A music project inspired by

In recent years I have spent a lot of time pushing a buggy containing my sons around the city of Gloucester where I live. It's a great place to walk around. It's friendly, down to earth, not too big and has a great variety of interesting things to explore.
 
The city’s greatest asset is probably its history. It has existed for a long long time. Many significant events have taken place within its walls and life still pulses strongly within its boundaries today. I'm not a historian and my project isn't about providing historically accurate information, I'm a music producer and so, in my search for a muse, I have become inspired by the cultural heritage of Gloucester. Architecture, people, stories and events that have shaped and continue to shape my adopted home are now shaping the music I make.
 
One morning I wandered into St Nicholas Church on Westgate Street and looking up at the interior of the wonky bell tower I began to imagine what it might be like to make new music in this space. I went home and made a list of all the old church buildings in the city centre (plus the Guildhall) and began to fancy that I might add my own music to the worship and performances that have taken place in them over the centuries.
 
In this city I sometimes get a surreal feeling, that a Roman centurion, an Anglo Saxon noble, a Victorian merchant, a Dominican friar or even those of ancient royal blood might have walked the same streets we walk today, that people from another time stood in these spaces singing and making music together as a community. It is this that compels me to want to create fresh music using modern sounds, tools and techniques, to find local creative people with an affinity for Gloucester to work with so that together we can tell stories that reflect the past with craft, skill and reverence, to be full of hope for the future and playful in the present with our love of music and appreciation of art and all that’s good.
 
Beginning in November 2017 I produced a recording of a new original song in each space, collaborating with different teams of local musicians, artists, poets, songwriters and singers and now the finished project is presented as a trail around Gloucester's city centre featuring the 8 historic buildings I chose.
 
All the songs are new, written and composed specifically for this project and are inspired by and based on some aspect of Gloucester's cultural heritage.
 
I really hope you enjoy exploring SPACES and if you're visiting Gloucester I hope my work adds value to your experience. If you're inclined to I'd really love it if you got in touch with feedback. email 
 
Very best wishes
George x