Channel 4
I Was There When... House Was Born
2017
Commercial work
I Was There When... House Was Born
2017
Commercial work
A series about moments in history that changed the course of music. Episode 1 reveals how the demolition of disco gave birth to house.
‘I Was There When’ is a docu-series format spearheaded by head of Pi Studios, Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock. Unfortunately, the full series was never commissioned, but the pilot episode was a dream project to be a part of.
I Was There When House Was Born rewinds back to 1979 in Chicago. ‘Disco Demolition’ – a baseball half-time show led by a local radio DJ, who encouraged the destruction of thousands of disco records, lit the fuse for a new genre. The event morphed into a racial provocation, which forced a (predominantly black) disco scene back into the shadows, where it would stew and mutate into a new sound that would soon take the world by storm: house music.
My role in the project was a researcher and writer, helping map out the narrative arc by sourcing info, plugging gaps and recommending interview subjects.
We hosted a screening at FC Hyena in Amsterdam, where house legend Jesse Saunders came all the way from Chi-town for the party ... and boy can he still party.
Click here to watch Episode 1 on All4.
Creative Studio ︎︎︎ Pi Studios
Commissioner ︎︎︎ Channel 4
Series Creator ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Executive Producer ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Production Company ︎︎︎ All Day Every Day
Director ︎︎︎ Jake Sumner
Producer ︎︎︎ Lucy Sumner
Art Direction ︎︎︎ Nessim Higson, Jack Samels (Pi Studios)
Researcher ︎︎︎ Tom Bird (Pi Studios)
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‘I Was There When’ is a docu-series format spearheaded by head of Pi Studios, Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock. Unfortunately, the full series was never commissioned, but the pilot episode was a dream project to be a part of.
I Was There When House Was Born rewinds back to 1979 in Chicago. ‘Disco Demolition’ – a baseball half-time show led by a local radio DJ, who encouraged the destruction of thousands of disco records, lit the fuse for a new genre. The event morphed into a racial provocation, which forced a (predominantly black) disco scene back into the shadows, where it would stew and mutate into a new sound that would soon take the world by storm: house music.
My role in the project was a researcher and writer, helping map out the narrative arc by sourcing info, plugging gaps and recommending interview subjects.
We hosted a screening at FC Hyena in Amsterdam, where house legend Jesse Saunders came all the way from Chi-town for the party ... and boy can he still party.
Click here to watch Episode 1 on All4.
Creative Studio ︎︎︎ Pi Studios
Commissioner ︎︎︎ Channel 4
Series Creator ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Executive Producer ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Production Company ︎︎︎ All Day Every Day
Director ︎︎︎ Jake Sumner
Producer ︎︎︎ Lucy Sumner
Art Direction ︎︎︎ Nessim Higson, Jack Samels (Pi Studios)
Researcher ︎︎︎ Tom Bird (Pi Studios)