Sound and Podcast Making
Hannah Kemp-Welch, Naz Hoque, 2022
 

A sound production and podcast project with sound artist, Hannah Kemp-Welch and producer Naz Hoque with young people working with Youth Offending Services

6 people sitting at a table with laptops editing sound
Copyright 2022, LBBD and Jimmy Lee
2 people editing sound at a computer with pizza and cola on the table next to them
Copyright 2022, LBBD and Jimmy Lee
View of someone editing sound on a laptop
Copyright 2022, LBBD and Jimmy Lee
Hands using sound edit software with pizza and cola next to the computer
Copyright 2022, LBBD and Jimmy Lee

Sound artist Hannah Kemp-Welch and producer Naz Hoque ran a 10-week project with a group of young people working with the Youth Offending Service in Barking and Dagenham. Through a series of weekly workshops, the group worked collaboratively to devise, script, record and edit their own podcast, on a topic of their choice.

Each week Hannah and Naz introduced the young people to professional recording equipment and free computer software, which they used to produce their podcasts. They also completed a beat making workshop with Naz to create music to accompany their podcast.

The fun, safe and friendly space created by Hannah and Naz encouraged the young people taking part to develop thoughtful, powerful and unique podcasts that reflected on their own personal experiences and relationships in their lives. This opportunity also gave the young people an opportunity to meet new people, build on their communication and confidence skills.

This 10-week project culminated in a listening session at The White House in Dagenham followed by a celebratory meal at Nando’s.

New Town Culture has a strong understanding of the young people they support and what it takes to reduce the risk of them being drawn back into further offences. I teamed up with Hannah Kemp-Welch and NTC to deliver a practical 9-week sound design project, and it was a fantastic experience with great outcomes produced by the young people. The workshops provided young people with industry professional skills, which impacted them positively and will continue to do so in the future. I look forward to delivering more projects in the near future. - Naz Hoque
There are many things I have enjoyed about the Sound Project. In addition to providing young people with opportunities and skill sets in media, the staff have displayed great ability to engage the young people who have been eager to return on a weekly basis to complete the 10-week programme. I have also appreciated the collaborative approach with the referring agencies with everyone pulling together to make a success of the programme due to our shared aim of being young people focused - Lonnie Robinson, Senior Youth Offending Worker. This has not been a project; it’s been an awakening! Over these past 10 weeks, I have born witness to a spark ignited in our young people. A passion and excitement in creating. Earning cultural capital, valuable technical skills and a platform to have their voices sing. They have been autonomous, dedicated, hardworking, wonderfully creative in their choices and there has been a real sense of comradery amongst the group and sincere respect for the artists. I am so proud of the boys’ accomplishments and grateful to have been a passenger on this short journey with them – Jonathan Carragher, Education Lead, Youth Offending Services. To all the children who took part and to all the staff from New Town Culture and LBBD Youth Justice Service, who made the last two months such an amazing project to be part of, a massive well done and thank you all. Collaborative projects like this, really make a difference to the children who have attended. It has visibly increased communication skills, IT skills, confidence, teamwork and has evidenced a real identity change for those children involved, re-enforcing for all, their undoubted ability and potential to achieve positive outcomes” - Jason Rice, Youth Offending Service Team Manager
On the surface, this was a skills-based project: participants planned, scripted, recorded and edited their own podcasts, complete with artwork and music alongside. We used free software and gave young people microphones to take home, with access as a core value. But for me, building relationships with young people who are in challenging circumstances was the real success of the work. The project established a cross-disciplinary working group of YOS workers, artists, and NTC staff to think carefully about the group's support needs. With this foundation, we were able to work in a flexible and responsive way, getting to know the young people's passions (and peeves), and setting challenges and goals for each session. I was really impressed by the young people's patience and commitment to the project - audio editing is a slow process, and requires concentration and creativity. The young people produced deeply personal and unique podcasts exploring their relationships with peers, social workers and family through lyrics, dialogue and sound design. What really struck me was the friendly and supportive spirit of the project - sharing stories and snacks and laughing a lot! Hannah Kemp-Welch
Hannah Kemp-Welch

Hannah Kemp-Welch is a sound artist with a socially-engaged practice. She produces audio installations and radio broadcasts with community groups, using voices, field recordings and found sounds. She also delivers workshops, makes zines and builds basic radios, aiming to open out sonic practices and technologies for all. Hannah is a member of feminist radio art group Shortwave Collective and the arts cooperative Soundcamp.

Naz Hoque

Nazmul Hoque is currently Programme and Building Manager at Raw Material, where he worked on the Raw Sounds project with Hannah. Naz has led projects with the YOS in Lambeth for a number of years, working with young people on music production, videography, and design projects. Naz was born into the colourful backdrop of South London, Brixton. He says that living in Brixton had a big impact on him. In the mornings, he woke up to music and went to sleep with music blasting through his neighbours’ walls. He loved this and from a young age, felt the urge to start documenting and reinventing his surroundings through music, film and photography.