Record label doubles as music camp

Songwriters trained through the OC Hit Factory’s music camps may lack an extensive resume, but their passion for music is anything but amateur, the record label’s founder said this week.

“Kids don’t have the barriers that we, adults, do,” Thomas Barsoe said. “They just pour their hearts out into the music. The raw material they create is better than some of the songs I’ve written myself.”

Barsoe, a Danish pop star whose music has received international acclaim, launched the songwriting camp about a year ago with the goal of connecting talented songwriters of all ages and music producers on meaningful, viable projects.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, the best songwriters of those camps will perform a free concert at the OC Mart Mix, 3313 Hyland Ave in Costa Mesa, for the “OC Hit Factory: Volume 1 CD” release party.

“We’re all about offering as many different events here as possible, this concert being one of those, to enhance the experience of the Mix,” said Andrea Young, co-owner and operating partner of the OC Mart Mix. “We offer a unique venue that I don’t know of anywhere else in Orange County.”

Barsoe, who focuses on cultivating local talent, is a perfect fit for the alternative shopping hub that caters to small businesses, Young said.

“It’s just insane the amount of talent out there,” Barsoe said. “Just, up until now, they haven’t had a platform for it.”

“X Factor” finalists Drew Ryniewicz and the Brewer Boys, Danish pop star Simone Egeriis and Los Angeles-based alternative band Adam’s Attic are among the artists who collaborated on the CD.

For Barsoe, working with the undiscovered musicians is a route to a long-held goal.

“My whole dream is based on the idea that one day, a star will walk through my door and I can help get that talent out there,” Barsoe said.

sarah.peters@latimes.com

Twitter: @speters01