CQU Bundaberg has launched the locally-produced 'Sweet Sounds of a Sugar Town' CD and DVD (on Thursday, June 15).

'Sweet Sounds of a Sugar Town' is a collection of musical and audio-visual compositions inspired by the soundscapes and rhythms of the Bundaberg sugar Industry.

It features audio and video recordings of the sugar industry -- recorded in the sugar mills, during cane harvesting, during irrigation, and at cane burns -- set to music, and accompanied on drums and percussion by local musician Dane Costigan.

The project spans the agricultural, industrial, socio-cultural and environmental contexts of the sugar industry.

It focuses on the various stages of the sugar product-cycle, but also gives equal weight to the environmental context: to the birds, insects, amphibians and animals that live in the canefields and surrounding areas.

This innovative production is the result of collaboration between Central Queensland University, Bundaberg Media Research Group, the National Library of Australia and the local community of Bundaberg and district.

It has been shown at the National Folk Festival in Canberra and theChilders Multicultural Festival and will be shown later this year at the Pacific Edge Regional Arts Conference in Mackay.

“This launch is an opportunity for the local community to celebrate the role of the sugar industry in Bundaberg life,” said Dr Grayson Cooke, Lecturer in Multimedia at CQU Bundaberg.

“We think this is a fantastic project and we are very grateful for the support of Bundaberg Sugar Company and the local community".

If you would like to attend the launch, please phone 41507056 or email k.bishop@cqu.edu.au.