CD Tracklist:
(1) Kali
(2) Patience
(3) Jamie
(4) Motolani
(5) Alex
(6) BJ
(7) Francia
(8) Christopher
(9) Lee
(10) Micheal
(11) Flavia
(12) Shantee
(13) Tulin
(14) Rachel
And can be purchased from Rough Trade in CD format here:
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Self Songs is a ground-breaking collection of songs, the result of a collaboration between Pendragon School, a South East London special needs school, and Artists In Residence, a collective using art as a means of education.
Self Songs will be released independently in April and the fourteen tracks take their names from the children who not only wrote the lyrics but also took a hands on approach to their song’s creative direction, with the Shadow Orchestra (AKA Chris Bangs) on hand to play the instruments. The children all have learning and behaviour needs and the results are impressive, poignant, fascinating, eye-opening and sometimes even funny. They offer a compelling insight into their subject’s world, some of whom have already suffered significant emotional trauma.
Jamie deals with his feelings of self-doubt and anger, while Alex recounts a gang attack on his friend. BJ sings a harrowing account of his alcoholic father, Lee yearns to live in Jamaica and on the album closer, Rachel’s song is a moving ‘thank you’ to her mum. In one of the lighter moments, Tulin chooses to focus on one of the happiest aspects of her life and recites some of the names of her 80 Cypriot cousins. Throughout, the Shadow Orchestra, aka Composer and Producer Chris Bangs, provides a varied and high standard of music, creating a sensitive soundtrack that complements each subject’s story.
Working with the children was an enlightening experience for Chris: “As a musician, I am used to working a fairly contained world, but through this project I have realised that, by being available and providing a platform for the students’ self-expression and creativity, it has allowed something unique, and far richer than I would have imagined, to emerge.”
Behind the project is AIR (Artists in Residence). Run by professional artists from various disciplines, AIR use their belief in art as an educational and therapeutic tool to help disadvantaged children, with Self Songs being a product of this practice. Previously published is a poetry book entitled In Our Own Write, also by pupils of Pendragon School.
Pancho Martinez, Headteacher of Pendragon School describes Self Songs as “a range of brave, honest and emotionally charged songs that reflect the depths of our students' feelings.”
