Elisha Lewis - Hackney Rooms

I moved from Wolverhampton to London in 2015 after not having much success in the arts in that area. Up until that point I was mostly self-taught, but when I moved to London I got a degree in sound design at South Bank University.

After I graduated, I got by working in kitchens and producing music at home. I was in talks with a theatre company about assisting as a sound designer, but then we went into lockdown and the theatre company went back to Romania and stayed there until everything settled.

In late 2020, I applied for a job with Clod Ensemble. I didn’t get the job, but Clod Ensemble offered me a commission. The commission involved me writing an EP and participating in/facilitating workshops. The EP and project was called ‘Hackney Rooms’, and it was a sister project to Paul Clark’s ‘This Is My Room’.

We put a callout to the Hackney area for artists and musicians aged 18-25 to get involved in some workshops and collect sounds for the EP. The idea was that the young people, of which we had 9 in the end, would collect sounds with their smartphones, microphones or whatever they had at hand – sounds which were associated with the rooms in which they lived.

I collected those sounds and I built a sound library from which I produced all the instruments and music for the Hackney Rooms. I was manipulating the sounds to make instruments – some of them were street sounds, some were construction sounds, there was also some spoken word – including poet Chloe Carterr. Clod Ensemble arranged for and paid for all the marketing and design work for the project. They also paid for the EP to be professionally mastered. It was my first official release and I was very grateful for the support in all areas.

As part of the project, we hosted workshops for the young people. We did workshops on movement, spoken word and lyric writing, and I did a field recording workshop in which I demonstrated some of the sounds I created for the EP and workshops led by guests, including designers and record company professionals.

I’ve been involved with Clod Ensemble quite a bit since ‘Hackney Rooms’. I’ve had a lot of musical and practical advice from Paul and others in the team. They’ve introduced me to artists and creative practitioners from London. I’ve shadowed some workshops with them at schools and at their Skylight Studios. I’ve also had some sound design work assisting Paul with some of his composition/theatre work.

In early 2022, everyone at Clod was really helpful in helping me get funding from the Arts Council. Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) grant and supported me throughout the process. With this, I was able to spend the next year or so shadowing and being mentored by organisations like Hear Me Out as well as an artist called Jake Williams.

Rather than relying on restaurant work, I’m now earning most of my income from teaching and running music workshops. I’m now an Ableton Tutor for the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in Kilburn. I’m also a music therapist and teacher for children who can’t get into formal education at EK Outreach. I’m now listed as a permanent resident artist with Hear Me Out and regularly co-lead music workshops in refugee centres.

I’ve just been commissioned as a co-lead sound artist for a community project called ‘The Flax Exchange’.. There’s a craft artist called Shane Waltener who’s been growing flax, harvesting it and processing it to produce fabric. He uses really ancient tools and techniques to create cloth, rope and string. The project is leading up to a performance and exhibition which will be carried out in May 2024.

As I reflect on the last few years I realise I’m feeling a lot more positive, supported and optimistic about the future of my career. I believe in myself so much more and find myself ready to jump on to new projects and get working with confidence, it’s been a real inspirational experience for me.