• Main image from left to right: Robin, Damo and Tomlin Mystic from Friendly Fire Band, Sanity, Bambi Bains and Dapz on the Map
As part of the Commonwealth Games’ Birmingham 2022 Festival, Jez Collins, founder of Birmingham Music Archive orchestrated the creation of a unique multi-artist, multi-genre concept album along with 22 conversations and performances with artists.
The On Record album is described as ‘a sonic love letter to the city of Birmingham’ and features 11 original songs (with 1,000 cut on vinyl and also available to stream) that celebrate and document the city with personal insights from the artists.
Songs include It’s A Brum Ting by Friendly Fire Band, featured on the BBC’s coverage of the games, as well as recordings by artists Bambi Bains, Soweto Kinch, Xhosa Cole, Dapz on the Map and SANITY.
The On Record album was released on 18 June and was complemented with On Record In-Conversation, a series of 22 live, in-person chats and performances running from March to August at the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space at Symphony hall and which are available as podcasts.
Here WMMB talks to Collins about the idea for the album and conversations, their importance to the city’s musical narrative and the legacy they will have:
What was the inspiration for On Record and In Conversation?
On Record was the result of many conversations with the Birmingham 2022 Festival team over a number of years. We knew we wanted to celebrate and highlight the amazing music culture of the city but we weren’t sure how to do it. We knew we wanted to reflect the diversity of music coming out of the city, that represented the diversity of the people and communities of Birmingham, and we knew we wanted to capture and celebrate the past and present of music from Birmingham.
I actually think it was Alice Cooper who had just released his new concept album that was a homage to his home town of Detroit, and I remember reading about it and thinking ‘why don’t we create a concept album about Birmingham’?
Loads of bands have written albums and songs about a place but I couldn’t find a multi-artist, multi-genre album about a specific city or place and of course there are thousands of compilation albums from bands from the same city but as I say, nothing I could see that had this multi-artist, multi-genre approach, so we went for it!
We commissioned 11 artists, gave them all the same brief: write and record a song that responds to the word Birmingham, and released it on vinyl.
The In Conversation element was a bit more obvious, we wanted to record and publish 22 conversations with people who have all contributed to local, national and international music culture. This was also a way to move beyond the artists, so we talked to producers, promoters, journalists, managers and so on and I think we captured some truly amazing stories. I’m so proud of On Record and In Conversation, we have created something really special.
What were the aims and objectives of the project and how do you think these have been achieved?
I very simply wanted to celebrate and highlight the incredible contribution that people from this city have made to local, national and international music culture. I wanted more people to know about the city and its music and to gain an understanding and insight into the diversity of music that comes from the city. There is not a sound of Birmingham but many sounds and I wanted to get that across as well. I also wanted to change people’s perceptions of Birmingham and our music culture and to make them think of Birmingham as a city of music and a music city. I hope we’ve achieved this in some small way.
Who did you collaborate with?
We had the best team working on this; Simon Duggal, Jennie Sandford, Siobhan Stevenson, Satnam Rana-Grindley, Adrian Goldberg, Ian Davies, Adam Kelly-Williams, Chris Proctor and all the B:Music staff, Danny and Tommy and all the Press On Vinyl crew and of course the brilliant B2022 Festival Team; Louisa Davies-Foley, Raidene Carter, Martin Green, Aliya Hussain, Clare Jepson-Homer, Linsey Cook, Sophie Clark, Rachael Magson, Francesca Bagley and Nicole Malatesta (apologies for any one I missed out.)
And then there were of course all the artists and contributors to On Record and In Conversation.
What were the challenges and how did you overcome them?
Ah, this is too hard to answer. I think you just have to deal with things as they come up, be honest, open and respectful with people. And for me, never think my project is the most important thing in the world. We made an album, we had fun doing it and I learned an awful lot of new skills and expertise so challenges, if you want to call them that, can be really beneficial to a project. Also we worked with great musicians, we had a fab team and met some brilliant new people who I now regard as friends, so what’s not to like, I’ve been really lucky.
What has the experience been like having a project linked to the Commonwealth Games and the Birmingham 2022 Festival?
It was great working with Louisa [Davies-Foley, Senior Producer for Birmingham 2022] and the B2022 Festival Team. I said at a very early stage that I saw this as a partnership and as such we had (I think and hope) a great working relationship that made the project much better. There is no doubt that being part of such a huge event had a massive impact on the project and for the Birmingham Music Archive. There is no way we would have got the attention or support without the event. The most obvious example of this is the BBC choosing Friendly Fire Band’s It’s A Brum Ting for their broadcast coverage. Without the Festival team sending on the music from On Record that song wouldn’t have been chosen and wouldn’t have become the sound of summer for Birmingham 2022.
Again, it’s a little bit early in the process to have had time to reflect on what we’ve done and what the outcomes will be but I know we did something great and it wouldn’t have happened without the Commonwealth Games 2022 or the B2022 Festival!
What will be the legacy of the project?
I’m still working through this but what I would like to see is an increase in support and investment in the music sector from local and regional agencies. There is a huge opportunity to increase jobs, skills, tourism and our cultural offer if we invest in the sector, train people up, create infrastructure to support jobs so we have an economic impact. And of course, music is a form of self-expression, it brings people together, boosts mental health and wellbeing, so there is that element to what we’ve achieved.
Some ideas for legacy I’d like to see happen are:
- We start the process of applying to become a UNESCO City of Music
- More attention is given to the city and our music from the industry, broadcasters and medi
- More Brummies are inspired to make music and go and watch and buy music.
How has the music profile of the city been aided by the Commonwealth Games?
Again, it’s a bit too early to be definite about this but I think the city’s music profile has been massively enhanced. The opening and closing ceremonies were such a brilliant showcase of the city and our music. It really was so so good, and there were so many artists not playing, it’s incredible the depth and breadth of creative talent this city has, and continues to produce. I think On Record has played a huge role in this as well. It’s A Brum Ting was everywhere and I noticed that the BBC even had a dedicated ‘music of Birmingham’ playout to accompany their roundup of the days’ events at the Commonwealth Games.
As someone who watches a lot of athletics and sports type programmes, I don’t ever recall the BBC doing that, so again it’s another example of how the city’s music programme has been massively aided by the Commonwealth Games. By the way, I think the absolutely mind-blowing Beyond the Bricks of Brum [A concert featuring more than 100 musicians in celebration of Birmingham’s music and spoken word scene, which took place at Symphony Hall in June 2022] will also have a huge impact when it’s broadcast on the BBC soon. We have to build on this increased profile and support and strengthen the music ecology of the city otherwise it will have all been for nothing.
What do you think about Birmingham’s bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest?
I really hope we are successful with our application! I think it would be amazing for the city and our music profile. I remember when we hosted in 1998 and it was amazing then but it is something else now, it’s so big and iconic. I think with the Eurovision Village and events that surround the actual main event, linking it with Pride and on the back of the Commonwealth Games and B2022 Festival, will keep the momentum and profile of the city and our music in the national and international spotlight which can only be a good thing.
West Midlands Music Board 