Escape Music

Khalil Turk and Barrie Kirtley found common ground in the early eighties through a love of melodic rock. When they first spoke to each other on the telephone it was only a short while into the conversation when it became very obvious that their taste in music was identical and that there was a lot they could learn from each other. Since that day the two regularly kept in touch and a strong bond of loyalty ensued, the partnership of trust and respect had already begun. Throughout the course of the eighties and into the early nineties Khalil and Barrie regularly contributed to the melodic rock scene. When it lost it's way in the late eighties to give way to grunge and such other forms of rock music, they made sure that they made a massive contribution to keep it alive. Barrie co-wrote a fanzine called "AOR Basement" in the late eighties and then "AOR Classics" in the early to mid nineties, both of which were highly respected publications. He also made contributions to bigger magazines like "Raw" and "Kerrang!" and helped unsigned artists gain recognition through compilation albums.

"Throughout the course of the eighties and into the early nineties Khalil and Barrie regularly contributed to the melodic rock scene. When it lost it's way in the late eighties to give way to grunge and such other forms of rock music, they made sure that they made a massive contribution to keep it alive"

On the other hand, Khalil was very good at finding new talent and bringing them to the attention of the melodic rock fraternity, regularly discovering new bands that no-one had previously been familiar with. His ability to find such new talent became a strong talking point with many magazines and labels alike. So much so, that he was recruited by German based Long Island Records as an A & R representative. He went on to secure the label's most successful signings, such as the debut by Message (With Richie Sambora and Alec Jon Such of Bon Jovi), "Wide Open" by Heartland, "Tormented" by Marcie aka Mark Free (King Kobra, Signal and Uruly Child) ,"Takin' It Back" by Robert Berry, the debut by Phantom's Opera and "World on Fire" by Tour De Force.The contact for Tour De Force was given to him by Barrie, who had just finished an exclusive interview with lead singer Chali Cayte a few days earlier. Khalil also arranged the re-issue of the classic Paul Laine CD with bonus tracks and two albums by favourites Bystander.

It became more and more obvious that there was a growing need for a record label to be based in England, and so Khalil and Barrie decided to start Escape Music as a partnership. In 1994 the partnership agreement was signed and, at first, the company imported and distributed independently produced compact discs that were new to the record buying public. In particular the company won the exclusive right to import CD's by Kansas member Kerry Livgren and a Puerto Rican group called Mattador. However, the two realised that the need for actually having bands signed and arranging the recording of the music was their ultimate goal. The first Escape project was the recording of the third album by Heartland, who have since released another two CD's on the label.

Escape Music Ltd was founded in August, 1996, and was a natural progression from a successful partnership. The limited company is going from strength to strength and the result of this success is reflected on these pages. Khalil and Barrie are committed to quality and will settle for nothing less than pure excellence. Their involvement with the recording of the CD's has become more than just financial, Khalil now oversees most recordings and acts as executive producer, whilst Barrie takes care of the smooth running of the company, using his accountancy background to the full.

Check out the Escape website

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