Unlocked/Datgloi is an album of 10 songs, created by 10 different communities, working with 5 Live Music Now musicians, over 5 Welsh counties, strengthening connections with their local area through sung stories of local heritage.
Just Another Day was written with pupils with additional needs from Ysgol Bryn Castell about the Bridgend Ironworks near their school. The Grade II listed historic building is a central part of an important 19th century ironworks set in the idyllic post industrial Parc Tondu country park. Built in 1838 the building is considered to be unique in Wales as having two distinct engine house buildings rather than one building housing two engines - the more common configuration.
Originally owned by Sir Robert Price, he had ambitions as an ironmaster and began to develop an ironworks alongside the Dyffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway at Tondu in the late 1830s. He traded as the Glamorgan Coal and Iron Company. Progress was initially slow due to a trade recession in the early 1840s, but there was a revival in 1843 and the first furnace at Tondu was blown-in in 1844.
Typically for the iron trade, prices fell sharply after the short-lived boom period and, as a result, the Tondu Works struggled to survive through the early 1850s and Sir Robert Price faced bankruptcy. However, because of the progress made during the years 1843–1847, the Tondu Ironworks and associated mines formed a significant pocket of production in mid-Glamorgan with some potential. That potential was recognised by the Lancashire firm of John Brogden and Sons who bought the Tondu property in 1854. In the 1861 census it said they were employing 900 men at the ironworks. In recent years the building has been used as offices, and is currently up for sale.
John Nicholas is a singer/songwriter from Bridgend playing piano, guitar and loop pedal. He came 2nd out of 20k people in the 2015 Open Mic Championships when he launched his solo career. He has been a Live Music Now Musician since 2015.
lyrics
I can see the factories,
I can feel the heat.
I am breathing in the flames,
I taste the hot air on repeat.
I can hear explosions
they are booming in the distance,
and I feel scared but this is what
I’ve got to do to fill my pockets up with change
The Miners are Mining,
The Furnace is Smoking,
The Hammers are Crashing,
It’s just another day,
The trains are running,
The Steam is rumbling,
At the iron works ,
its just another day
The ground, it shakes
beneath my feet,
As the cold red stone of the factory,
Keeps explosions under control
Over and over,
I can feel intense heat on my face,
I see tired, hungry people working,
With the rats under their feet
The Miners are Mining,
The Furnace is Smoking,
The Hammers are Crashing,
It’s just another day,
The trains are running,
The Steam is rumbling,
At the iron works,
its just another day
credits
from Unlocked / Datgloi,
released July 30, 2021
John Nicholas - vocals, acoustic guitar
Live Music Now is the UK's leading musicians development and outreach charity, bringing exceptional live music to communities who wouldn't normally be able to access it. www.livemusicnow.org.uk
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