Storytelling through songwriting: Our 10 week project at Castlecombe Youth Centre
In our recent project at Castlecombe Youth Centre, young people had the chance to explore rapping/singing, storytelling through lyrics, recording and music production on Logic Pro. The tracks told stories about life experiences, relationships and personal reflection.
Young people discussing and recording ideas with music leader, Damien Cooke
We engaged 15 young people in lyric writing and music production, with some of the group going on to record their ideas on tracks as they grew in confidence.
The project was a new experience for the young people, as visiting professionals are rare at Castlecombe Youth Centre. Damien and Yasmin guided them through the writing and recording process, creating an atmosphere where the young people felt safe in expressing themselves. Some of the young people came into sessions with clips of them rapping and singing. They developed these pieces of music under the advice and guidance of our music leaders, creating house, rap and spoken word tracks. We saw how writing lyrics became a way for them to express the pain and struggles they had been through, helping them to release those emotions and work through them.
“And I’m really not a rapper, I’m a poet over beats
I don’t feel love where I live so I took love from the streets
…
Swear to god I’m taking flight - from the trenches to the top
Gotta hustle what I eat, if I ever take a loss
That I’m bouncing to my feet
I was raised up in a struggle
Made a promise I won’t weep
Put my soul into these verses
Let my lyrics really speak”
~ Mia, 18
Young person in a writing session with music leader Yasmin Ali (Y.A. Poet)
We spoke particularly to one of the young people, Leo, who is 16. He attends the Youth Centre regularly and has always had an interest in rapping but has never taken it seriously. Leo’s parents are separated - he is currently living with his mum and he doesn’t have a good relationship with his dad. This served as the content for his spoken word piece. Leo is diagnosed with ADHD and youth centre support staff told us that he struggles with staying focused. He found it difficult to write serious lyrics at first, and the lyrics he brought to the session were very passive, like a journal entry.
However, the project provided him with the structure, encouragement and inspiration to take his ideas more seriously and develop his skills as a writer and performer. His lyrics changed from playful to personal, from comical to serious. He improved on recording techniques, confidence and writing. He would consistently show up on time every session, coming from college early to get there, showing he was focused and committed. He would challenge himself with rapping on different genres and he worked on effectively communicating with sound engineer, Damien.
“He was vulnerable in his writing, we discussed the power in self-expression as well as cadence, delivery and tone. He worked exceptionally hard to create a few pieces of work throughout the project that reflect the variety of moods and emotions he was in throughout the course of these sessions. ”
The journey he went on throughout the project made him more confident, motivated and self-aware. The project provided a safe haven for him to explore what he was going through.
“Sometimes I wish I could just sit back and relax
But I’ve always got a feeling of not reaching my max
I’ve been pushing for many things to change, trying to become a new man
Not just trying to be some copy and paste of my dad
It may seem sad, you have to say the facts.”
(Listen to Leo’s spoken word piece below).
“Straight after college, you can come here and chill. If you want to get something off your mind, realistically you can get it off your mind. Like any stress, you can push it away for a minute. I really enjoy it.”
Leo with music leader and sound engineer, Damien
The sessions had a really positive impact on the young people’s wellbeing - allowing them to open up and be able to express their feelings, emotions and life experiences through lyrics and music. We had an emotional listening party at the end of the 10th session - listening through to all the tracks with everyone who attended the youth centre that day.
“It’s so nice that they can get out their feelings, it’s an incredible piece of work. We all say about talking things through and getting it out, and music can help them share these feelings with other people”
We want to say a huge thank you to Mottingham Big Local Refocused for funding this amazing project. We hope to be back at Castlecombe Youth Centre in the future. 🎶
Take a listen to the young people’s original tracks on Soundcloud here.