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Artist News Education & Events Releases
Young musicians create new music from hundred year old recordings
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 13 December 2019
Universal Music has released two new tracks created during an education programme run by youth charity the eXceL Project and the EMI Archive Trust, called Secret Studio.
The latter organisation is a charity originally set up by the old EMI record company which seeks to promote “the advancement of education and research and, in particular, to foster and promote the study and appreciation of the art techniques and development of sound recording and the history of the sound recording industry”. The Trust has been supported by Universal Music since it bought the EMI record company in 2012.
In the Secret Studio programme, a group of six young musicians were given access to some of the earliest sound recordings in order to create new tracks that aimed to resonate with young people today. Those six musicians were Rai-Kwaun Bailey-Brooks (Tn_490), Malachi Asare-Appiah (KMally), Alfie Williams (Aaze), Jacob Varley (J Varley), Tex Tuwizana (Tex) and Skye Francis, all aged between sixteen and 20.
They were given access to ten wax cylinders made between 1901 and 1906. They then learned about how this music was recorded, the context within which it was made, and the story of Fred Gaisberg and William Sinkler Darby, possibly the world’s first A&R men.
After that, they were split into two groups, using these recordings to make new music, resulting in two tracks – ‘Freddie & Will’ and ‘Healing’ – both of which have now been released through Universal’s DIY distribution set-up Spinnup. Royalties from the releases will be split 50/50 between the eXceL Project and the six young musicians.
“The EMI Archive Trust holds a collection of great depth, full of incredible stories. Seeing it come alive while working with the eXceL Project and the talented young musicians on this scheme has left us energised to open the archive to a whole new generation”, says Caryn Tomlinson, who is Chair of the Trust.
A second edition of the programme is set to take place next year.
Meanwhile Listen to ‘Freddie & Will’ by Tn_490, KMally and Aaze here, and ‘Healing’ by J Varley, Tex and Skye Francis here.
