Sounds of the Brum-derground

Posted by Joel Eaton on Friday 07 August 2009 at 8:24am
Tags: digital collections | music | sound recordings |

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The idea originally came from an exhibition hosted at the BCL to celebrate and educate people about the Birmingham music scene all the way from the 50's and 60's right through to more recent times, when a lack of information available to the public on music from the Birmingham area was identified.

The project, and website, are still in the early stages of development but there is gradually growing information available on local bands, artists, DJs and venues from past and present. The website features audio interviews from predominant local figures (you'll have to visit the podcast page to find out for yourself). Bands such as P.W.E.I and Credit to the Nation, who were pioneers in their day are presented alongside more popular bands such as heavy metal gurus Black Sabbath. Did you know that Phil Lynott was born in West Bromwich?

The site contains some great little gems. However, it is the emphasis on the information behind the music which makes the BMA important. Information on the geography of bands and venues, the contexts of eras, genres and scenes in relation to the social environments of the time, can deepen the understanding of music and its development, as well as the new directions it took in a locale. The archive is extremely keen for user-generated content to add to the collection of knowledge through individual memories and experiences.

It is this desire to research and then present this previously undocumented cultural landscape online which makes the BMA much more than a wiki or a database of local music, and we look forward to seeing the project blossom.

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