On Tuesday 10th March our G31 Rock Band students visited ‘Blank Studios’, a recording studio in Newcastle Upon Tyne, to record their unique version of ‘People Have The Power’; a song written by Patti Smith about empowering individuals to create social, political and environmental change.
Since opening in 2009, Blank Studios has been Newcastle’s leading music studio, priding itself on being an affordable recording space that is accessible to all, whilst also housing a huge range of high-quality recording equipment that you’d find at the likes of Abbey Road, Electric Lady and many other world-leading studios. The studio has worked with hundreds of esteemed artists over the years, most notable of which being local hero Sam Fender. Here is Abbie playing the guitar used by Sam during his recording session at Blank!
Our Rock Band students had the opportunity to become immersed in a recording studio environment; learning about studio equipment and how to record audio, and then recording their own song with the help of professional music producer Josh Ingledew. This experience not only enabled students to record a high quality version of their cover but also provided an insight into the many different jobs available in the music industry right on our doorstep!
The students crafted a beautiful and unique version of ‘People Have The Power’ using drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals. Putting their own spin on this popular protest song, each student added a line of their own about a cause that they care about, drawing the song to a close with a group chant of “people have the power to be kind!” which is a message that we can all get behind.
