The Cosmic Shambles Network has unveiled the trailer for its upcoming eight part docuseries For The Record: An Incomplete History of Music, which will launch on YouTube over Glastonbury Fallow Weekend 2026.
The series, four years in the making, is presented by Charlotte Ritchie and charts the history of music from the origins of sound after the Big Bang through to the emergence of AI generated composition. Episodes range across subjects including prehistoric instruments, birdsong, blues, classical traditions and electronic music, drawing on more than 100 interviews with musicians, scientists and historians.
For The Record: An Incomplete History of Music will premiere from 25 June 2026, with episodes released across the Glastonbury fallow weekend period and a bonus instalment made available to Patreon supporters.
The project is directed and produced by Trent Burton, whose previous credits include Rapid Motion Through Space and Curious People. The series also features newly commissioned music from David McAlmont, Ruarri Joseph, Charlotte Carpenter and Sonny Tennet.
Among the contributors is singer Charlotte Church (pictured) , who said: “I feel privileged to be a part of this … I think because music has always been extraordinarily powerful. Human beings need music. I think that music can enhance anybody’s life, absolutely anybody.”
She added: “Like anyone knows, you listen to a song you love and you just, for whatever reason, you just feel better. There’s something that happens that makes you feel better.”
Burton said the decision to launch the project on YouTube was central to the strategy from the outset. “As we’ve spent the last four years working on For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music, the aim from the outset was always YouTube,” he said. “It offers the creative freedom and direct audience interaction that broadcast TV simply doesn’t.”
He continued: “A series like our upcoming For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music we might have once pitched to a major broadcaster, but that would now be pointless. The desire from executives just isn’t there, despite what we hear from audiences.”
Burton also pointed to changing viewing patterns. “In my view, YouTube is becoming one the best places for people to find free to access high quality documentaries,” he said, adding: “Ironically by taking up the space that TV used to fill, it’s, to my mind, become the future of documentary.”
The first episode of For The Record: An Incomplete History of Music will go live on 25 June 2026 via The Cosmic Shambles Network’s YouTube channel.
