Dartmoor-rooted band Susannah and the Noise will premiere The Lost Tapes of Dartmoor next Friday (May 15) with a one-off live event at at the Drewe Arms in Drewsteignton.

The evening marks the culmination of an unusual creative collaboration: Susannah and the Noise have been granted access to the archive of the Dartmoor Trust, surfacing recordings of voices from across the twentieth century, witnesses to a Dartmoor that is vanishing from living memory.

Those found sounds, featuring field recordings, oral histories, the grain of lives lived in and around the moor, that have been woven directly into the band's characteristically intense guitar music for the show.

Every song will be performed to an accompanying film, with the imagery of Dartmoor — landscape, light, weather, stone — threaded through the performance.

"Dartmoor isn't just the backdrop," said Dan Pritchard, guitarist with Susannah and the Noise. "These are stories the moor has been holding onto. The archive gave us permission to bring them back. Playing them live, with the film, in The Long Room, is the perfect way to hear them for the first time."

All four members of the band live on Dartmoor. The songs themselves range widely. Up Jordan draws on recordings of Ernest Warren, who was born 'up Jordan' on the moor, became a farmer, and spent his whole life on Dartmoor.

Empty Colony looks further forward, imagining Dartmoor in a near-future already shaped by the impacts of climate crisis. Sleeping in Cars and Snow Falls Down cut through the tourist image of the moor to confront social deprivation and hardship. What Happened Back There circles an unnamed moorland market town.

The result is an album-as-event: a live premiere rooted in a specific place and community.

The Lost Tapes are also part way through being recorded for release later in the year, with Exeter Phoenix technical manager Mark Jasper, singer and guitarist in Witching Waves.

The evening is also a fundraiser for Exeter Epilepsy Social, a support group for people living with, or affected by, epilepsy. The show is being organised by Neuronostics, a University of Exeter start-up, whose work on epilepsy diagnosis is shaping clinical care nationally.

Simon Privett, of Exeter Epilepsy Social, said: “It promises to be something truly immersive. Dartmoor holds a special place in the hearts of so many across Devon, myself included, so it’s wonderful to have this collection of songs launched with our community.”

Co-founder of Neuronostics, John Terry, added: “It’s truly exciting to be able to combine my three favourite things: live music, real ale and to raise much needed funds for a local epilepsy support group.

“I have known Simon Privett for more than 10 years, and his commitment to supporting those in the region impacted by epilepsy is exceptional. I must thank Becca Hogg from Neuronostics for her organisational prowess in bringing this night together.”

Tickets for the 7pm gig on May 15, which features support from Johnny and the Chic Sisters, can be booked at bit.ly/losttapeslive.