Sounds Of Solace

Inspired by the intricate relationship between music and culture, with ‘Sounds Of Solace’ Maddy Howell invites the communities of Folkestone to share their musical stories of the last eighteen months. A time in which government mandated restrictions, periods of lockdown, and ongoing social distancing measures found the people of Folkestone confined to their own homes and isolated in a physical sense, ‘Sounds Of Solace’ started out life as a contribution-based website that encouraged Folkestone residents to share the memories, emotions and impact that one single song has had on their life throughout the global pandemic.

Capturing the ways in which songs can be used to amplify our anger, soften our hurt, or to escape the world entirely, the project serves as a time capsule for the connection that can be found in music, and the power that sound has to unite people of all walks of life in a uniquely universal way.⁠ Expanded into a three-part podcast in 2022, Howell aims to give Folkestone residents a chance to express the integral ways music ties into their lives.

In Episode One, Howell speaks to Tim Smith and Sophia Stutchbury of Seaview Studios in Folkestone. Tim is a music producer and songwriter who works alongside his wife, singer-songwriter Sophia Stutchbury, at their Folkestone-based recording studios Seaview Studios. As part of the Sounds of Solace project, Tim and Sophia join the host to talk about the experience of creating Sophia’s song ‘We’ll Get Through This’, and the impact that it had on their lives throughout the lockdown, as well as the wider importance of music and the community of Folkestone on all that they do.

In Episode Two, Howell is joined by El Tyler, a youth worker and student from Folkestone. El is a non-binary creative whose work as a writer and musician has inspired them to explore instrospection and delve deeper into their own humanity, something that was amplified within the isolated nature of the lockdowns.

In the final episode, Howell opens up a conversation with her mother, Julie, a safe-guarding lead at a local Folkestone school and a keen music fan. Discussing music, connection, and positivity with a familial link as they recall joint memories of their time at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, they break down generational barriers and establish the importance of music in forming unbreakable bonds.

Programme of podcast release:

Saturday 05 Mar: Episode 1 – In conversation with Tim Smith and Sophia Stutchbury

Saturday 12 Mar: Episode 2 – In conversation with El Tyler

Saturday 19 Mar: Episode 3 – In conversation with Julie Howell

Podcast downloadable from:

MixCloud

A Folkestone resident since birth, Maddy Howell is a writer and creative who has long been fascinated by the hidden cultures and communities of her hometown and those who live within it.

Raised on punk music and poetry, Maddy has spent her life endeavoring to understand the ways in which art can weave together intricate tapestries of personal stories and memories.

With her creative passions leading her to pursue a career in music journalism, whilst studying in Southampton, Maddy became increasingly aware of the growing need for inclusivity within the arts industry. This discovery sparked her initiation of the ‘South Coast Women In Music’ convention, an event to raise awareness of inequality and celebrate unrecognised creative brilliance.

Further pursuing an MA in Music and Culture, Maddy has also established a culture of community around ‘Unfinished Business’, an independent zine series showcasing the abandoned works of marginalised artists, writers and poets.

Lake Lazarillo 2021 (LL21) is a radical series of live-art commissions for the public realm and public-led talks connecting ground-breaking international artists with local communities, commissioning a diverse range of works from public conversations, artistic letters, and artistic residencies. A confluence of ideas, a meeting point of opposites, LL21 is 5-part series that explores ideas surrounding proximity and distance.

The first two episodes of LL21 are public participatory forums created and led by Folkestone’s local residents, Maddy Howell & Sarah Hagues, inviting the public to enter into dialogues about the wider impact and meanings of culture, and how it shapes our sense of place and identity in times of uncertainty.⁠

The second part to LL21 uses live-art to create shared experiences that connect people, cultures and rituals from different corners of the world. Using gentle, fleeting and minimalist gestures, they aim to create memories and meanings that are both intimate and profound.