AS OF last autumn, Gareth Davies-Jones has been in residence at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers in Newcastle Upon Tyne, where he’s been digging through the institute’s archives and collections for a unique songwriting project dubbed The Seam.

The result is the recently released album The Usual Quarterly Days and Davies-Jones is currently on the road  touring songs from it around the north east.

He couldn’t have picked a better place to do his research than the mining institute, a cathedral to mining safety. 

Founded in 1851 to help prevent explosions and other disasters, it’s housed in a wonderful building near the city’s Central Station. The Silicon Valley of its day, it was a centre of scientific and engineering excellence for all things related to the mining industry, not only for north-east England and Britain but globally as well. 

The pits are of course all gone but the institute remains very active as it deals with inquiries from around the world about mining safety issues. It also runs various artistic projects, which help keep alive the memory of the hard work and enormous wealth that were extracted from mining communities and which powered the industrial revolution in Britain and across the world. 

Davies-Jones’s Seam project is part of these thriving cultural initiatives. A well-known local singer and songwriter, he’s trawled the copious amounts of mining literature —  music, ballads and poems, often written following the frequent, dreadful disasters. 

But his songs take a more varied approach subject wise. One tells of a dance held deep underground in Gosforth colliery in 1829, lit entirely by candles, while another is based on the memoirs of a former colliery manager in County Durham, whose efforts to promote the more benevolent deeds of mine owners speak volumes about the prevailing realities of widespread exploitation. 

There are musings on a fabulous collection of photographs of local people, a song based on a particularly lyrical advert for brandy in the Mining Journal, a ballad about the Gresford and Heaton disasters and more. Mostly singing solo, Davies-Jones is occasionally accompanied by high, pure harmonies from his daughter Bronwen.

“The songs are all in honour of the miners,” Davies-Jones says. “They aren’t directly political, although the underlying political message is clear: ‘People not profit, need not greed’ as it says in Gresford.

“I hope the songs show the deep respect I feel for the achievements of miners, their work and their politics, over the last couple of hundred years. 

“In so many ways we stand on their shoulders and I wanted the songs to be a celebration. Not to hamstring our way forward but to commemorate their work, their solidarity and community spirit.”

There can be little doubt that he and the institute have succeeded brilliantly. 

The Seam is not only an innovative and entertaining approach showcasing its unique collection, it’s also a fitting tribute to the history of mining and mining communities which speaks to our times.  

The Seam is being performed at Fenham Public Library on March 25 and Sica Stocksfield on April 24, tickets: wegottickets.com. The album, price £11.99, is available from garethdavies-jones.com