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Weapons Of Sound Workshops

The walls of Whitton Parish Church Hall rocked to the rhythms of percussion music during February half term week. Ipswich Crime Reduction Panel worked with Ipswich Borough Council to organise a series of workshops over four days, during which time young people were encouraged to make music using junk instruments such as pipes, shopping trolleys, plastic barrels and car wheels. Funding for the workshops was secured in part by a successful bid by the Ipswich Crime Reduction Panel to the Police Authority, and part via the Home Office Communities Against Drugs Fund. In this way it was possible to bring the hugely successful group- Weapons of Sound- to work with young people in Ipswich.

Weapons of Sound were formed in 1993 and within months had appeared on the Big Breakfast Show and at the Glastonbury Festival. Since then they have performed over 3000 gigs, entertaining thousands of people with their unique brand of funk-fuelled junk percussion. The band was involved in the International Youth Festival in Lisbon in 1998 and has appeared in street festivals in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and France. Most recently in 2002 Weapons of Sound trained over 300 drummers in the ancient art of junk percussion before taking to the field in a specially built junk trucks to perform during the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Fifteen children from Years 5 and 6 at Whitton Primary School attended the morning workshops which focused on reducing antisocial behaviour in the local community. At the end of each hour and a half music-making session the children participated in a workshop led by Police Education Partnership Officers, PC Bevan and PC Fisher. Here, their discussion about antisocial behaviour and its impact was recorded visually by the Evening Star cartoonist and Crime Reduction Panel member, Jock Williams- Davies.

A similar number of children aged 10-15 years old from the Gainsborough area of town attended the afternoon workshops. At the end of their music making sessions, they discussed issues relating to substance misuse in workshops led by the Communities Against Drugs Public Educator, Robin Hearne. Jock was similarly on hand to provide a humorous and visual record of the serious effects of substance misuse.

"The children had to commit themselves to attend all four sessions, but it was not difficult for them to return each day and follow the project through to the end. Very quickly the children in each group bonded and worked very hard together to produce some fantastic sounds. The energy and enthusiasm was evident from the children's faces and the rhythms they made." said Jock.

By the final session the groups had mastered enough different rhythms for their music to be recorded by Jock. Later the children each received a personal CD compilation with its own distinctive cartoon slipcover and booklet that had been created as a result of their discussion work.

"Working together in this way with the Ipswich Crime Reduction Panel we were able to bring in a renowned group like the Weapons of Sound. We are keen to continue this type of work in Ipswich, and to ensure that these opportunities are more widely available to young people" said Andy Fell, Ipswich Borough Council's Play Officer.