Overview
Just a Vibration is an artistic, musical and ground-breaking project which is the brainchild of Shri Sriram, a renowned multi-instrumentalist and composer. He dreamed of bringing together the warm sounds of brass, traditional Indian instruments played by top class musicians, to play new compositions featuring this combination of sounds and sources. Shri and his wife and project manager, Shirin, were put in touch with Rachel at Brass Bands England by Craig Monk of Arts Council England.
Shri explained his idea and Rachel connected him with Hammonds Saltaire Brass Band, who had recently approached Brass Bands England seeking opportunities to develop as a business-focused organisation, as well as expanding their artistic horizons.
Skelmanthorpe Band joined the project later in order to perform the pieces at the Hull Freedom festival in September 2015.
An initial session introduced the musicians and their sounds and Shirin applied for, and received, an Arts Council England Grants for the Arts award to cover the financial outlay needed to make the project take place.
After numerous meetings, development sessions and rehearsals between Hammonds, Shri, Rachel of Brass Bands England, musicians Jasdeep Singh, Ben Castle, and Marc Layton-Bennett on drums, a unique suite of pieces was created.
The official premiere of the pieces and the launch of the album took place as part of the London Jazz Festival in 2015.
Impact from Project
The project introduced Hammonds Saltaire to new musicians, new musical sounds, a new audience, a new culture, and new venues, as well as connecting them to networks in the jazz and festival worlds. As a result of being part of a Grants for the Arts-funded project, the band are now confident in developing their own GftA venture.
In addition, connecting with Indian culture has inspired Shri, Shirin and the band to work together on new projects based in the Bradford and Huddersfield region, connecting young players from musical traditions which exist side-by-side yet rarely interact.
Achievements from Project
- The band reached new audiences and has gained a new following from jazz, traditional Indian and indie circles.
- New income has been received from performances. This will continue to grow.
- To date, this one project has spawned a further three other creative collaborations.
- The band and Shri are considering further “legacy” activities as well as exploring how the success of the collaboration can be shared with and expanded to other brass groups.