St Andrew’s College Songwriters to Write and Record Entire Album in 12 Hours
Around a dozen student songwriters at St Andrew’s College will attempt to write, record and finish a complete album in a single 12 hour session on Thursday 1 October, with the whole process live streamed to the public.
The StAC Songwriting Club will be handed a creative prompt at 9.00am and will have until 9.00pm to turn it into finished, recorded songs. Nothing is written in advance. The prompt is revealed at 9.00am, and every note on the record has to be created before 9.00pm.
The challenge is modelled on First of October, the annual project by YouTube musicians Andrew Huang and Rob Scallon, who have met every 1 October since 2018 to write and record an album from scratch in one session. Their 2025 edition, recorded live in a working Guitar Center store in Illinois, was the direct inspiration for the St Andrew’s version.
“The thing that makes this worth doing is the constraint,” says Duncan Ferguson, Head of Music at St Andrew’s College. “Students spend a lot of time refining one idea over weeks. Here they get a prompt and a clock, and they must commit. You learn more about your own writing in twelve hours of that than in a term of second-guessing yourself. I know we have the talent, skill and commitment in this group to produce this album but putting them under time pressure is daunting for them. However, I’m hopeful it’ll bring out the best in the students in a way that a term long project can’t”.
Recording will run across three spaces simultaneously: the College’s Studio A plus two satellite recording stations, with many students tracking directly into their laptops. St Andrew’s music tutors will arrive for the final hours of the day to act as a house band, helping students get material down while the clock runs out.
The full creative process will be live streamed to the St Andrew’s College Music Department page at www.facebook.com/stacmusic, and a documentary of the event is in production for release afterwards.
Event details
What: 12 Hour Album Challenge, StAC Songwriting Club
When: Thursday 1 October 2026, 9am to 9pm
Where: St Andrew’s College Music Department, Christchurch
Watch: Live streamed at www.facebook.com/stacmusic
Photos: Students performing at a recent Christchurch rock night concert, supplied.
