I first came across The Simonsound with the release of the excellent Reverse Engineering album back in 2010. I was working as iTunes music editor at the time and it really stood out amongst the masses of music I received each day. The record naturally soon found its way onto my Flomotion radio show for Resonance FM. I contacted Simon James (the brains and producer behind the music) and booked him to play live at venues including Pizza Express Jazz Club and the Royal Festival Hall.
As our conversations developed it was clear that Simon also shared a passion for architecture and so he was a natural choice for my Musicity project, whereby I commission new music for buildings, places and spaces - with locations chosen by each musician.
Simon’s choice was unusual as it was for a building that hadn’t existed for over 50 years – namely the Skylon on London’s Southbank – created originally to be part of the Festival of Britain in 1951, and demolished the same year.
His piece vividly captures not only the structure of this now “ghost” building but also a real sense of an early 1950s futurist ideal - new discoveries, opportunities and of the hopes and dreams of a nation rebuilding itself after a long period of war.
You can listen to the track here:
https://thesimonsound.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-shadow-of-the-skylon
I’ve continued to support Simon’s fascinating work on my BBC Radio 3 Late Junction programme, and hope to develop more commissions with him soon.
For more information on Simon James follow this link:
For more information on Musicity follow this link:
http://musicityglobal.com/new/
