Swindon's Stuart Rowe has moved from simply making music to a fully fledged record producer helping others meet their potential.

Lighterthief is a catch-all name for Stuart's band, solo work and now his recording studio based in Old Town.

On Saturday, November 25 Lighterthief will present its first concert at the Swindon Arts Centre, Devizes Road, Old Town, from 8pm, featuring Ruby Confue as headliner and singer/songwriter George Wilding.

Ruby is originally from Swindon, attended the Commonweal School before winning the London Coffee Music Project competition. She returns from performing in New York for the gig in her home town.

Stuart said: "I met Ruby through her grandad, Ali Maundrell, who was a vocalist on some early Lighterthief tracks back in 1999, so Ruby grew up listening to the music we made. We only started making music together about three years ago with the track Baby 126, but now we are making an album called The Psychedelic Urban Circus. Ruby's music is a mix of jazz, soul, and hip hop, with some Shakespearian spoken words thrown in. Her band are made up by various members of the Lighterthief house band, Adam Wiltshire and Charlie Rowe who were originally in The Alfonz, Cinzano Taylor, Leon Marley and me.''

Stuart's mission with the recording studio is to give musicians that first leg up the ladder. To do it without intimidation or taking control like many of the big record labels.

Stuart said: "I’m trying to build up a great body of musical work based in Swindon with the best musicians I can find. The music business is tough, and I’ve seen lots of very talented people get burnt - so the plan is to let them develop their music in the way they want to, without any pressure - off the radar so to speak.''

Stuart has played and worked with some of the top names in the business including Paul Weller, Gary Lucas from Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley's band, Tim Weller from Divine Comedy, and from Swindon's chart topping band XTC, Andy Partridge and Barry Andrews on their Monstrance and Shriekback projects.

Stuart said: "Recently I played guitar on a track for Paul Weller’s Saturn’s Patterns album. This came about through playing guitar and bass with the Future Sound of London and their cosmic off-shoot The Amorphous Androgynous – I did a few albums with them and we played gigs in Russia, Sweden and Australia.''

But the guitarist is not keen to go back to the outback Down Under.

"I’m glad I did it but it’s pretty boring most of the time. A lot of hanging about. Plus, it’s a young person’s game. I prefer darkened studios.''

The musician is currently working on an album with Andy Partridge under the name of Clubmen, featuring Jen Olive from Albuquerque and he is also working on the 14th Shriekback album with Barry Andrews.

Stuart grew up with music all around him, his brother Mikey plays keyboards for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, as well as Sheryl Crow and Oasis, his brother Pete runs the Ladder Factory Recording Studio in Shrivenham and was in The Dacoits and his son Charlie was in The Alfonz.

"It's a family curse, we seem to be stuck with it,'' laughed Stuart.

Along with making his electronic pop music, Stuart has been a lecturer at New College since 1999 and also plays with Barry Ganberg from Swindon Dance for the Rambert School of Dance at the Royal Opera House.

Opening for Ruby at the Swindon gig is George Wilding whose first single My Backwards Head got airplay on Radio 2.

"Musically, George has a kind of ramshackle Dickensian charm. He’s just put a band together called Wilding,'' said Stuart.

Ticket to the gig are £13 from 01793 524481 or visit www.swindontheatres.co.uk - Flicky Harrison