A symphony without borders: ReGen Sound carries on Grand Union’s musical mosaic

In the wake of founder Tony Haynes’ passing, the latest branch of East London’s Grand Union Orchestra creates a genre-defying ensemble blending influences from across the globe.

At a Grand Union band performance, tablas, guzhengs, and kpanlogos are just as at home as a piano, guitar or trumpet – and equally celebrated.

The Grand Union musical legacy spans decades. First was the Grand Union Orchestra (GUO), co-founded in 1982 by Tony Haynes and others. The orchestra sought to blend musical traditions across the globe, bringing together musicians from different musical cultural backgrounds to tell stories of community and heritage. The orchestra worked with and championed migrant musicians and communities in the East End, where they’ve been based for over 40 years.

In 2007, the Grand Union Youth Orchestra (GUYO) was founded, providing a bedrock for budding musicians to bloom their musical talents and learn from different musical traditions each month. Unfortunately, GYUO hasn’t run in the last two and a half years since funding for the project was lost. 

Ten years later, in 2017, ReGen Sound was formed as the bridge between the two, creating an informal apprenticeship allowing young players to cultivate their craft. The band rehearse and has been performing monthly at Poplar Union for the past five years, with their next performance being on 25 April. 

Formerly known as the Grand Union Re:Generation Band, the group rebranded in 2025, adopting a simpler name and a new approach to performance.

When I joined for a ReGen Sound rehearsal before their upcoming performance, I was immediately met with a mountain of instruments of every type, jumbled together and packed onto a shelf that reached the ceiling. It seemed the perfect metaphor for a band focused on a free-flowing blend of music from all over the globe, unified into one.

Josh Brandler, newly appointed Music Director of Grand Union, explained that the band started as a space for semi-professional musicians moving into full-time musical careers to improvise on the fly. Now, however, they’re going in a new direction.

Brandler told the Slice: ‘We’re redefining what this group is. As we’ll probably hear from this next performance, what we’re doing now, rather than just jamming freely, we’re actually creating a structure. It’s quite hard to share something that’s unstructured.

‘Making things up on the spot is really fun, but – I never thought I’d say this – rules are also fun.’

When asked what he’s learnt from working with so many different instruments, Brandler said: ‘You have to know that music is more than just the instrument. 

‘The instrument is just an object. That’s just sitting there. It’s just an inanimate object. But the person who is playing that instrument brings the culture with them. And if you have a conversation with them, then you understand the culture that little bit more.’

From the start, Grand Union’s history has been interwoven with the themes it explores in its music: diversity, immigration, and the political decisions that affect communities today. Brandler explained: ‘Tony Haynes was one for picking up on those things and talking about them through art, and every other musician who’s in the group now will be discussing something personal or external through art.’

Whenever anyone talks about the Grand Union musical project, former Grand Union Artistic Director Tony Hayne’s name inevitably follows quickly after. Haynes passed away last year, and the organisation seems to still be grappling with what his loss means for the future. Brandler said: ‘We’re still in preparation and planning as to how we continue the company in his absence, which is a question still to be answered.’

Poplar Union Events Manager, Rodney Roodt, has memories of Hayne’s and the magnitude of his influence: ‘My first encounter with Grand Union was at a community world jazz workshop at Poplar Union, led by the late, great Tony Haynes, co-founder of Grand Union. I was immediately struck by the way he held the space — allowing every musician to speak freely through their instruments, yet managing to bring it all together seamlessly. It was like witnessing organized chaos transform into harmony.’

For Roodt, ReGen Sound – and the whole of the Grand Union – is in safe hands: ‘Watching Joshua Brandler grow in Tony’s shadow has been such a pleasure. He’s clearly absorbed a wealth of leadership skills from Tony and other GUO members, all while maintaining his own unique, quirky, and uplifting spirit.’

For half a decade, Poplar Union have been hosting ReGen Sound performances, which are free to attend. Roodt said: ‘The result is an unforgettable show where musicians and audience alike are taken on a journey of improvisation and pure musicianship.’

There have been a great many success stories of the back of ReGen Sound, including rising star Luke Baccus. Baccus grew up in Bow and joined the GUYO in 2012 – half his lifetime ago – after watching his older sister perform with them. He signed up to ReGen Sound when it was first conceived, and performs with them regularly.

He was a BBC Young Jazz Musician 2022 finalist, and humbly cites much of his success to his experience with the GUYO and ReGen Sound: ‘They enriched me as a musician in a way that nothing else did. Just that appreciation of music that isn’t Western, trying to find that anywhere in such a universal way. 

‘Without them, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now. I’m really comfortable to say that. It was such a nurturing learning space. It’s like, you knew that these people were so amazing at their craft, and you had such respect for them.’

For Grand Union, after going through a huge amount of change in the last year, the next steps are to get the youth orchestra that was pivotal in many of their musicians’ musical journeys up and running again. Brandler told the Slice: ‘We will be getting back to the focus on those younger groups.

‘Watch this space.’

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