Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 1

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: ‘I’m Not Sad’; Music provider: Music for Change.

A project between detainees at Dover IRC and Year 6 pupils from Priory Fields Primary School.

This song is written by KB (Mohamed), who is a long-term detainee employed by the Music department at Dover IRC. He was keen to share this song with the children at Priory Fields Primary School to help them understand the different backgrounds and childhoods different people might have. After hearing it, the children responded really well with a very mature discussion about gun crime and the importance of positivity.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 2

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: 'Jah Nuh Mek No Junk'; Music provider: Music for Change.

A project with detainees at Dover IRC and elderly people at Age Concern Riverside centre.

Although the two groups involved in this project did not meet physically, they heard each other’s recordings of stories and songs and were able to compare some of their experiences. They found a shared interest in reminiscence, in subject matters such as times of war, cultural sayings and proverbs, memories of childhood, and reflection upon present situations. This is an original song written by detainees at Dover IRC after they were inspired by a story told by John, one of the participants from the Age Concern Riverside centre, about a drawing by a boy he came across in a museum which was entitled “I must be something special, because God don’t make no junk”. This phrase was pertinent because it could apply to everybody involved in the project, and it was subsequently translated into French, Ga and Twi (Ghanaian dialects), Lingala and Arabic.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 3

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: 'Song of Freedom/Voice of the People'

A project between detainees and staff at Harmondsworth IRC.

This project, rather than reaching out to the local community outside of Harmondsworth, sought to focus on staff and detainee relations, and the community within the IRC. One member of staff, David, remarked: “This is really different from what I have done in the past. It’s good to collaborate with the detainees. It gives me a chance to see them differently and some of them are really talented.”

Leroy, a detainee who sang the lead vocals, said he’d had the best week of his life; he had been carrying around song ideas without having the knowledge or resources to realise them.

The residency was facilitated by ‘H’ in collaboration with Alexander D Great, with sound engineering and mixing by Anton French. The project was delivered in partnership with Music for Change.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 4

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: ‘I’m Not Sad’; Music provider: Music for Change.

A project between detainees at Dover IRC and Year 6 pupils from Priory Fields Primary School.

These are two songs performed by a detainee named Hussein (Abdi Diini). Hussein is actually a world-renowned Somali musician who regularly draws audiences in the thousands to his concerts. His very eloquent friend Khalaf was keen to assist in translating for him so Kevin and Tea could communicate with him.

The first song is a traditional Somali folk-song which, as Khalaf explains, encourages young people to stick with old culture rather than just following current trends. Hussein taught Kevin and Tea a basic guitar accompaniment so they could play along with him.

The second song is in Arabic, originally from Sudan, and the overall meaning of the song is ‘the best language is spoken by the eyes’.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 5

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: 'Home Is Family'; Music Provider: Asian Music Circuit.

A second project with detainees at Yarl's Wood and members of Family Groups Bedford. 

The chorus of this song was recorded by participants at Family Groups. They wrote it starting 'Home is...' and then listed all the things 'home' might mean. Later in the day the recordings were taken to Yarl's Wood IRC where detainees recorded several instrumental layers, some for the verses and some for the chorus. They were inspired hearing the Family Groups participants' voices and found the communication between them to be very powerful. The detainees decided the best way to record the lyrics to the verses would be for everyone to teach their parts to the others and record them all as a group.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 6

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: 'Don't Know Where My Home Is'; Music Provider: Fugitive Music

A project with detainees at Haslar IRC and a group of students from Bridgemary School in Gosport.

This song was very popular with the pupils at Bridgemary School when they heard it. The main vocals were written by two girls quite early on in the project and parts were added later by other pupils at the school and detainees from Haslar IRC – it includes rapping from a London-based Portugese Afro-American, a guitar part from a Polish Congolese and a vocal part from a Bangladeshi detainee.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 7

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: 'I’m Not Sad'; Music provider: Music for Change.

A project between detainees at Dover IRC and Year 6 pupils from Priory Fields Primary School.

This is a traditional Kurdish love song performed by Abdulla Ahmad and Osman, both detainees at Dover IRC.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 8

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: ‘I’m Not Sad’; Music provider: Music for Change.

A project between detainees at Dover IRC and Year 6 pupils from Priory Fields Primary School.

This song is about life in Jamaica, written by a detainee called Kurt Forbes (aka Sinister). He brought the lyrics along to a workshop session during the project and the other detainees helped him turn them into a song which he recorded with an acoustic guitar accompaniment.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 9

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD: 'Let Me Go'; Music provider: Drum Runners Trading.

A project with detainees at Haslar IRC and users of Fareham & Gosport MIND.

Participants from MIND were able to play, record and arrange this song together using a sampler pedal. With a bit of singing in scat style at the beginning, this song is about lifting up those with low self-esteem. Participants took real pride in creating this song, and it demonstrates their connection with the detainees.

CD: 'Unheard Voices: Sounds of MID'; Track 10

Remastered by Derek Pacuk for MID Compilation CD #1

Originally found on CD 'The Challenge'; Music Provider: Asian Music Circuit

A project with detainees at Harmondsworth IRC and young people engaged in activities through the Challenge Network. 

In the very first session of the project, the young people from Challenge acted out a role play in order to examine how rules and punishment might work in a parent-child relationship. They talked about the removal of liberties and ‘home’ as punishment and discussed how they might feel if they lost their freedom.

The lyrics to this song came out of questions the young people asked detainees at Harmondsworth IRC and the responses they got back. They decided to write the first verse as the voice of an anonymous detainee, and the second verse as the voice of a teenager realising that young people in the UK often take for granted the freedoms, friends and family in their lives. Using the different voices fits perfectly with the aims of the community exchange project.