What it's about: When you say 'Bristol music' to people around the world many will think of names such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Roni Size. These artists marked a point in the city's history after which electronic music started to move into the mainstream. Now it is exists not so much in the underground but everywhere, almost universally loved. But there is another undiscovered scene thriving in the corners of the city today, a new underground, similarly influenced by decades of diverse musical styles and firmly rooted in the population's history and cultures.

Sound of a City will be exploring this live music renaissance. We will be following five emerging artists performing around the city and we'll discover a newly formed, world-class music scene through the eyes of these artists and find out how live music exists in the city today. 

Join us as we discuss what makes up the sound of a city, exploring how music changes and evolves over time, how the past influences the present and how the aesthetic of live performance, prevalent in jazz, reggae, afro-rhythms and soul, endures in our digital age.

To help us along our journey we will be talking to some world famous names to have come out of Bristol as well as many of the most influential venue owners and promoters in the city.

Our aim: Our aim is to make a great documentary, but we want this to be a music project that is bigger than just the film. Over the coming months we will be compiling a catologue of footage from live music shows and interviews around Bristol, and we will edit and share this footage with everyone who pledges towards the project. We think this is great opportunity to discover artists, nights and venues that you may not know about or can't attend and will give you, as a supporter, a much more involved role in the process. 

Who's backing the project?: We have support from the following individuals and organisations, including Colston Hall and the Bristol ambassador for music James Morton:

Who we are: We are a group of 3 independent film makers: Quincy Andrews (director), Sinead Cooper (producer) and George Godwin (sound). We share a background in TV and a mutual love for music. 

The money: Whilst we have a modest target, this is simply a case of the more we get, the better and more comprehesive we can make the film. Much of the budget will go on keeping our small crew above the breadline for the duration of the shoot and edit. Alongside this, any contributions will go towards practical costs such as a stabiliser to get amazing looking shots on the go, sound equipment to do the music justice, plus stock footage, insurance and all the boring stuff that we need to pay for.

*UPDATE* Due to the hugely positive reaction to the project, we have a new stretch target of £3500. This, alongside other sources of income will give us the total budget we were hoping for.

The impact:  Whilst there are many music docs out there we think there are too few that are such an intimate portrait of music on its most basic, grass roots level and we believe there are many like-minded music obsessives out there who want to see this film.

Not only will this film give an insight into musician's lives, this film will focus heavily on the context of music in history. We will be drawing narrative strands from as far back as the 1940s to see how musical influences have impacted the scene today. By doing this we can not only study how music changes and impacts over time, and we will be able to see a living, breathing example of this, but we will also be able to explore how live music can thrive in a world often dominated by electronic music and where its place in the future lies.

Once made, we will be putting on pop-up cinemas around Bristol which we will let you all know about. This will be a chance for community to come, have a glass of wine, watch the film and hopefully see a bit of live music too, before the film heads off around the festival circuit.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for donating. Big love.