We used oral history to explore, record and share the memories and experiences of generations of session musicians, many going back to the 1950s. We looked at the experiences of musicians across the musical spectrum, from rock and pop, to reggae and classical.
We examined the working conditions, the role of the studio, the union, the skills of the job and the creative process of a group of musicians coming together in the studios that were so prevalent in London up to 2010.
The project recorded the memories of 23 session musicians ensuring we got a good mix and spread of experience covering music genres, gender and ethnicity.
The project also explored how the process changed as technology developed in musical instruments, sampling and with computer technology in general. We recruited 12 volunteers who learned about the history through talks and studios tours. They then went through digital-work’s oral history training process, learning about the ethical issues as well as technical and practical side of oral history recording and interviewing. A reminiscence group provided the opportunity for the group to meet some session musicians informally before the interviews took place to get an idea of the issues and events that shaped the musicians' lives.
This team then worked together to conduct 23 interviews with older and retired musicians. In addition to audio recording we filmed the interviews which allowed us to produce a documentary film as well as a podcast series.
The full interviews have been deposited with The Musical Museum, Camden Archives, Westminster Archives and Bishopsgate Institute.
We are grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their financial support.
We worked closely throughout this project with The City of Westminster Local Studies Archive and with the London Borough of Camden's Local Studies Centre.
Visit the project website
< homeMusic Makers from digital:works on Vimeo.