Corby family stories take centre stage in musical mash-up of town talent

A Corby community project designed to bring young and old together to create a film and a show will see the culmination of the work in an online performance.

Funded by the National Lottery through the Core at Corby Cube, the We Are Family project used music and video with interviews to celebrate the most loved people in the community's lives.

The four-month project, led by gig theatre company Pecho Mama, brought together local musical artists to create a new creative work exploring the experience of family – not just blood relatives - but the family relied on in times of crisis.

People will be able to watch a film online debuting on Wednesday, February 10, for free as the original planned live theatrical show had to be shelved due to Covid restrictions.

Mella Faye, artistic director of Pecho Mama, said: "Corby has a rich creative community, and I was lucky enough to work with seven local musicians, each with a unique talent.

"The project was set up to start a conversation in the community. Simultaneously, the pandemic hit and we all became so isolated. So the conversations turned to human connection and our need for it. We need each other more than ever. This film is a celebration of the people we need, and love, and rely on in tough times.

"If you tune in, you’ll meet the people I met on my way around Corby, and the original music that was created by these local musicians in response."

Taking part were singer songwriter Anna Mae Kelly, Corby rap artist Ryan Bruce aka RB Capone, vocalist Kara Hamer, Joe Coy on electric guitar, husband and wife team songwriter Paul Balmer also playing on guitar and Judy Caine on bass, and Chris Ward who used his music production skills as a recording engineer as well as playing the electric guitar.

Paul Balmer, one of the lead musicians for We Are Family, said: "My brief was to add a verse to an existing chorus and engage local young people in performing the resulting collaborative song. The verse, written in lockdown, reflects on distance and loss – the heartbreak that has touched so many ‘families’ this last year. Many have been lost but they will remain within us, the survivors. I personally mourn the loss of both my friends and ‘brothers in arms’ Robert Foster and Nick Squires – the cameramen with whom I had travelled the world dodging African crocodiles and Yemeni landmines. Film crews are family."

Interviews for the film were filmed by Mella Faye and Martin Steed exploring the subject ‘what does family mean to you?'

The plan was for all participants to come together for a gig at the Core Theatre but Covid restrictions meant that the musicians only met on Zoom, performing separately and then combined remotely.

Chris Ward said: "The project was a lot of fun to work on. It's amazing to think that the majority of the recording was done in just one six-hour session.

"Thanks to a professional and friendly attitude from most of the musicians and people involved we managed to get everything recorded without many issues.

"Some of the performances were so good we even managed to get some backing vocals and improvisation from a couple of the musicians which really helped to bring some parts together. We had Anna Mae playing keyboards and singing for her part, Ryan rapping over his. I wrote and recorded all the instrumentation for my part as well as recording the other artists. I also produced and mixed the entire piece."

Each musician was given the tempo, key and chorus part of the piece and then was given around a month to prepare.working separately. Mella added her ideas for the arrangement and after Chris mixed the music, Pecho Mama mixed in interviews.

We Are Family is part of Here And Now, a nationwide celebration of the 25th anniversary of The National Lottery.

RB Capone added: "It's a lovely song. It's a shame we can't perform live at the Core. Corby is my family and I hope that the whole of Corby will get behind the project.

The screening of We Are Family takes place on Wednesday, February 10 at 7.30pm. Tickets for the event are free of charge,

To sign up to receive the viewing link and free ticket,click here.