Dorchester is lucky to have its very own resident record label - and soon a recording studio - so we caught up with Grace and Nick, owners of Grinning Dog Records, to find out more.

Nick explained: "I am a solo artist and have always used studios. We wanted to start a business together and work together, but it was what to do and what did we want to go into. I made a joke about us opening a recording studio."

They started to think about ideas; where they could do it and what they could do, and decided to open it in Dorchester.

They gained planning permission and the studio will soon be completed, but before then they started Grinning Dog Records on February 4, 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Nick added: "It was initially set up just to put my records out on and then we got another artist and we produced a charity CD - which I produced - and we put that out."

The charity CD was with Ruffdog (Shep) Elliott who wanted to raise money for the Roy Castle Lung Foundation after his wife, Kim, was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Grace plays wheelchair rugby and Shep was a team mate of hers and they got talking.

Nick said: "He knew I played music and he plays guitar and has written some songs, and he asked for my help to put it together so he could put something on a CD.

"We started chatting and I found out he had more songs and we were doing Grinning Dog Records so we started recording a few songs and said we'll see how it goes - it was really fun.

"It was a nice cause to do it for, it was a really special thing to be involved in."

The ambition is to grow and to have more artists on the record label.

Grace said: "We want to focus quite a bit on local artists as well, especially since the pandemic, and we want to get people out there and do what they do best."

This is the perfect business for Nick as he has always had a passion for music.

He added: "I started solo when I was 16-years-old and then went on to be in a few bands in Weymouth. I then decided to go solo again because I was writing a lot more songs of my own and then ended up, in 2012, recording an album with a producer who has done The Rolling Stones and I have been putting records out since then. I have had some Radio 2 play and have done a session on there."

The building work on the new studio, called EchoTown Studio, will be completed in a few weeks and will be available to rent.

Nick said: "We're going to have a discount for local artists because we want to support them and we will also be putting on live shows and intimate gigs inside the studio and streaming those - there is so much you can do.

"Grace has been working with Drake Music, which does a lot of work with disabled musicians. The build all along has been to make it accessible because there are a lot of studios people have had trouble getting into and had to record in the foyer because there are steps.

"We're trying to make a really comfortable place where people know they can come and not have any problems.

"We want to offer schools studio experience days and just work with the community.

"In the build we've tried to use local contractors and even buying the fabric we've tried to keep it as local as possible."

To find out more about Grinning Dog Records and its new studio, visit grinningdogrecords.com or visit its Facebook page.

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