InsideOut the Band: a Sounding Out success story

Posted on August 21, 2023 by ittsoundingout in Blog, Sounding Out // 0 Comments

Inside Out the Band performing at Rich Mix

Originally formed in prison in 2016, InsideOut the Band are still going strong and it’s now a family affair! We caught up with founding member Jay to find out more…

How did InsideOut the Band form?

InsideOut the Band was established in 2016 by four inmates at the time, namely Jay, Tobi, Barry and Lozza. There was a music studio at the prison and all four of us met there. At first we were just playing covers, then we started to write our own songs. The Governor of the establishment heard us playing in the studio, liked our songs and invited ITT to come educate, train and organise us.

The band’s sound is alternative melodic rock with some rap elements. When we are writing our songs we take inspiration from our past and present life experiences.

How has the band developed? What role did Sounding Out play?

With the help of ITT, we took part in their Sounding Out programme, where while on license we had the chance to record our songs as demos with the assistance of professional musicians, and later gave a concert at the prison to the residents and our families.

SoundingOut · Inside Out: Out on LicenseAfter we were released, ITT organised three concerts for us in London, at the Betsy Trotwood, Bush Hall and Rich Mix. Individually, we had the privilege of working with ITT’s professional musicians on various projects and received training in becoming Support Musician mentors for ITT’s projects with young people. During the pandemic, with the assistance of ITT we also had the opportunity of recording two songs online.

After we were released, ITT organised three concerts for us in London, at the Betsy Trotwood, Bush Hall and Rich Mix. Individually, we had the privilege of working with ITT’s professional musicians on various projects and received training in becoming Support Musician mentors for ITT’s projects with young people. During the pandemic, with the assistance of ITT we also had the opportunity of recording two songs online.

We now have two new band members. One is Reese, who we met at the rehearsal’s for ITT’s Sounding Out event at Rich Mix in Summer 2019; the other is my son Aran. When ITT organised our very first concert at the prison for the inmates and families, Aran was only 9 years old and was inspired by watching the band to start learning to play guitar. Now he is the lead guitarist in the band and getting ready to study music at University level! Although he is not a former prisoner, he has experienced the effects of being the family member of a prisoner.

What was your Sounding Out highlight?

The Sounding Out highlight for us was our headline concert at Bush Hall, where we had a great audience and collaborated with a group of classical musicians, the Phaedra Ensemble, and were supported by the Fish Police. It was a night we will never forget. The concert was featured in Inside Times (prison published newspaper) with a positive review.

What is the band up to currently? What does the future hold?

After completing the Sounding Out programme with ITT, we have continued to create and record new songs. We have two singles and two full albums released at Spotify, YouTube Music, deezer etc. Our third album will be released soon. All the albums are recorded, mixed, mastered and edited by us; this is also something we have learned to do via making music through ITT.

To support our 3rd album’s release, we are planning to do various gigs. Make sure to follow us on one of our social media channels to be alerted with performance dates! Currently we have a Facebook page, Instagram page and Spotify page where our followers are increasing day by day, which we are very happy to see!

InsideOut the Band came to these days with the help of ITT, as they have given us full support in organising, training and educating us to improve our band and our music. They have given us many opportunities in making our music. Without them we would not have been here carrying on making music now and it is because of them that we are still going.

We really appreciate the support of all our followers and invite everyone to our musical world. Please carry on following us and keep listening to our music!