In September 2025 I was lucky to receive funding from Wakefield Culture Grants, as part of Our Year 2024, to develop my new song cycle We are From...

 

The concept for this new piece, was inspired by my work with communities in Wakefield as a community engagement specialist, producer and composer. I grew up in Wakefield during the 1980s and 90s before moving to London to work and study in 1998, and since returning to Yorkshire almost 20 years ago, I have produced and delivered a variety of cross artform projects, gathering and interpreting stories from people about their experiences of life in the context of place. 

 

Most recently, working with Edgelands Arts to develop parades exploring hyper local heritage, I have been creating songs that celebrate places and I wanted to expand this type of composition, to look more deeply at the personal themes and shared experiences which bind us and encourage empathy and understanding across communities in a large District like Wakefield or beyond. 

 

During the writing process I spoke to everyone from market traders to dog walkers and delivered workshops with groups from refugees and asylum seekers to young people in schools and community spaces across the District. I also utilised interviews, with people, gathered over the last 10 years, exploring the five themes of the piece, green spaces, growing up, family dinners, work and industry and market day.

 

The poetry and lyrics were developed from conversations during the engagement process and interviews; direct contribution of lines or memories from people in workshops; and my own experiences of life growing up and living in the District. The soundscapes were created using field recordings taken in industrial settings, community venues, green spaces and playgrounds, with additional foley art created by young people in workshops. The music was themed around the subject matter, for example working with Rachel Modest to explore work song style and gospel harmonies in Graft, and a nod to James Brown’s food themed funk in Family Dinner. The Beatlesesque style of harmony in Leckin’ About invokes a sense of nostalgia and allows my musical theatre background to come through in the lyric delivery. I’ve also been lucky to work with Bhangra specialist Hardeep Sahota, exploring the Bhangra tradition and with Indy on adding percussion to the music, that both acknowledges and celebrates the vibrant contribution that the South Asian community have made to our working and cultural life in the District.

 

I really enjoyed the creation process and with such talent joining me on stage, I’m proud to share the finished piece, here and on my social media channels. I was lucky enough to have Studio Bokehgo joining us to film the project and the resulting film can also be viewed below.