Three years ago as the aftermath of the riots spread discontent throughout Tottenham, many found no reason to stay. But Matt Jarman and his fellow members of Dissident Sound Industry (DSI) recording studio refused to be scared off and, spurred on by the will to help improve the area, have organised a one-day festival bringing together members of its diverse musical family.

They hope the event, Take the High Road will not only foster community spirit but also be a step towards their dream of opening a local arts centre.

It will see more than 30 performers entertain the crowds with everything from reggae beats to ska and hip hop to grunge in aid of the Give a Gig initiative run by The National Foundation for Youth Music initiative.

Matt says: “We had been thinking of doing something for a while, then one day I got a call from Give a Gig and then another a few minutes later from Unity Radio and both were asking when the event was going to be. So I decided we had to get it going.

“Thanks to that weird coincidence this is actually going to happen.”

Most of the acts are bands they have recorded or worked with at the studio in the basement unit of Morrison Yard, High Road.

“We quickly realised it was going to be a very diverse line-up,“ says Matt, “and we wanted something that would represent the cross-section of the community here.

The line-up includes reggae star and local Tottenham legend, Pete Campbell, who has been recording his latest album at DSI, Jacob Aaron who has featured on BBC Introducing, Turkish performers Anil Duman and Sahin Erdogan and their band, plus Pro Publico Bono – a Polish melodic punk/ska band from London. Also performing are Stanley Browne, who was born and raised in Hackney and was inspired to make music by Tracey Chapman, plus alternative hip-hop group The Nobleman and many more.

Matt says: “People are aware here that there are different communities, but they don’t really mix. The fact they are in the same event shows it can happen. Although it is a bit risky. We won’t know until the day if everyone will get on.”

It is the largest event DSI has ever organised and the studio has teamed up with Tottenham Chances Club, which has given free use of their venue in High Road, Tottenham Hotspur’s Imagine If campaign, which has provided funding and Unity Radio, which has promoted the event, to form The High Road Music Collective.

The studio has also agreed to give many of the bands free recording sessions in exchange for them playing to help cut costs and Matt adds: “It will mean a few months of work for us after the event but some of them have done it for just a few free rehearsal sessions, which is nice.”

Matt, Keith Thomas, Max Seiter and Nick Smith started DSI as a production company in 2002 but in 2011 opened their first studio near West Green Road.

“It was a garden that someone put walls and a roof over,” says Matt, a freelance video editor who, like his friends, fits studio work in between his day job. “People started coming and by accident we became a commercial studio with people recording albums.

“And then the riots happened and everybody was unhappy and saying ‘nothing goes on here’, but we knew there was so we decided to stay here and make a difference and do something for the area and it’s really been worth it.

“There is a lot of talk at the moment about the regeneration of the area, but about how its all happening from the top down and that’s not making people happy. We want to do it from the bottom up.”

Last July the studio moved to Morrison Yard in High Road, but Matt says they hope to expand to provide training opportunities for people.

“We are dissident against the state of the music industry and believe there should be more opportunities for musicians and we are willing to provide them if we can get the funding.”

He adds: “A lot of the businesses that neighbour us are moving out or thinking about leaving so what better opportunity to grab this place and turn it into an arts centre? It’s something we are seriously thinking about.”

Take the High Road will be held at Tottenham Chances, 399 High Road, Tottenham on Saturday, September 6. Entry is free from 1pm-6pm.

Details: dissidentsoundindustry.com