A Belfast songwriter is getting ready to take the next step on his career path after winning OPENCities Soundtrack for Belfast competition to write a song which captures the spirit of Belfast. Tyler Green won the OPENCities Soundtrack For Belfast competition, organised by the British Council in association with Oh Yeah music centre, with his track Bright Lights. “It`s a song about leaving Belfast to go travelling and thinking about the city`s troubles as I go,” explained Tyler. According to music guru Stuart Baillie, CEO of Oh Yeah and one of the competition judges, Tyler’s winning song reflects the vibrant character and diversity of the city. “It was fascinating to hear how different artists responded to the challenge of creating music for their city. Everyone had an interesting point of view, but we felt that Tyler came up with a unique tone. It’s the sound of a changing city, with the past lit up in the rear view mirror”.
To help him build on his success, and work on more songs, Tyler Green won a Magix XXL software studio and keyboard, and ten hours of rehearsal time in the Strummerville rehearsal rooms at the Oh Yeah music centre: the rooms are fully kitted out with drums, amplifiers, microphones and a PA system.
Belfast is one of eight European cities taking part in the OPENCities, which is a British Council project funded by URBACT and led by Belfast City Council. The project – which also involves Bilbao, Bucharest, Cardiff, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Madrid, Nitra, Poznan, Sofia and Vienna – looks at the links between migration and cities’ competitiveness, with particular emphasis on internationalisation and population issues that will highlight migration as a competitive advantage for cities and help integration and cohesion agendas.
The ‘Soundtrack For…’ competition aims to find a soundtrack for each city, with similar competitions already running in Bilbao, Cardiff, Dublin and throughout Europe.
