Speech Project is the brainchild of the talented multi-instrumentalist, Gerry Diver. Gerry explores the natural melody and rhythm of the spoken word. Just as humans are drawn to music we are also drawn to voice. Not just the words, but also the pitch and rhythm they produce. The project uses spoken word recordings from some famous and well-known Irish traditional artists but traditional it is not.
Gerry started the project in 2008, he conducted a series of interviews, parts of which he has transformed into the most amazing musical compositions. Spoken word contributions include Christy Moore, Paddy Moloney, Martin Hayes and Danny Meehan as well as archive interviews from Margaret Barry and Joe Cooley. The results are both astonishing, beautiful and moving. The work reminds me of some of the minimalist musical explorations of Caoimhin o Raghallaigh but that is as close as I can get in comparison as the work is groundbreaking.
In 2012 The Speech Project will take to the road with a tour which sees live performance and specially commissioned video combine to bring this unprecedented project into the live arena. The tour will be supported by the release of The Speech Project album.