Some reflections on ‘Reflections’…
On Thursdays I’m music therapist at The Highgate care home in London. Last year it became clear that there was an acute need to re-establish (post-covid) a sense of community at the home. So we came up with the idea of creating an album - written, performed & recorded entirely ‘in-house’ by around 100 residents, relatives, friends and staff.
The end result was Reflections -
https://open.spotify.com/album/125FE4jWj1yERUfo65tHGd?si=_bnJIjjmQNCmDl1aK8vEkg
None of the songwriters (many in their 80s or 90s) had written a song before, so a wide variety of songwriting techniques were employed. The lyrics tell stories of their lives and/or current experiences in the home, and by putting the album on streaming services, the album became a place where those memories can be stored and revisited.
The diversity of musical genres across the album reflects the home’s cultural make-up; reggae, opera, swing, folk, swing, rock‘n roll. A klezmer-inspired ballad, a Nigerian chant, even an Irish drinking song.
The logistical challenges of trying to record an album within a care home (and with no budget!) were considerable. We repurposed a visitors’ booth - built during Covid - into a make-shift recording studio.
But most of the recording was done in rooms, corridors, lounges - wherever we could set up a mic, stand and computer; as seen in this video for one of the songs, Sing Together written by resident, Phyllis, (who sings the first line with her daughter).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyCsEM8pHVc
As well as video creation, residents created sleeve cover art, from which we created framed ‘gold discs’, hung on the wall of the home to tell the story behind of each song.
Reflections allowed us to experiment with technology such as AI and Playtronica. It inspired us to form a choir for the home. And the home’s activities team created a fantastic launch party for the album for everyone involved, where our songs were heard in public for the first time…
The project subsequently won a National Arts In Care Homes Award, and we’ve had other homes getting in contact to discuss how they might be able to do something similar. Songwriting and recording is now a regular part of music therapy provision at The Highgate and we’re currently working to bring in local school children to write new songs with residents.
Overall, the last few months have shown me how empowering the collaborative process of songwriting and recording an album has been in bringing our community closer together. The roles of carer, resident, relative became less defined and less important. We’ve just been a group of people singing, playing, creating and recording together. If anyone has done similar work (or is planning to) I’d be very happy to share experiences. Meantime, here’s to the ‘difficult second album’!