Making Intermission Music
An Intermission is an artists’ film by Edwin Mingard, made in collaboration with a group of young people experiencing homelessness in Stoke-On-Trent. Intermission Music is the film’s soundtrack.
Edwin and composer Tom Haines worked in collaboration with the film’s participants, a group of young people experiencing homelessness. It was recorded by the group in various sites of personal significance around Stoke-On-Trent. Under Tom’s guidance, the group learned how to play instruments together, use effects pedals, contact mics and sequencers, to develop the field recordings, rhythms and melodies that became the film’s soundtrack. Just like the film itself, everybody who was part of making the soundtrack was paid the Living Wage to support them to participate.
By the end of the process, we were really proud of what we’d achieved, and there was a moment where both of us realised “this isn’t just a great soundtrack - if it was a record, I’d 100% buy one!“ Within minutes, we were seriously considering how a person might go about cutting a vinyl.
One lockdown, and hundreds of hours’ of work later, it’s here. Tom painstakingly remixed the soundtrack into two finely-balanced sides of a 10”. Keith at Curve mastered, and the record went through a carefully-assembled production process using small producers here in the UK. We owe thanks to many others who gave their time or did us mates’ rates to make this happen. But most of all, the record is a testament to the young people who made it.
The pressing is a limited artists edition of 500. Each edition is individually numbered and contains a black 10” vinyl, an inner sleeve, a download code, and a full colour sleeve with spine, liner notes on the back. It’s a beautiful object, and a banging soundtrack.
Each edition costs £15, with all profits going to a fund to support the young people who made the film and soundtrack. Edwin and Tom have donated their time, and many others have too or given us friendly rates, to make sure that as much of the cost as humanly possible goes directly to this fund.