Today, at the Pitman’s Parliament in Durham, a landmark renewable energy transition conference, a world-first vinyl record embedded with coal dust was launched. The record, titled Ancestral Reverb, features the voice of indie folk troubadour Richard Dawson speaking the words of former coal miners and their families.
The 20-minute track, produced by climate hope organization Threads in the Ground, uses colliery music spanning over 100 years and the verbatim words of coal miners and their families. The record can be listened to on the Threads in the Ground bandcamp page.
In a statement, Dawson expressed his honor at being a part of this important project. He described the track as “beautifully balanced and thought-provoking,” evoking conflicting feelings such as “pride and dismay, hope and fear, community-spirit versus abandonment.” He found it “very moving.”
Threads in the Ground director Adam Cooper described the unique production process of the record, stating that chunks of coal from Blackhall colliery beach were smashed up and embedded into the transparent records. The smashed-up coal was also used to “carbon print” documentary photos of the project, which he believes is a world-first.
In addition to the coal dust embedded into the vinyl, Ancestral Reverb also features the “sound of carbon.” Musicians journeyed down an old drift coal mine at Beamish Colliery to digitally capture the “reverb” of the mine, which was used in the track.
The evocative piece has been likened to “Moby meets Brassed Off” as it features spoken word, colliery bands, and electronica. The record was previewed at the conference hosted by the Durham Energy Institute.
Ancestral Reverb aims to engage former mining communities and families in shared discussion about their heritage of solidarity as a powerful tool when talking about climate change. The project features an array of northern talent, with the spoken word piece curated by poet Jacob Polley, consisting of interviews with some of the last living deep coal miners in the North East and their children and grandchildren.
The project was documented by acclaimed North East photographers Andy Martin and Rachel Deakin. Only 100 copies of the unique record will be pressed and will be held in the archives of Redhills, The National Coal Mining Museum, and the British Library. Each of the families interviewed for the project will also receive a copy to be passed down to future generations.
Cooper explains that the goal of Ancestral Reverb is to “honour the past we inherit, to inspire more people to have their voices heard to build our future.” He believes that music and photography have a “visceral and democratic power” that can amplify conversations about our carbon future in a meaningful way.
The music for Ancestral Reverb was produced by DJ Bert Verso and includes some of the oldest known recordings of colliery pit bands from 1903, as well as new performances by the Durham Miners’ Association brass band.
For further media enquiries, please contact Ann at ann@causeuk.com or by phone at 0753 489 2715. Photos for press use can be found in the Google Drive, including photos from Ancestral Reverb’s listening party, the vinyl artwork, community coal picking, and tintype portraits of Lorraine Malyan and Steve Fergus.
Threads in the Ground is a climate hope organization dedicated to unearthing powerful climate stories to inspire action for future generations. Their goal is to engage communities through arts, culture, and education, aiming to involve 8 million people in climate hope by 2030. Their initiatives include unique projects like the world’s first fungal sculpture trail and various community engagement activities focused on sustainable practices.
Ancestral Reverb is an exploration of our carbon heritage through sound, words, and pictures. The piece was made using music spanning over 100 years and the words of coal community members ranging from age 5 to 94. It contains sounds captured in a coal mine, photos taken with a Victorian-era camera, and stories passed down through generations. The records are embedded with fragments of coal, scavenged from Blackhall Colliery’s beach.
The project was commissioned by the Durham Miners Association as part of the Redhills creative residency program and is supported by public funding from Arts Council England.
The artists involved in Ancestral Reverb include award-winning photographer and filmmaker Andy Martin, artist Rachel Deakin, writer Jacob Polley, and vocalist Richard Dawson.
Case studies of project contributors, including Lorraine Malyan, an activist during the Miner’s Strike, and Alison Paterson, manager of the Blackhall Community Centre and daughter/granddaughter of coal miners, are available upon request.
