A project that aims to create a sound track for the East London line between Dalston Junction and New Cross (the beginning and end of that particular route) that uses the areas the train passes through as a source of audio material. 

The project is an exploration into the themes of psychogeography and an attempt to artistically engage with my surroundings whilst encouraging others to do the same. It is also an attempt to enhance peoples daily experiences in the city and get them to reconsider the atributes of their environment. 

There are 11 stations on the route, which makes ten short journeys, one between each station. My idea is to join forces with 10 collaborating musicians to create a series of 10 short tracks, one for each short journey on the route. Each track will last precisely the length of time as the journey between both stations (between 1 and 3 minuets) and would be created using audio samples from the areas the journey passes through, the frist of which have been posted on this page. 

Each of the ten collaborators will be asked to chose a journey and then be provided with a collection of samples as well as accompanying visual resources including photography, writing and video material created on the journey for inspiration. They will then have two weeks to produce the track in any style or genre they wish, so long as it suits the atmosphere of their chosen journey.

The final work will be freely provided to commuters on the route in the form of a podcast and an accompanying printed document.  

Stay tuned for more samples and the finished tracks.

Shadwell - Whitechapel - Left Hook Boxing Gym - Intense breathe punches and bell

This track was created by James Thompson. James grew up going to the club Sankeys in Manchester and subsequently began producing house music under the alias
'Formatique.' 

He explains that moving to London opened his eyes to a part of the Great British culture he had not yet experienced, the depth of which rounded him as a person and
shaped the music he makes today.

“I wanted my piece for this project to seem contemplative,
almost absent. I wanted it to be easy for the listener to ignore
my music so that the surrounding area became the main focus.”

To hear more of James’ work visit –

http://soundcloud.com/formatique

http://soundcloud.com/staticmath

Haggerston - Hoxton

This track was created by Alex Mckendrick. Alex doesn’t come from a musical background but he enjoys
experimenting with different sounds and synths in order to produce interesting new ideas and emotions to build upon.

“For this piece, I wanted to create a space for the samples
character to come through, which became the ambient intro of
the track. The second part is a melody that is a response to these
samples.”

If you would like to contact Alex, send an email to -

alexmckendrick@hotmail.com

Hoxton - Shoreditch

This track was created by Dooley Murphy, a recreational music-maker, who claims he tries not to get addicted as he “can’t handle longer doses of beat-production.” 

Although the production software “does his head in” however, he enjoys the rush of
making music far too much to stop.

“With regard to this project, I wanted to forge a soundscape that can be
read in several (perhaps contradictory) ways. There’s a daytime/nighttime
shift going on, as well as (hopefully) a progression that reflects the urban
dérive: starting off in Brick Lane and meandering towards the spicy ends
of Whitechapel, finishing off with some animal noises from Spitalfields City
Farm and some snares that sound like what you might find in The Rhythm
Factory.”

To hear more of Dooley’s work visit –

http://soundcloud.com/dooleymurphy

Shoreditch - Whitechapel

This track was created by Benén Dillon, who is from Belfast but currently lives in Deptford. 

He started making musicwith when he first moved to London and discovered UK Garage.

“Listening to the samples for this piece reminded me of when I ‘misplaced’
my ipod and was forced to listen to the sounds around me. They form an
impression on your day that can come back to you much later on. I remember
once in Brixton I saw a man in his 40s fall down the front step of
a Chinese. He did a forward roll on the pavement but managed to keep his
takeaway from hitting the ground. Getting up he muttered, “ten point dismount”
before hobbling off.

I’ve been focusing on playing guitar and piano rather than making tracks
lately, so it was fun to put something together for this project. In the track
you can hear some of the stuff I picked out from the samples; a work out to
the sound of the church bells.”

To hear more from Benen, visit -

http://soundcloud.com/nolow

Whitechapel - Shadwell

This track was created by Adam Reid, a producer and DJ who aims to make music that encompasses all of his tastes, from hip hop to disco, techno and house, whilst hopefully
remaining original.

“For this track, I was trying to make the piece sound like a mini story, using
all the provided samples and vocal elements, which I feel made the piece
more cohesive.”

To hear more of Adam’s work visit -

http://soundcloud.com/reidad

Shadwell - Wapping

This track was created by Theo Alexander, a composer and sound artist based in London. 

His main concerns are hidden rhythms, ineffable harmony and musical decay.

“My piece was largely inspired by the electro-acoustic composition process,
and I tried my hardest to be as true to this aesthetic as possible whilst also
following the rules of the commission. A large contributing factor to the
sonic result was Rotherhithe tunnel, and the idea of entering a cavernous
space that is very much /between/ and not quite /there/. The vein of the
Thames pierces and develops through the piece just as it does the city
itself.”

To hear more of Theo’s work visit -

http://www.theoalexander.co.uk

Wapping - Rotherhithe

This track was created by Natalia Varela. Natalia is 22 years old and was born in El Salvador where she lived until the age of 14, when she moved to The Netherlands. 

She is in the final year of University studying Sound Engineering and also works as a Zumba/Dance instructor. Music is one of Natalia’s greatest passions having been involved with it since her early years.

“With this piece, I intended to keep it minimal when it came to extra
instrumentation, so there is only hi-hats and those two drum hits. The rest
is all made with samples, I wanted to give it an ambience but also leave an
opening for a bit of mysteriousness and excitement for what awaits at the
end of the journey.”

To hear more of Natalia’s work visit -

http://soundcloud.com/nataliavarela

Rotherhithe - Canada Water

This track was created by Lee Chapman, a self taught composer and producer of his own music, working in the fields of ethereal, organic and accidental compositions.

His sound is mainly based on minimal instrumentation to create large yet
delicate sounds using live processing as well as environmental found sounds
from travelling.

“For this piece I wanted to convey the thoughts inside my head during
travelling as a sense of dense information being processed in a short space
of time. The piece is split into two 30 second parts. The first mimics the
speeding up of the underground train at a high rate that uses the main
portion of found sounds gathered from around the two stations. For me,
this can be quite an unnerving moment. The latter is a vast change from the
former. There is a defined change in volume, timbre and pace. The journey is
coming to an end gently, the Overground comes to a stop.”

To hear more of Lee’s work visit -

http://soundcloud.com/leefrancischapman

Canada Water - Surrey Quays

This track was created by TENKAI, a live electronic/bass music act hailing from South-London.

Producer Jack Driscoll and guitarist Dan Carter met through promoting
squat parties and outdoor raves. Realising they shared common musical
goals they began working on material that aimed to combine precision
sound design with evocative melodies and dramatic shifts in feel. After
putting together an EPs worth of tracks they auditioned singers and
recruited the amazing Bendu Sambola. Her soaring R&B tinged vocals and
inventive lyrics completed the sound and TENKAI look set to achieve big
things in 2012.

“For this track, I guess we wanted to do something up-front that still put
across our perception of the areas. Aside from the obvious samples, I feel
like the piano loop from goldsmiths captures something of the isolation
of being alone in a busy place. There are strong dub influences in later
sections, appropriate for new cross with its large Caribbean population.”

To hear more from Tankai, visit -

facebook.com/tenkai.uk

http://soundcloud.com/tenkaisounds

Surrey Quays - New Cross

This track was created by Thomas Holbrook, a 21 year old producer currently living in Kingston upon Thames and studying music technology. 

He has been producing foraround 5 years but started taking it more seriously in the last 2, focusing on developing his own style based around 125-130 BPM and influenced heavily by current and past underground scenes of the UK and Europe.

“With this track I wanted to really represent the areas of the journey and the
people that define them first and have the music come second to this. The
whole track was made using only the samples I was given. A friend of mine
described the piece as being like ‘tripping on acid whilst walking through
Dalston’, which I think fits pretty nicely!”

To hear more from Thomas, visit -

soundcloud.com/paradisesal

Rossaitken

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