Despite supporting hundreds of young people every year, In-Spire Sounds has largely operated outside the spotlight. With the release of IN THE MIX: Volume 1, a 12-track mixtape written and performed entirely by the young people involved in the project, and its recent accreditation as an Alternative Education Provider, now felt like the right time to tell that story.
We spoke with Kingsley Boyden about the origins of In-Spire Sounds, the impact music can have on young people’s lives, and why a recording studio can be much more than a place to make records.
Before In-Spire Sounds, before the director title, there was just you and music. Where did it all start and when did you realise this could become something bigger than your own career?
It started with Inner Peace Records. We were a collective of about ten artists who had nowhere to record, so we wanted a hub for ourselves. That was the first seed. But very quickly, we were all already doing community work in pupil referral units, schools and youth groups. So we thought, why not formalise this as In-Spire Sounds?
Going back further, in 2010 I went to Bogotá, Colombia, and worked with a project called La Familia Ayara. They supported young people affected by the drug trade, most had lost parents and many were orphaned. They used hip hop’s pillars, graffiti, breakdancing and a studio. The guy who set it up realised that if these young men did not have a positive network, they would find a negative one, gangs, violence, the same cycle. So creating a family, a support network, became the core of what we do.
I grew up going to youth clubs. I know how beneficial that was. And my brothers within Inner Peace, those friendships took us on tour and took us places. So that is where it started.