Walk 2: The Asta Trail, Silvertown: Trains, Planes and Graffiti Walls
Commentary by Jo Thomas and Toby Butler
The Asta trail was written in the summer of 2007 with the young people of the asta centre. The idea was to encourage the young people to express personal narratives and narratives of place through sound and music. After a number of group walkabouts the young people chose area’s that were important to them, wrote lyrics around the chosen locations and spent two weeks in the summer mixing their words with their own beats. This commission was especially exciting to work on in regards to technology and the distribution of music via Mpeg technology. All the young people had mobile phones and were very technologically advanced.
Some choose to save their music on to their phones via Mpeg 3 technology and listen and share what they had created. The music they wrote became mobile within Silvertown before the project was actually finished.
This mobility of sound through technology naturally captured essence idea of a sound walk.
The young people were given Mpeg 3 players at the end of the project; this technology would enable them to play the music they had written and music of their own choice. They also visited the music studios and the design laboratories of the University of East London and had a chance to work with the facilities there. This gave them the opportunity to find out what happens on the new campus that is on their doorstep, and discover some of the more exciting aspects of university life.
With some professional guidance and tuition from a trained journalist on how to record interviews, small groups of young people armed with a digital recorder also went on visits to question people that had important roles in their community. These ranged from the local shopkeeper to Lord Mawson (responsible for the future development of the area adjacent to Silvertown near Pontoon Dock). These interviews didn’t just give the participants the chance to gain some confidence in oral skills (many of them spoke English as a second language); it also gave the interviewees a chance to meet and really engage with some members of the next generation of Silvertown residents.
Track listings
Walk 2: The Asta Trail, Silvertown: Trains, Planes and Graffiti Walls
1: Song, Voice and Beats
Malcolm; Sydney; young people from the Asta Centre
2. Up and Coming Area
Malcolm , young people from Asta Centre, Mr Sriramamoorthy
3. Silver is as Good as Gold
Malcolm, Kathy Taylor (North Woolwich Old Station Museum), Toby Butler, young people from Asta Centre
4. Pink Hazes of Sugar
Toby Butler, Kathy Taylor, young people from the Asta Centre
5. Vast Skies of Venture
Victoria Jeeves (London City Airport); Toby Butler; young people from the Asta Centre
Music was composed by the young people from the Asta Centre, Silvertown and arranged by Jo Thomas |
