London-based contemporary music label NMC Recordings has this week launched a new project, The Big Lockdown Music Survey. The project aims to tell stories of the first lockdown in England, which began in March 2020, from the perspective of music creators, through recorded music and sound, data and testimonials. Music creators in England are being invited to submit their personal experiences and recorded music to be included in a series of compilation albums and an interactive webpage which will be launched in March 2022. 

Music creators can now apply to be included. The deadline is 15 December. 

A statement on the Big Lockdown Music Survey reads: 

The survey will be an account of exceptional personal circumstances, of emotions engendered by enforced isolation (or enforced community), but also of creativity, technical innovation, personal resilience, and originality.

Recordings will be selected and curated by six regional partners of the project representing music created across all areas of the country, each of which will produce its own compilation album. NMC’s partner organisations are Psappha (North), Birmingham Record Company (Midlands), Spitalfields Music (Greater London), Stapleford Granary (East), October House Records (South East), and Bristol Beacon (South West). 

The albums will be shared by NMC via a free-to-access platform on its website. The webpage will be interactive and users will be able to search a range of categories including theme, mood, region and instrumentation, as well as a specially designed map of England that will show the localities of the music creators involved in the project. NMC will also host a searchable artist database, derived from the collected submissions, and a series of resources surrounding recording music at home, inspired by the technical innovation shown by music creators during lockdown. Composers and performers whose recordings are selected will receive a contract and fee.

The Big Lockdown Music Survey is funded with Arts Council England National Lottery Project funding. 

For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/2YyHaIB