Songs From the Inside – Album Release
“To write a great song you have to dig deep. No one else could have written these songs” – Warren Maxwell, musician
“To get by in here I have just numbed my feelings. To write my song I had to open up.” – Lina, Arohata Prison.
Songs From The Inside, the successful Maori Television series that follows four top Kiwi musicians as they teach
songwriting to prison inmates, now has its own album.
The all new album Songs From The Inside, produced by Anika Moa, Warren Maxwell, Maisey Rika and Ruia Aperahama and
featuring songs by inmates at two New Zealand prisons, will be released on June 8 – two days before the series finale.
Gritty and thought-provoking, Songs From The Inside has been critically acclaimed since it premiered on Maori Television
in March.
The series follows singer-songwriters Moa, Maxwell, Rika and Aperahama as they teach 10 inmates at Rimutaka and Arohata
Prisons the art of writing, performing and recording their own songs in just 10 weeks.
The 13-track album Songs From The Inside is the deeply personal conclusion of the musical journeys of the seven
prisoners who completed the course.
Their songs are raw and heartfelt, and come to life in a broad compilation that includes soul, R, hip hop and reggae. The four artists - Moa, Maxwell, Rika and Aperahama - provide backing vocals and supplementary
music, with additional beats by P-Money and drums by Riki Gooch.
Maisey Rika also features on the album with What I Am and Warren Maxwell – who mixed the songs at his Stonefeather
Studios - sings the series’ theme song, My Gift, written by executive producer Julian Arahanga (Once Were Warriors).
Arahanga says the Songs From The Inside album was the logical conclusion of the series to round out the songwriting
process for the students.
“We are blown away with the talent that has come out of this. These songs tell their stories and they’re told from the
heart.”
The proceeds of the CD sales will go to three New Zealand charities: New Zealand Riding For The Disabled Association
Inc, Prison Fellowship New Zealand and the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges Inc.
The physical release of Songs From the Inside is a digi pack album with a CD containing 13 tracks, each one preceded by
a sound-bite from one of the students or artists, and a DVD containing seven songs. The digital release contains the 13
tracks.
Each song on the DVD is accompanied by a montage of footage from the series that traces the singer’s journey through the
programme. The album also comes with a 20-page booklet containing lyrics plus information about the project and those
involved.
The debut album Songs From The Inside goes on sale June 8 at all good music stores. The album is available from today
(May 22) for digital and physical pre-order from:
See www.facebook.com/songsfromtheinside for more information about the project.
ENDS