Channel 4
I Was There When...
2017
Commercial work
I Was There When...
2017
Commercial work
A series about how key moments in history can change music culture forever. Ep 1 uncovers 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’ explores how a baseball half-time show in Chicago in which thousands of disco records were destroyed lit the fuse for the birth of a new genre. The incident – now referred to as Disco Demolition – morphed into a racial provocation that forced the (predominantly black) disco scene into the shadows, where it stewed and mutated into a new sound that would soon take the world by storm.
My role in the project was as 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’ explores how a baseball half-time show in Chicago in which thousands of disco records were destroyed lit the fuse for the birth of a new genre. The incident – now referred to as Disco Demolition – morphed into a racial provocation that forced the (predominantly black) disco scene into the shadows, where it stewed and mutated into a new sound that would soon take the world by storm.
My role in the project was as 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)