r-h music, Black Asia Volume, Rajesh Hardwani

Monday, August 21, 2006

Changi beats

What up beautiful people?!

August 15 was a musically inspiring day. I was fortunate enough to share my knowledge with a talented bunch of promising media pros. Thanks to Imraan, a prison warden at Changi Prison (CP).

CP has an interesting history and the original prison has since been demolished. Only a 40 feet wall of the original prison has been preserved for historical reasons. The new centre looks complete but construction and building is still on going.

I have passed CP many times. From the time I was a kid when my dad used to take the family on outings to Changi beach. CP looked a whole lot different back then. It still is ever "dark" but the edifice looks current. I'd often wonder what it was like inside, or what it must be like to be an inmate (no, I do not want to know for real!).

Gone are the days when an inmate was left in a cell all day long. Only to be moved out for a meal, a walk in the yard or a transfer. Skills development help the inmates prepare for their release, build confidence and start a new life. This superb programme allows inmates to find a passion, learn from scratch, polish and be skillful at their craft by the time they are released. When Imraan told me about his inmates making music using REASON (a music editing software) and making videos, I was like "WHA???".

I was greeted by Azam at the Prison Link Centre. A building that receives families and friends of inmates for visits. I came a cross a shelving that housed works by inmates, mostly art & craft projects. It was impressive. A t-shirt print caught my attention. It had the "NO ENTRY" sign in all 4 common languages used in Singapore (Enlish, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin) an an image of a soldier aiming a rifle.

The inmates are wonderful folks. They have a genuine desire to learn and they "know their work"! Some of the 2D and 3D characters are amazing. There's this one dude who represents various inmates and officers with caricatures...all with a theme to suit their characters. A team of two that produce and compose music siuted for corporate videos and jingles and one that arranges tribal house beats. And a team of video editors making producing some really professional corporate videos and soap trailers.

The programming section is another interesting part of this set up. The inmates are building systems and sites that are server dependent. Languages like ASP.NET, RUBY, etc., are learnt from books and on-line tutorials and applied...with no physical guide or teacher. So I have invited my mate, Anthony P. V., audio engineer-cum-web server and programming geek to meet these future multi-media pros.

Tomorrow will be another inspiring day...I know Anthony will be.

Peace & Love,
r-H