Bringing Live Music to ‘Outer Spaces’
Hi all, bit of a different set up for today’s feature: ‘Outer Spaces’
I got chatting to Benji from Outer Spaces Sessions and asked a few questions about their work and where they see it going in the future. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of coming across Outer Spaces yet, they feature a variety of artists, putting on performances in unique outdoor spaces.
Here’s what Benji had to say:
I'm originally from West Yorkshire but moved to Sheffield in 2015 and the city feels like my home now. I've been in bands since I came to the city and I started photographing and documenting the music scene since 2021 under the pseudonym Jamburrito (don't ask!) and I've wanted to do a project like Outer Spaces for a while but just took me a while to get my head around the logistics or recording video and audio myself on location.
The idea stems from other channels on youtube doing live sessions, there are loads of them around and it's one of the main ways I discover new artists and I get a lot of joy from hearing new takes on studio versions of artists I love. KEXP, Tiny Desk, Audiotree, WesternAF, Takeaway Shows and Brodie sessions are just a handful of the amazing channels out there putting out amazing videos. A lot of these channels are very US focused and I just thought why can't we have that for local artists in the UK. I'm definitely not doing anything new but I hope I'm putting my own spin on it, and keeping it not for profit means it's accessible to people who otherwise couldn't afford a few hundred quid (or more!) to film a live session. If I think what you're making is interesting and exciting that's enough for me.
In terms of locations, I will literally film anywhere! Sometimes it's dictated by the artists but often I try to match a space to the vibe of the performance. My brain is constantly hunting for spots when I'm out and about in the city and the peaks. The joy of the simple setup is there's very little limitation. The main hurdles are weather and permission. I've been working with a few local businesses to film in their spaces which is really rewarding and a beautiful part of living in a city with such a community of creatives and small businesses. I filmed in Novel for Season 1, I've collaborated with GoodGood Vintage for an episode in season 2 and I'm in chats with a bunch of others for future episodes.
The spaces themselves really dictate the feel of the performance as much as the artist sometimes and people have used this in really creative ways. Jullianna Day, who performed in Novel, incorporated the shop bell into her loop and improvised around that! Using the natural sounds of the spaces is really important to the ethos of the project.
I'm starting to branch out of Sheffield and would like the channel to grow to a wider audience and hopefully with that will come artists from further afield. I like the idea of catching bands as they come through town and recording somewhere near the venue.
For the future of the sessions I don't really have a grand plan or anything like that. I'm just enjoying making them and meeting some amazing artists and I think it will develop organically. I have some plans for some intimate live events in the future but nothing concrete yet. I'm just excited by collaborating with people really, I love getting creative minds together and seeing what comes out the other end. It's a no rules system (aside from a few technical limitations) and I love it when the artists run with ideas and get excited with me. I'm always on the lookout for other videographers/photographers and audio engineers who want to get stuck in and help out on a shoot. It's non profit so nobody is getting paid but it's a really fun way to spend a couple hours. In the long run I'd like to monetise it somehow so I can reinvest into renting out amazing spaces and upgrading some recording equipment but I haven't figured out how to do this. Maybe some patreon model or something down the line.
