An Indie band are making their music available for free – after being inspired by County Durham’s history, heritage and people.
Leeds-based Hope and Social are releasing two songs, written with York’s New York Brass Band for this year’s BRASS festival, as free downloads.
The songs were composed during the festival’s Big BRASS Bash event, which saw the groups take part in workshops in schools and concert halls in Consett, Shildon, Trimdon, Seaham and Spennymoor. They also performed in parks and open spaces.
Organised by Durham County Council, the annual BRASS festival celebrates the county’s rich musical heritage and traditions but also encourages musicians to experiment and collaborate on new works.
The groups are releasing two collaborations – If You Should Go Away and Baby Got Married.
Simon Wainwright, singer and guitarist with Hope and Social, said: “Baby Got Married is about the incredible sense of home you get from being in County Durham.
“It’s a narrative about someone coming back home to give their daughter away at her wedding and saying don’t forget where you’re from and how much good there is – go off and see the world but make sure you come back.”
If You Should Go Away was written about the 1962 George Elmy lifeboat disaster in Seaham. The tragedy claimed the lives of four fishermen and five volunteer lifeboat crew members.
Rich Huxley, of Hope and Social, said: “We had a ball in County Durham, meeting people, getting to play shows all over in parks and bandstands, working with Durham BRASS and collaborating with New York Brass Band.
“In the song writing, we really tried to draw on how it felt to be in County Durham, that sense of community, of heritage of maritime, music and mining.”
The songs are available to download for free via Hope and Social’s website www.music.hopeandsocial.com. A short video about the Big BRASS Bash is also available at https://youtu.be/xejwMbPBINE