Body Of Songs, a project which sees ten musicians exploring the human anatomy and each producing a track about a different organ, has just been announced. It’s being curated by Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney and composer Llywelyn Ap Myrrdin, who released his debut piece ‘Sakura’ last year, along with Professor Hugh Montgomery, director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance. The musicians were given an in-depth look at the body, guided by Professor Montgomery and a group of pathologists, neurologists, stem cell scientists and patients, before deciding on one particular organ and writing a song about it. The results will be unveiled over the course of the year, culminating in a full album release in 2015.
The first two contributing artists to be announced are Ghostpoet and Goldie, who’ve produced tracks about the liver and the brain respectively, and we’ve got an exclusive first play. Goldie’s ‘Electric Abyss’ is above and we asked Obaro Ejimiwe, aka Ghostpoet, to tell us a bit more about his involvement in the project, so scroll down for his answers and ‘A Plateful Of Liver’.
What was it that attracted you to getting involved with the project?
Obaro Ejimiwe: The possibility of creating music inspired by a human organ was an opportunity too irresistible to turn down.
What was the process, from meeting patients to talking to medical experts, like as a learning experience?
OE: It was quite addictive actually. It’s strange – as I get older, I have an ever-growing thirst for knowledge and it was wonderful and quite fun to learn about a human organ in a way that was different from what I remember of my school days, which normally involved brick-thick science books, dodgy TV documentaries and endless projection slides.
Was there anything you found out about the body over the course of the project that particularly blew you away?
OE: I wouldn’t say this particular thing "blew me away" but over the course of this project you start to realise how fragile the body is, and I definitely came away from it wanting to looking after myself health-wise much more.
Finally, what made you pick the liver as your organ of choice?
OE: I guess being a touring musician and a part-time lover of a drink or three, you sometimes have your liver on your mind… I wanted to investigate that part of my body a little bit more and find some inspiration from it along the way.
