MORE than 200 Southampton musicians from 40 bands launched a new collaboration aimed at boosting the local music scene.

Jurassic Mark: Volume 1, a two-disc CD showcasing the city’s wealth of musical talent, was celebrated with a party at The Talking Heads in Portswood.

The CD is the brainchild of Southampton musician Ben Dlugokecki, who helps run Jurassic Mark, a weekly showcase of Southampton bands.

Ben told Scene South: “This is the best songs by 40 bands across Southampton, but there are well over 150 great bands in the city.

“We have such a fantastic music scene, but there are many people who don’t come out and listen to live music. We want people to hear our songs, and this seemed a great way of introducing people to our music.

“It was launched at a heaving Talking Heads, packed with people like sardines in a tin!”

The CD, distributed free in the city over the weekend, features Southampton band Dlugokecki, who have played with Snow Patrol, David Gray, Lulu and Starsailor, had music played on teen soap Hollyoaks and are confirmed on the line-up at this years South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas in March.

Among the other bands featured are The Rebs, who opened 2008’s V Festival playing on the same stage as the Kaiser Chiefs, The Warm, used as support for Snow Patrol and Scouting for Girls, and HourstilAutumn, the band who opened for Bon Jovi at St Mary’s Stadium last year in front of a sell-out crowd.

The CD is completed by Botyov 1791, Broken Links, Capricorn Sister, Chemical Sunset, Dustproof, Exboyracer, False Uprising, Fearne, Get Your Ass To Mars, Idiot 3, Kelevra, Long Shore Drift, Louisa Osborne, Madicine, Moral Sense, My Endeavour, No Exit, Recreation, Reno, Rupture Farms, Saqqara, Slow Smile, Soulswitch, Strange Without Medicine, The Bizets, The Jonny Soul Trip, The Light Divided, The Mopes, The Mustangs, The Reason, The Reservoirs, The Vegas, The Vision, Todays Eden, Typheous and Valhalla.