Cathy Bridger-Edwards

Artist

Cathy Bridger-Edwards is based in Hebden Bridge and she’s the artist behind the exquisite straps which we use on the project ‘Flock’. She makes contemporary, luxury leather satchels, bags and cases all hand made from beautiful single source, British hides.

We are endlessly complimented on the gorgeous straps she produced for us. She has three kids and two dogs with fancy collars. Not the kids, just the dogs. Check out her work here;

Elizabeth Carter-Smith

Production

Lizzie is one of those organised good guys that every arts company needs.  She is the one who brings everything into focus. 

Everything about Lizzie is secret, except for her love of Rothaus pils

Steve Bland

Technical Director

Steve studied Music Technology with Audio System Design at Derby University. Since university he has worked with several audio projects including surround sound decoder design and building, music recording and video production, and speaker system designs.

Working with WAS has reignited the inventor within him, and he is now an indispensable member of the team. 

Steve is also a respected touring trumpet player and skilled arranger.

Brian Acton

Director

Brian is a musician, educator, writer and the founder of We Are Stems.

“It is inspiring to think how accessible and adventurous music production has become in the last ten years. Portable and affordable equipment, smartphones and computers have opened up a bewildering landscape of possibilities for amateurs and aspiring professionals. Unfortunately we are all aware of how much our tech cocoons us. The trope of the youthful face staring into the glass pond has normalised itself in our social world. I hope to reimagine the way in which tech connects us, as lovers of music and sound.

This idea of ‘stems’ is potent for me because I believe that we are, each of us, integral elements in the societies we create. This might be a family unit, an archery club, a small town or a city. We are social by nature and therefore, compulsively creative. If we consider these higher structures to have intentionality, then we should direct them for positive change. This philosophy drives the company, its formats, events and workshops. With ‘We Are Stems’ each individual is a constituent part of an audio event, and so we work exclusively with multi-source formats to create social experiences. 

Paired with my focus on collaboration and social cohesion is a genuine love of nature and place. Can we really expect people to care about the environment if they have scant connection to that environment? In 2018 I wrote the cautionary tale ‘A New Leaf’ which tackles this question whilst walking an audience through the woods, with chapters and songs at scenic stops. My electronic collaborative projects are also sited in wild places, in forests, quarries, ruined churches or acoustic spaces such as subways or railway bridges. Bringing our work outside feels right. It feels open and connected to the world.’