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Songs From The Inside, Maori Television’s 13-part series following four top Kiwi musicians as they teach songwriting to prisoners, now has a 13-track album containing the prisoners’ songs.

Songs From The Inside, Maori Television’s 13-part series following four top Kiwi musicians as they teach songwriting to prisoners, now has a 13-track album containing the prisoners’ songs.

The series follows singer/songwriters Anika Moa, Warren Maxwell, Maisey Rika and Ruia Aperahama as they teach ten prisoners at Rimutaka and Arohata Prisons the art of writing, performing and recording their own songs in just ten weeks.

Also entitled Songs From The Inside, the album is the deeply personal conclusion of the musical journeys of the seven prisoners who completed the course.  

"Numbed my feelings"

One of the participants, Lina, says: “To get by in here I have just numbed my feelings. To write my song I had to open up.”

Their songs are raw and heartfelt, and come to life in a broad compilation that includes soul, R&B, hip hop and reggae. The four musicians provide backing vocals and supplementary music, with additional beats by P-Money and drums by Riki Gooch. 

“To write a great song you have to dig deep,” Warren Maxwell says. “No one else could have written these songs.”

Maisey Rika also features on the album with What I Am. Warren Maxwell, who mixed the songs at his Stonefeather Studios, sings the series’ theme song, My Gift, written by Director and Executive Producer Julian Arahanga.

Julian says the Songs From The Inside album was the logical conclusion of the series to round out the songwriting process for the students.

Told from the heart 

“We are blown away with the talent that has come out of this,” he says. “These songs tell their stories and they’re told from the heart.”

So why does he think the series has been so successful? “It’s reality TV that captured the imagination of viewers, here and overseas. It’s given a face and voice to the prison population inNew Zealand. They’re not just statistics. They’re talented people who exposed their fears and hopes on television. People responded to that in a hugely positive and humane way.”

The proceeds of the CD sales will go to threeNew Zealandcharities: 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 album Songs From The Inside can be purchased from music stores and the Warehouse. You can also download from the iTunes and Amplifier websites.