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TOWNSOUNDS

Author: Mandy Samra, Sam Hodgson, Ant McGinley, Let's Go Yorkshire

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TOWNSOUNDS explores the musical histories of Kirklees to uncover untold stories through the voices of local people living musical lives.

This podcast is brought to you by Let’s Go Yorkshire, Kirklees Year of Music 2023 and Kirklees Council. It was hosted and produced by Sam Hodgson.

The podcast has been supported by Kirklees Council, Kirklees Year of Music 2023, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For more information on this podcast, please visit musicinkirklees.co.uk
16 Episodes
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The final episode of the TOWNSOUNDS podcast is the series’ most ambitious. It brings together 27 of the guests that feature over the course of the previous 14 episodes, this time, all with one subject on their lips - music as a gift of life. Over the course of this episode the speakers talk on themes that include; mental health and well-being, coping mechanisms, the ecstasy of performance, and the shifting consciousness enabled by music. All this is tied together by Sam Hodgson’s thoughtful hosting style and a soundscape that underpins the topics of discussion.Thank you for all the support we received from those who made the making of this podcast possible, and a special thanks to all those who listened. Please continue to share the episodes and series with anyone who you think will enjoy it.
Episode Fourteen digs into the unheard stories of some of the areas’ most prolific event organisers. A rare opportunity to hear about the behind-the-scenes in the biggest and smallest venues in Kirklees, where stars are born and others are booked. From world-renowned venues like The Batley Variety Club and The Picturedrome in Holmfirth, to smaller outfits like The Watershed in Slaithwaite, we hear about the complications and the beauties of running live music in these post-industrial hills. Whilst they talk, listeners will be privileged with new music from the area from such artists as PENNY, Jordan Higo, Here’s the Steeple and Long Island. The speakers for this episode are: Promotions Manager of the Batley Variety Club and author of King of Clubs, Maureen Prest; Owner of The Picturedrome, Peter Carr; Creative Producer at The Watershed and ex-Manager of Small Seeds, Huddersfield, Noah Burton; Balbir Singh Uppaland Donovan Brown aka Dee Bo General.It also features music with the kind permission of the following artists: PENNY; Jordan Higo; Here's the Steeple; Long Island; Dee Bo General; Noah Burton; Easy Stride Band; and Armagideon.
After a successful 12 episodes in 2023, the TOWNSOUNDS podcast is back with another 3 episodes for 2024. This first episode of the year takes an intimate look into the personal stories of a topic that you might not associate with music at all - parenting. The podcasts’ host, Sam Hodgson, couldn’t help but notice that throughout the archive interviews, used for this podcast series, the musical parents couldn’t help but mention the huge impact having kids had on their musical lives. In this episode Sam has the opportunity to pick the topic apart and in doing so reveals topics that are rarely spoken about in public at all. This is a heartwarming, joyous episode overall but it also reaches places of great depth, personal achievement and struggle. Whether you’re a musician, a parent, or an expecting parent, or if you care deeply about your local community and the people in it, or if you are fascinated by the stories of real people, this episode is likely for you. The speakers for this episode are: Community musician and loop pedal wielding singer Jess Baker;  Music therapist and roots musician Emily Druce; Bob Lockwood, who has been the double bass player for the Graham Browning Trio, Edges Ensemble, Crooks and Claridge, Marsden Community Jazz Band, String Fellows, Sabrina Piggett and many more; The Hanson family, who run Hanson’s Musical Instrument; Shop and Hanson Community Arts; Organiser of Holmfirth Festival of Folk, Alex Bywaters; Member of the Mash It Up Parang Band, John Joseph; Singer, songwriter, Ruby Wood.All the music clips you hear come with the kind permission of our speakers.
This episode is about as close as we’re going to get to a Christmas special. It’s about brass bands and steel bands and handbell ringing bands. We’ll hear loads of music, some of which is bound to put you in the spirit of the season. So, get your scarf on, grab a cup of something wet and warm, and settle in for a fun and information-packed episode of the TOWNSOUNDS podcast - the last of this series. This episode features contributions from: Rod Fisher from the Grange Moor Brass Band; Peter Crossley from Skelmanthorpe Brass Band; Thomas Benjamin and Phil Wood from the North Stars Steel Orchestra; Peter Fawcett and Dewsbury Minster’s Handbell Ringers.
Rebellion is one of the many artistic personalities of Kirklees and has been for some time. In fact, it could be argued that much of the music that is made here in Kirklees has a rebellious streak. Amateur music scenes in a way, all have the spirit of rebellion within it. It’s music despite hardship, despite having a lack of money or time, despite not having the right instrument or the most prestigious training. These are determined musicians, standing in the face of what we, as a society, deem popular or successful or, in some cases, possible. The musicians and musical facilitators featured in this episode have taken that spirit of rugged determination to its conclusion - connected by innovation, experimentalism, chaos, and anarchy.This episode features snippets of music with the kind permission of the artist: Chris Ruffoni’s Solar Phones at Butterley Resevoir; Full Circle by the Instigators; Stopped in the Zoo by Giblets and Cheese; News from Nowhere by Laffmad; Etch by Bodycoder; Light Boxz by FoxGlove Riot; and the TOWNSOUNDS theme tune by Sam H. Song.
Jazz does have a reputation for being a bit more complex than some other genres of music. Outside of trad-jazz, the genre tends to push the boundaries, and do things that most musicians can’t and most audiences probably can’t handle. Sometimes words can’t describe what you are trying to say about music. You have to feel it and see it and sing it and squeal it. And that is what this episode will attempt to bring to life. It’s not only Marsden jazz that has put Kirklees on the jazz map. One of the first residencies at the Batley Variety Club was Louis Armstrong. And Huddersfield has a Jazz Guitar Society and a Jazz Guitar Festival. There are a number of local jazz nights, jazz singers and professional jazz instrumentalists around the area. Jazz, for some reason, has a special place at the heart of Kirklees. And in this episode we’ll do our best to find out why.The contributors featured in this episode are: Laurie Stead - founder of Huddersfield Jazz; Stan Sagan - double bass player; Paul Smith - drummer and organiser of the Head of Steam jazz night; Paul Chamberlain - bass player and organiser of the Head of Steam jazz night; Michael Massey – singer; Pat Fulgoni - singer and organiser of the Sunday Blues Train; Sean M Corby - trumpet player.The episode also features excerpts of the following pieces of music with the kind permission of the copyright holders: Lay it Down Charlie Brown by Elements; Saratoga by Larry Van Kriedt; Roll Rizla Roll by Swing of Things; Caravan performed by Band of Jays; Pennies from Heaven performed by the Jazz Dawgs; Pat Fulgoni blues band, live in Prague.
Over the course of the series, we have heard from music projects that continue to run, but up until now, the episodes have been filling in the gaps of what music in Kirklees used to be like. Many of the people who we interviewed no longer have a connection to the local music scene. Instead, they look back fondly on the music scenes of the past. But in this episode we look at what has been happening throughout more recent years in modern popular music. We’ll go as far back as the early 90s, but try to stay even closer to now than that. The episode covers musicians that are still on the scene right now, making music, performing, touring, writing, playing, and organising.The speakers for this episode are: Ruby Wood - Submotion Orchestra, Extra Curricular and Ruby Wood; Martin Chung - Jah Wobble, Nu Popes, Ruby Wood and Extra Curricular; Rob Bradley - Jack Flash, Extra Curricular and Rob Bradley; Nigel Cudjoe - Savvy, Asaviour and The Saving Grace Collective.As well as the show theme by Sam Hodgson, this episode features excerpts of the following tracks which appear with the kind permission of the copyright holders:02:10 - MUSIC: Woodwork by Samh; 05:50 - MUSIC: Martin Chung guitar improvisation; 07:25 - MUSIC: Martin Chung guitar solo on Wadcutter Blues track; 11:40 - MUSIC: Funked Up and Freaked Out by Kava Kava; 13:05 - MUSIC: Hour of the Wolf by Savvy; 16:05 - MUSIC: Huddersfield to Hollywood by Savvy; 25:26 - MUSIC: My Favourite Song by Ruby Wood; 27:50 - MUSIC: As One by Keeno, featuring Pat Fulgoni.
Over the course of the TOWNSOUNDS podcast series, host Sam Hodgson has already interviewed a number of people who have migrated to Kirklees from somewhere else or who are second-generation migrants. As listeners have heard in Episode Two (choirs), Episode Three (rock and roll), Episode Four (South Asian music), Episode Five (folk) and Episode Seven (reggae soundsystem), migration is a vital part of the story and the history of Kirklees’ music. In this episode Sam dives into the migration stories themselves. How did the musicians get here? How did they end up in Kirklees? And what music did they bring with them? The stories and the reasons people arrived here are fascinating, diverse and sometimes very challenging. The speakers for this episode are: Dieudonne AKA Didi Manirakiza - Burundi drummer; Emira Husarevic - Bosnian accordion player and singer; Fatima Hama - Iraqi singer; Hussain Suliman - Iraqi saz player; Frank Grombir - Czech singer of Polish church songs and historian of migration to Kirklees; Supriya Nagarajan - Indian singer; Thomas Benjamin - Trinidadian steel pan player.The original music in this episode appears with the kind and express permission of the artists: 00:00 - MUSIC: ‘TOWNSOUNDS theme music’ by Sam Hodgson03:20 - World Within Yorkshire - Abatimbo Burundi Drummers06:15 - World Within Yorkshire - Abatimbo Burundi Drummers07:40 - Love Over Light Years’ by Foxglove Riot12:48 - Hussain Suliman demonstrating saz13:00 - Fatima Hama & Hussain Suliman13:49 - El Pollito by Fransico Canaro, performed by Max and Alessia18:30 - Czerwone Jagody performed by Sam Hodgson20:10 - Hallelujah Chorus performed by North Stars Steel Orchestra21:45 - Mira’s Bhakti from Posse of Fireflies24:55 - Geamparale performed by Klonk32:53 - ‘TOWNSOUNDS theme music’ by Sam Hodgson
In this episode of the TOWNSOUNDS Oral History Podcast host Sam Hodgson will be finding out about the well documented and highly influential soundsystem and reggae music scene in Huddersfield. Sam will explore this topic in a unique, new way. Firstly, this will be through the voices of local people involved in soundsystem. From the people that know it first hand, he’ll find out about Armagideon Soundsystem, Axis Valv-a-tron, Zion Inna Vision, Likkle Warrior HiFi, Jah Amharic and Black Hudu. Sam will also speak to an MC on the scene.The way that Sam will find out about reggae soundsystem is through the process of putting it on - building the systems and amps, organising and promoting the night, and through the understanding of soundsystem nights themselves.As part of this exploration, Jeff Lewis will tell us all about Hans Alfred Mathias from Matamp. Learn about the technology, the history, and some funny anecdotes. The original music in this episode appears with the kind and express permission of the artists: 00:00 ‘TOWNSOUNDS Reggae Style’ by Sam Hodgson05:10 - ‘General Reggae Guitar’ by Sam Hodgson11:23 - Armagideon Soundsystem at Cambridge Road Baths16:49 - Improvised MCing by Ras Sis Highness19:35 - ‘Carolina My Love’ by Abz Jaxon 27:10 - ‘Worries in the Dance’ by Simply Dread28:40 - ‘Worries in the Dance’ by Simply Dread29:05 - A brand new track from Mighty Funkhouser30:50 - ‘This Thing’ by Mighty Funkhouser32:53 - Abatimbo Burundi Drummers
An episode about community music, looking at charitable organisations and community interest companies with some focus on music. It will also delve into the world of open mics in Kirklees. Community music isn’t a style or genre of music so there aren’t necessarily any audible cues. Rather, community music refers to some kind of value system or intention or purpose regarding music. As the name suggests, these values are related to the power that music has to affect the communities that gather around it. Community music is often about education and the improvement of mental wellbeing. It's also about trying to make sure that everyone has access to music creation. These are the themes of this podcast series. In the process Host Sam Hodgson will speak to educators, community leaders, open mic comperes and service users. We’ll hear music from Hoot Creative Arts, The WomenCentre, Monika Zlamalova, and Musica Youth Orchestra.The speakers for this episode are: Phil Russell - Founder of Hoot Creative Arts; Emily Druce - Music Therapist at WomenCentre, Huddersfield; Eddie Dobson - Founder of Yorkshire Sound Women Network; Thom Meredith - Principal at Musica Kirklees; Sean Leonard - Business development manager of Beaumont Street Studios; Monika Hodgson - Ex-compere of Wood Street Open Mic; Lindon - Compere of Wood Street Open Mic; Jess - Bar person at Northern Quarter Huddersfield; Ethan - Attendee at Wood Street Open Mic; Natalie - Attendee at Wood Street Open Mic; Adam - Attendee at Wood Street Open MicThe music in this episode is: TOWNSOUNDS podcast intro music by Sam Hodgson; ‘Catching the Dream’ by Another Planet group, Hoot, Dewsbury; ‘Catching the Dream’ by Another Planet group, Hoot, Dewsbury; ‘Swing Thing’ by Yellow Goose; ‘Wasting My Times and My Tears’ by Druce and Jones; ‘Body Work’ by Dekanter; Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, performed by Sam Hodgson; Gustav Holst’s Planet Suite performed by Musica Youth Orchestra; Instigators; ‘Salty Lips’ by Monika Zlamalova; TOWNSOUNDS podcast theme music dub plate by Sam Hodgson.
In this episode, we'll introduce you to some of the traditional music that exists in the local area. Your host, Sam Hodgson, will express the definition of folk music through several stages of the podcast. We will hear about the aesthetics that make folk musics distinctive - instrumentation, clothing, and musical styles. We’ll hear from the local experts the other ‘folk’ elements of the music - the way things are made, written, practised, and performed. We’ll also discover folk music’s connections to their relative dance. All this will be set in Kirklees, from the perspectives of residents that have roots in Ireland, Carriacou, Iran, Bosnia, England and instruments with roots in Turkey and Australia. This podcast is brought to you by Let’s Go Yorkshire, Kirklees Year of Music 2023 and Kirklees Council. It was hosted and produced by Sam Hodgson. The podcast has been supported by Kirklees Council, Kirklees Year of Music 2023, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In this episode, we'll hear first-hand the inside stories of the South Asian music scene from some of the people at the heart of it. We'll also hear Bhangra, Indian Classical, and Bolyian tracks all made here in Kirklees! And we'll also find out about the history of local underground raves that happened in the middle of the day.This podcast is brought to you by Let’s Go Yorkshire, Kirklees Year of Music 2023 and Kirklees Council. It was hosted and produced by Sam Hodgson. The podcast has been supported by Kirklees Council, Kirklees Year of Music 2023, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In this episode, host Sam Hodgson will work as chronologically as he can through the foggy history of Kirklees Rock and Roll. Through speaking to a select few guests, the episode uncovers what was happening at the birth of this genre. By listening, you will also hear a clip of the Beatles, recorded in Huddersfield in 1963 and not heard since!TOWNSOUNDS explores the musical histories of Kirklees to uncover untold stories through the voices of local people living musical lives. For more information on this podcast, please visit musicinkirklees.co.ukContributors to this episode are  Colin Binns - Mark Fender from Mark Fender and the Trackers, Gordon Wood - washboard player from Hokum, Graham Rushworth - drummer from Denny and the Witchdoctors, John Armitage - singer, guitarist, bass player from The Contrasts, John Phillips - of Jab Jab and Rok Star, Laurie Stead - local radio host, Paul Rushworth - bass player from Denny and the Witchdoctors, Peter Philpot - music enthusiast,  Ranjit Kaur aka Radical Sista - 80s/90s DJ, Roy Noel - of Bob Adams and the Limits.The music in this episode isTOWNSOUNDS theme - Sam Hodgson, Life of a Gypsy - Jab Jab, Rock and Roll Bass - Sam Hodgson, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring - Bach, performed by Sam Hodgson, Kelvin Benjamin soloing with the North Stars Steel Orchestra, Calypso - Sam Hodgson, Bedroom Rock and Roll - Sam Hodgson, One Hour Mama - Porter Granger performed by Hokum, Come on and Dance - Denny and the Witchdoctors, I Can’t Get You Out of MyMind - the Contrasts, Calypso by Sam Hodgson, Drum Solo, Hoping to See the Sunrise - Jab Jab, Old Piece - John Phillips aka Rok Star, Dole Years - Knuckle, TOWNSOUNDS theme - Sam Hodgson.
In this episode, host Sam Hodgson dives head first into the world of Kirklees choral music. Acknowledging early on that there are so many choirs and singing groups in Kirklees that he has set himself an impossible task, he seeks the guidance of some experts in the subject. In listening to this podcast episode you will learn about all kinds of singing happening in Kirklees. Discover the sounds and histories of typical choirs dating back over 100 years, and recent groups singing gospel, and Ukrainian folk. Singing connects in some way to most of us, and in this episode, that point will be proven. We’ll be told, by local singers, just how important singing is for health, wellbeing, and community. And we’ll find out about the changes that have happened throughout the years to singing in Kirklees. The title of the show is a play on the old nursery rhythm ‘Ring a Ring o’ Roses’, using ‘sing’ the old Yorkshire word ‘ling’ (meaning heather) in place of the rings.This podcast is brought to you by Let’s Go Yorkshire, Kirklees Year of Music 2023 and Kirklees Council. It was hosted and produced by Sam Hodgson. The podcast has been supported by Kirklees Council, Kirklees Year of Music 2023, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.TOWNSOUNDS explores the musical histories of Kirklees to uncover untold stories through the voices of local people living musical lives. For more information on this podcast, please visit musicinkirklees.co.ukThe speakers for this episode are:  Edwin Baker - the conductor and founder of the Huddersfield Community Gospel Choir; Thom Meredith - the conductor of the Colne Valley Male Voice Choir; Ann Talboys - a member of the Honley Ladies Choir; John Raymond Ellis - a member of the Colne Valley Male Voice Choir; Michael Drapan - who has been championing Ukrainian signing in Huddersfield since the 1970s; Dr Bert Jindal - talking about ‘Longwood Sing’ and its special anniversary.The music in this episode is TOWNSOUNDS podcast intro music by Sam Hodgson; Black Cotton by Sam Hodgson; This Little Light of Mine (trad.), performed by the Huddersfield Community Gospel Choir; The Holy City, performed by the Colne Valley Male Voice Choir; Provijav (trad.), performed by Trio Solovejky; The Holy City, performed by the Colne Valley Male Voice Choir; Precious Lord, performed by Huddersfield Community Gospel Choir; Deeper in Love by Rob Bradley, performed with The Huddersfield Community Gospel Choir; Pratty Flowers, performed by the Colne Valley Male Voice Choir; Sing We Now of Christmas, performed by Honley Ladies Choir; Irish Blessing (trad.), performed by the Colne Valley Male Voice Choir.The conversations heard in this podcast were recorded by Sam Hodgson and Mandeep Samra over 2021 and 2022 for the TOWNSOUNDS oral history project. Full recordings of the conversations are available at the West Yorkshire Archive Service. The conversations recorded for the oral history project include those with people from a wide range of musical disciplines: handbell ringing, rock and roll, reggae, steel pan, hip hop, dubstep, jazz, and… traditional musics from India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Ireland, Poland, Bosnia, England, Kurdistan and Iran traditional music.@musicinkirklees @letsgoyorkshire@samh.song@musicofsamh
Introducing TOWNSOUNDS

Introducing TOWNSOUNDS

2023-01-3002:00

Sam Hodgson gives you a two-minute guide to what you can expect from this series.
In this episode, host Sam Hodgson goes on a journey of discovery to find out more information about festivals in Kirklees. To do so he uses six festivals as case studies, and talks to their organisers, founders, and others involved. By listening to the podcast, you will begin to understand some of the challenges of festival organisation in more depth. You’ll get to know of the difficulties the organisers of local festivals have gone through to keep the festivals going, and the changes that have been made recently to keep them modern, fresh, and exciting. You also hear, first hand, of some of the highlights, some of the big names, and the amazing things that have happened in Kirklees because of these music festivals.This episodes guests are: Ann Talboys, administrator of Huddersfield Mrs Sunderland Festival; Alex Bywaters, one of the oranisers of Holmfirth Festival of Folk; Barney Stevenson, ex-artistic director of Marsden Jazz Festival; David Minich, director of Cleckheaton Folk Festival; Mary Agnes Krell, founder and organiser of the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival; Mark Bokowiec, technician at Huddersfield Contemporary music festival for 23 years; Julie-Wilson Bokowiec, spouse and musical partner of Mark Bokowiec; Ruby Wood, local jazz singer.The music in this episode is: TOWNSOUNDS podcast intro music by Sam Hodgson; Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony, performed by Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra; The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan performed by Barbera Brook, recorded by the Huddersfield Video and Cine Club; Build Us a Room by Sam Hodgson; Geond v - viii by Tom Challenger, recorded by Jez Riley French; Guava Jam, performed by Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel; Staying Home Tonight by Phil Doleman; Contemporary Music by Sam Hodgson; Bully in the Alley, performed by Kimber’s Men.
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