It looks like everyone is queuing up to pay homage to the UK right now, Converse being just the latest. “The UK music scene is recognized globally for its pioneering and unparalleled creative influence.” That’s what Geoff Cottrill the head Marketing officer of the U.S. footwear brand had to say about our humble British Isles, and it seems that the Big Wigs at Converse are not just blowing smoke, they’ve launched a year-long campaign to celebrate UK music with the release of two all-new, bespoke songs by iconic artists.

The first of these songs, released today, is created by Bernard Sumner (New Order) in collaboration with Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and garage-inspired party starters Hot City. The second release, due in January, will feature Graham Coxon , Paloma Faith and Bill Ryder Jones.

Not only that, but three short films have been shot featuring each of the artists in this month’s October release, the first being centered around Bernard Sumner who explains how seeing the Sex Pistols live was a Road to Damascus moment and how, even today, he still lives for music. Converse states this project is part of its commitment to be a catalyst for freedom of expression, cementing the brand’s longstanding connection with music.

The full track “Didn’t Know What Love Was” is the first of the two collaborations. But the project does not stop here, with collaborations from Glasgow’s Hip Hop son Hudson Mohawke, the darkly poetic Chapel Club and The Neat, Hull’s new post-punk movement, already in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, over in Williamsburg, New York, Converse are currently building a 5,2000 square-foot recording studio. Its state-of-the-art facilities will then be offered to young bands for free. What’s the catch? There is none, according to Geoff Cottrill.

It’s a project masterminded by Cornerstone Media, a company that owns the FADER magazine and provides corporate brands with advice on how to build relationships with their audiences. It’s symptomatic of an age when, with the decline of major record label, or at least their reluctance to sign new bands, brands like Red Bull or Mountain Dew or, now Converse, can step in and buy a slice of the industry for knock-down prices. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Or is it just the shape of things to come?

Bernard Sumner, Hot Chip, Hot City, ‘Didn’t Know What Love Was’ (Single Version) by Slicing Up Eyeballs