings back nostalgic memories. It has been great to work with such an enthusiastic group of talented artists and to be able to bring my experience to help them develop.”

Abbie Oguntade, Head of Marketing Communications Philips Lifestyle Entertainment added: “The volume and quality of the entrants received was beyond our expectations. At Philips we reproduce music on our audio products as the artist intended, so it was exciting to watch a young band like Inky, a huge, famous orchestra and a world-class music producer at work to create the perfect sound for their music.”

About Inky
Inky is an unsigned electro-rock quintet that emerged amidst the noise of São Paulo’s urban sprawl, they unify a mixture of jazz based inspirations with new wave vibrations to create an exhilarating orchestra of sounds. The band includes Luiza Pereira, Victor Bustani, Roberto Abreu, Guilherme Silva and Stephan Feitsma.

About the Metropole Orchestra
The Metropole Orchestra is the world's largest professional pop and jazz orchestra. Renowned for its wide-ranging abilities, the Metropole Orchestra performs anything from chansons to World-music, film-scores, Rock- or Pop-tunes as well as high-octane jazz. The orchestra is a regular feature at the North Sea Jazz festival and the yearly Holland Festival along with countless TV and radio programs broadcast to millions. The ever-growing Dutch film and television industry relies heavily on the Metropole Orchestra for its film scores. Since 2005 the Metropole is under the baton of its Chief, six-time Grammy Award winner Vince Mendoza, and can be seen frequenting the concert stage, in festivals and on recordings in the Netherlands as well as internationally.

About Steve Lillywhite, CBE
Steve Lillywhite, CBE, is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records.