Avalanche City sign international deal
Wintec graduate Dave Baxter is taking his folk music to the world in a deal with Warners Music Group.
After winning over New Zealand with his fresh brand of folk music Wintec music graduate Dave Baxter is going global.
His band Avalanche City recently signed an international record deal with Warner Music Group, which will see their debut album, Our New Life Above the Ground, released across the United States, Europe and Japan.
Baxter began as an independent artist recording the band’s debut album himself and releasing it online for free in October last year. But he said the record deal would help the band achieve their goals and allow them to focus more on the music.
“If you’re independent it’s harder to break overseas. Whereas if you’ve got a team of people working with you then you can accomplish so much more,” he said.
The record deal came during a promotional tour of the United States and United Kingdom in May where the band showcased their music to label representatives in Los Angeles, New York and London.
Baxter also performed the band’s No 1 single, Love Love Love, and was interviewed on leading US television networks Fox and ABC before an audience of more than 200 million.
“You have to be there an hour before and you have to go through all the security checks and stuff. After that it was just like any other interview really, I’m kind of getting used to them,” he said.
But he was unsure whether the US exposure would translate to album sales or website hits and said the band was still relatively unknown internationally.
It had always been Baxter’s dream to sing and have his own band but he never expected to have this kind of success and said the past year had been a “roller coaster ride”.
“I’m just seeing where it’s taking me. I have had plans to do this but you never really expect it to happen and you’re never really sure how it’s going to happen.
“I’ve kind of just been putting one foot in front of the other… I always feel like I’m running to try and keep up,” he said.
Warner Music New Zealand spokesperson Nicole Renata said the label was expecting big things from Avalanche City.
“The global release deal through Warner Music Australia is a reflection of the quality of Dave’s music.
“We are honoured to be working with such a talented artist and look forward to a long and successful relationship,” she said.
Baxter was the first Wintec graduate to hit No 1 on the New Zealand charts and now the first to sign an international record deal.
Watch Avalanche City perform their hit single ‘Love Love Love’ on Fox News –
