IN the room, a group of ten men have just finished recording a hip-hop tune in Russian and Polish about the highs and lows of money – how it lifts you up, and how it drags you down.
Work has now begun on a soulful, down-tempo tune with the working title Friday. When completed, these will be tracks on the album Songs of Freedom, which has been produced this week by prisoners at HMP La Moye.
The project is a collaboration between Jersey-based non-profit organisation The Moving Arts Collective and UK-based music charity Finding Rhythms – and is funded by the government and ArtHouse Jersey.
This is not the first time The Moving Arts Collective, which recognises the social and political responsibility of art and advocates for opportunities for the creative expression of prisoners, has brought music to La Moye.
Last year, their outreach concerts enjoyed by 75 prisoners, both men and women, marked the first live performance in the prison’s history.
But, this time around, the prisoners are making their own music, which will be presented to others at a listening party in May.
Professional UK musicians Fred Harper and Thabo Mkwananzi have led the six recording workshops.
Each session started with Mr Harper behind the laptop where he writes a beat and the group then decide what their theme will be – Friday, for example.
He explained: “Then, we talk about what that theme means to everyone, because we all have a different perspective. We have some time joshing about to see what angles we each want to bring, whether Friday means time to party or tiredness after a long week. There’s a live nature of collaboration in the room, and everyone comes up with the song together.”
Most of the prisoners in the workshop, Mr Harper explained, were passionate about music on the outside.
He said: “They can end up spending five to ten years of their life never being able to practise music, never tapping into their passion. For many, this will be the first time they get to do music in their time here.
“These are all prisoners who are very close to release, so if we can get them doing something they’re passionate about, we can create that bridge to the outside and the opportunities there. We can encourage that self-esteem and ownership over what they feel on the outside.”
After the week, the prisoners receive a qualification confirming their participation and new skills, having used digital software to create the finished product.
Sanja Koppen, head of education at La Moye, said: “The incorporation of digital music software and devices provides learners with practical skills and real-world experiences.
“It improves learners’ key competencies such as creativity, technical proficiency, and critical thinking, and also provides opportunities for further exploration and application of digital music concepts beyond the workshop, in agreement with our aim of ‘releasing better neighbours’.”
Esther Rose Parkes, a musician who works with The Moving Arts Collective, said that the project had only been made possible through grants and partnerships – and she hoped its success could encourage funding for further initiatives.
She said: “The idea is for this to be a legacy project, and we want to see what else we can grow from it. We would love to offer it to the female prisoners as well, but it is all a matter of cost.”
The music made in the sessions is “culturally relevant”, she added, and some of the younger inmates had recorded a “drill” track – a type of intense hip-hop – as well as drum and bass, hip-hop and rap.
One prisoner, who was happy to speak to the JEP about his experience, said it had been the “best week of [his] life in here”.
He said: “While in prison I learned to play guitar, and I have had the chance to put some of my poems and stories that I’ve written in here, and won awards for in here, to music.
“I’m excited to hear the final product. I feel so drained of all my poetic energy after this week, so I’m going to need to spend some time recovering.
“I would love to continue doing music on the outside, whether that’s playing guitar, writing songs or even learning how to mix.”
As the recording of Friday was just getting under way, Mr Mkwananzi took to the microphone and encouraged one of the prisoners to sing with him.
“Bear in mind, I don’t have your voice,” the prisoner said, and the whole room laughed.
Mr Mkwananzi replied: “No, but you’ve got your voice.”
