Here in the North East, we're well accustomed to music development agency Generator and Northern Film & Media stoking the region's creative fire with exciting, innovative arts projects. However that hasn't stopped eyebrows from being raised in all corners of the local creative arts industry at the sheer scale and ambition of their latest partnered project, Space Invasion, a series of experimental music, arts and film collaborations staged in abstract venues around the North East.
Space Invasion will unfold over what we're begrudgingly still calling 'the summer months' and is one of the biggest projects to receive funding from The Space, Arts Council England and the BBC's £5.5 million digital arts venture.
The partnership between Generator and Northern Film & Media has already produced the visually stunning Pallion, which tells the story of the historic vessel TSS Manxman and the once thriving Pallion Shipyard in Sunderland, where the ship is being dismantled on the banks of the River Wear in the present day. The audio-visual piece, which will be available at thespace.org at the end of July, was sound-tracked by Newcastle's earthen folk outfit Lanterns On The Lake, while fellow Tynesiders, Novak Collective, captured the beautiful images.
Further collaborations are set to include the production of a promotional video for electronic music wunderkind SBTRKT's song, Trials of the Past. The £8k commission will see one lucky filmmaker working alongside SBTRKT's label, Young Turks, to become only the third person to record a music video for the enigmatic Londoner. Maximo Park lead vocalist, Paul Smith, will perform a musical interpretation of acclaimed poet Lavinia Greenlaw's, Essex Kiss, in Newcastle's ancient Morden Tower, while Coldcut's Raj Pannu has also been commissioned to produce a digital mash-up of archive clips from the BBC's rock music magazine show, The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Generator supports budding artists and live music promoters in the region with robust programmes providing commercial strategy and creative guidance. The annual Evolution Emerging live music event showcases some of the the best and brightest acts breaking out of the North East music scene. Spanning over half a dozen venues, last year's event played host to a clutch of now nationally acclaimed bands including The Chapman Family, Vinyl Jacket and Hyde & Beast. Generator's musician support manager, Joe Frankland, has this to say on the Space Invasion initiative:
It's amazing to be involved in pushing the boundaries and getting various artists across the UK to work together. While all strands have their own unique merits, I'd say Old Grey Whistle Twist is perhaps the most exciting. It's such an iconic show and we feel honoured to have access to bring back to life some of the best performances from it in a really interesting way.
Raj Pannu's work is pioneering so we can't wait to see the resulting remix. Clearing the rights to these classic performances is no mean feat, but it's one of the things The Space is all about.
The ambition shown by Generator and Northern Film & Media in securing funding from The Space demonstrates a strong desire to place the North East on the map, in terms of arts and culture. So what does Joe envisage will be the knock-on effect for the region's creative arts industry once the project reaches its climax?
Cuts to arts funding have been well publicised and it is of course sad to see the effects in the North East. However, the likes of Generator and Northern Film & Media have built a very strong relationship with funders such as Arts Council England. Our friends at MIMA, Tyneside Cinema and Northern Stage are also running some great projects for The Space and anything that highlights creative arts in the North East should be cherished. We have no doubt The Space initiatives will look to the North East and we'll continue to offer vital support to musicians and music businesses in the region.
All of the Space Invasion works will be screened at a public event at The Sage in Gateshead on September 22 with additional live music performances from Mercury Nominated singer Ghostpoet, Raj Pannu, Lulu James, Jethro Fox and Seye. In the meantime you can stay up to date with the development of arguably the most ambitious, genre-spanning project ever to be undertaken in the North East's arts and culture industry online at The Space's interactive, on-demand website, thespace.org.
Dan Carson is a music promoter from Sunderland who also co-edits the local music blog, The Abacus Post.
