NU jam sessions
documenting a scene in Deptford
NU Sessions is a monthly music jam that takes place on the floor of a brewery taproom in Deptford. Every jam is fully improvised – no jazz standards here. The only rule is to let go of your ego, to listen, feel and play with other musicians in a moment of true collaboration. The community that has grown around NU Sessions is a joy to witness and be a part of. Because of that joy and togetherness, this free jam has become one of the richest and most vibrant corners of Deptford’s exceptional music scene, holding space for artists and performers from different disciplines.
I began photographing NU Sessions in January 2024, becoming a founding member of NU’s loose photography collective and helping to promote the jams with pictures shot almost exclusively on black and white film (usually Kentmere 400 film pushed to 1600 iso).
As the jams grew (even venturing north of the river for extra jams) our little photography collective began to publish bi-annual photo zines and mounted exhibitions. Like the sound technicians, we photographers became ‘silent members of the band’ and made art with the musicians as they jammed in front of the cameras.
The generous handful of photos below represents just a fraction of my personal photo archive from the NU jam sessions. The collective archive goes much, much deeper and grows with every jam session as more artists and music lovers flock to our corner of London.
‘NU’ means ‘now’ and all of this is happening in Deptford right now.
Self-published zines from the NU photo collective
Zine Two (January to June 2024)
Zine Two – "speed bump" spread
Zine Two – bright and busy