Sound of mine captured in musical piece

The sound was captured at Mahogany Drift Mine, in Beamish Museum

A team of musicians hopes a new composition will "honour" a region's mining heritage.

The piece, called Ancestral Reverb, features the sound of the old drift mine at Beamish Colliery, County Durham.

Climate organisation Threads in the Ground created the project, and its director, Adam Cooper, said the composition was "a bit like Moby meets Brassed Off".

It includes recordings of colliery pit brass bands from 1903 and music played by the current Durham Miners’ Association band.

Mr Cooper said: "The ambition is to honour the incredible carbon heritage of our region – looking beyond the strikes and Thatcher – to focus on the generations of campaigning and community power.

"It's about carrying that legacy forward, and looking at what we do next around climate ideas."

Durham Miners’ Association band played music for the project

The team broadcasted a loud speaker signal into the mine, and recorded what came back - the reverberation.

Mr Cooper said it was "the signature sound of a space".

"Using this cavernous sound we then layered it into a new musical composition featuring brass bands and electronic music," Mr Cooper said.

The piece will be played at Durham Book Festival later.

'Resilience and creativity'

Alison Paterson, manager of Blackhall Community Centre, who are partners in the project, said it offered a "new narrative".

"Former coalfield regions face deprivation and huge challenges, but it’s important to celebrate our incredible qualities too – the value of community, our resilience and creativity," she said.

Retired miners from across the North East were also interviewed for a spoken word piece which will sit within the final audio.

The project will continue with live performances next year and the release of a vinyl.