A pioneering music project bringing together Croydon’s aspiring composers to create cross-genre, cross-community collaborations has announced two live showcases this autumn.
Delivered by Croydon-based organisation Drum The Bass, with support from Croydon Council and Arts Council England, Croydon Composers has successfully brought together an eclectic mix of musicians to collaborate on something new.
Over the summer Drum The Bass selected 10 participants, including individuals and groups of musicians, from across the community and from a wide range of music genres; from hip hop to choral folk; from Indian classical music to rock; from Turkish percussion to spoken word. The artists were matched with each other to form five pairs of collaborators, each pair working together to create one composition.
Their work is being now recorded and they will be performing live at 1.35pm on the main stage at the Colors Croydon International Mela in Wandle Park on 30 September.
They will also be appearing at Scream Lounge in South End, Croydon at 7.30pm on 27 October. More details will be available on Croydon Composers’ Facebook page.
Participants have been mentored and produced by award-winning composer, producer and musician Shri Sriram while music business consultant, Michael Fuller, will hold a workshop and practical mentoring session with advice on music industry structure and royalties.
“This project has provided a great opportunity for aspiring composers to be part of something really special, as it brings together musicians from different backgrounds and different genres, leaving a positive legacy of collaboration. It has also been a fantastic experience for me – the creativity, energy and commitment of these Croydon artists has been inspirational.”
Shri Sriram
“It’s great to see collaborative creativity like this in our borough. Through the cultural partnership fund, we as a council have been championing local arts organisations and their projects, which not only provides exciting opportunities for local artists to develop, it results in a really exciting cultural programme for Croydon. We are very proud of our home-grown talent and this project is a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of it.”
Councillor Timothy Godfrey, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport
The project has been supported by Croydon Council’s Cultural Partnership Fund (CPF) and Arts Council England. Launched last year, the CPF invited local arts organisations like Drum The Bass to apply for up to 50 per cent of their costs for a cultural project, up to a maximum of £10,000. The cash is released once they have secured match funding from another source, putting them in a much stronger position to secure external funding from national organisations, for example from Arts Council England or Heritage Lottery Fund.
CPF will accept completed applications to another funder with a cover sheet to Croydon, reducing the amount of time applicants have to spend writing bids.
For more information or to apply visit the CPF page on the council website.
For more information about Croydon Composers, Drum the Bass or to interview any of the participants contact info@drumthebass.com.
Participants include:
1. Tansay Omar (Turkish percussion player) with Amen Noir (spoken word)
2. Katie Rose (choral folk singer) with Dan Buskell Creative drummer)
3. Gill Manly (Jazz Singer) with Unorthodox Kings (hiphop, urban artist).
4. Mike Ransome with Chris Ransome (rock singers, percussion, guitar & bass, the brothers are also called Those Makeshift Heroes) and Saleel Tambe (Tabla player).
5. Raveena Rajeevan (Srilankan/Indian classical singer) with Dave Koor (electronic, keyboards).
