Another busy month for the project, taking stock of what we’ve been doing so far, catching up on the behind-the-scenes paperwork and getting on with visits to archives and setting up interviews.
We’re trying to capture as many representative voices as we can so that Rites of Passage gives a sense of the personal journeys for people involved. Our gratitude to those willing to commit time and energy to bringing this neglected history to a wider audience.
A visit to the West Yorkshire Archive Service gave a chance to look back at papers and posters that reflect issues of the times. Thanks to the staff for their help in getting materials ready for the visit.
These clues to past struggles and lived experience provide reminders to the challenging times that sound systems emerged from – and links between music, identity, empowerment and self-expression.
Places, people and organisations are part of the complex and inter-connected stories that Rites of Passage hopes to preserve as part of the city’s African Caribbean musical heritage.
Rites of Passage: Bradford's Sound System Stories 