SOUTHAMPTON musicians have hit back after a world music DJ said he failed to find talent in the city.

As reported 6Music DJ Gilles Peterson - who co-founded cult label Acid Jazz in 1987 - chose Southampton as a ‘focus city’ for his annual mentoring programme Future Bubblers.

But when scouts released their chosen list of young talent, none were from Southampton.

Now musicians across the city have claimed that the DJ did not look hard enough - and are inviting Gilles back to the city to have another look.

Henry Baroche, 24, from Bevois Valley, said he would be “happy” to put on a night filled with local talent for Mr Peterson to attend.

He said: “It’s very frustrating. You can see great local talent of all different types and orientations around Southampton any night of the week.

“ It’s something I’m very passionate about.

“There’s an abundance of talent. If there is any money coming into the local scene then there are lots of venues that are struggling”.

But organisers at Future Bubblers said they were looking for “bedroom producer types”.

They added “Our aim is to support artists who are making music that’s against the grain, and doing something that’s not the the norm in their city.

“For the most part, the “live” side of their development comes later in the day for these kinds of artists - and so a gig wouldn’t be the best environment for the kind of artists which Future Bubblers look to work with”.

They added that their launch event in May featured a live act and DJ from Southampton - but said it was poorly attended despite their “best efforts” to promote the event.

They said: “We also worked with our partners Newtown Youth Centre and SoCo Music Project to try and spread awareness of the project.”

The spokesperson added that Future Bubblers is not an A&R scheme but is about providing grass roots support for artists, and artists chosen for the scheme are free to sign with whoever they want.

They said: “The funding we receive is for the delivery of the whole project across a whole year, not just for organising activities in Southampton. The scheme is run by two people working on a part-time basis, and – as well as organising activities in the other focus city of Liverpool – our time and resources are focused on mentoring the artists who are selected”.

Matt Salvage from SoCo Music Project added: “This city isn’t short of talent, but it can sometimes be a challenge to reach out to people in order for opportunities to be taken up.

“This is changing though, our own vinyl release: The Southampton Sampler, had 115 submissions from local bands and artists.

“We’re working with Tom Gibson at Blackhill Studios to develop an artists and venues network so in future great opportunities from outside of the city such as Future Bubblers should have a far better reach.”