Batu has contributed to the soundtrack of a new documentary about Newcastle's young inner city horse riders.
Stepney Western, directed by Newcastle-based filmmaker Harry Lawson, is part of an ongoing exhibition at Newcastle Contemporary Art, running through 25th April. The experimental film was produced over two years in collaboration with the Stepney Bank Stables and in part focuses on the Alternative Provision programme, which gives young people in the city an alternative to traditional educational settings.
Bristol artist Omar McCutcheon, aka TIMEDANCE founder Batu, worked on the documentary's sound design, with additional music work by local progressive folk singer-songwriter Richard Dawson. The film's theme is by Newcastle artist Me Lost Me.
"Harry and I spoke at length about conjuring the feeling of the Western genre for the sound, using modern sound design in tandem with Western music tropes and tonality to make something both otherworldly but based in the genre", Batu wrote on Instagram. "It was so much fun again — well done to everyone involved in bringing this to life!'
The film also features archival photography by Richard Blosse, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mik Critchlow, Martine Franck, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Tish Murth and more.
Find more information on the film and exhibition on NCA's website. The exhibition is open 12-5PM Thursdays through Saturdays at NCA until the 26th.
Last month, Batu revealed his next EP, 'Question Mark', will land on Oath's new sublabel Lethal Press later this month. In 2024 he released the 'Yiu' EP with Nick León and the single 'Other Means'. Revisit Chal Ravens' 2022 DJ Mag UK cover story about Batu's debut album 'Opal' and more.
In 2020, Harry Lawson directed Meat Rack, a short film about Block9's Glastonbury staple NYC Downlow.
Check out a preview of Stepney Western's sound in the Instagram video below.