About Us

The UNTAP Project has arisen through sharing experiences of creative projects in and around criminal justice and from thinking about how they might be further developed.

During the first Covid-19 national lockdown (April-June, 2020), following some discussions between Professor Fergus McNeill (University of Glasgow) and Alex Beaumont (current lecturer and PhD researcher in criminology, and former musician) about their separate experiences of songwriting and music-making, they began to explore how they – and others – could collaborate creatively, even at a distance, using mobile phones and the available downloadable or built-in studio recording apps.

These ideas swiftly developed following the involvement of Alex’s life-long friend, Kerry Hughes – a recording engineer and owner of GN Studios, in Huddersfield, (West Yorkshire) – when he offered to mix and master the first two songs that Alex and Fergus had recorded on the mobile phone. The end result was an impressive studio-level quality finished piece, which is made possible through the highly sophisticated technology built into all modern smartphones, which therefore allows recording songs at home accessible to those who cannot afford more expensive home studio equipment.

Kerry has previous experience of recording and producing songs for aspiring young artists that come from very economically deprived areas of Huddersfield, who are often funded through Education and Skills funding bodies that support those not in education or training (NEET) – and so he immediately saw the potential of what was being explored.

In December 2022, the project shifted to face-to-face within two schools in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, and now are working with four schools and a music/arts college.. as well as delivering our workshops in the community.