Celebrating the sound system heritage of Brent

Sound system culture is deeply connected to our home borough.  From the 1960s, when reggae and lovers rock first landed in the UK, the heart of the scene was in Brent, with Kilburn, Harlesden and Willesden home to record shops, record labels, recording studios and parties.

But you couldn’t experience the music without a sound system.

For our first artist residency at Punchdrunk Enrichment Stores, we are celebrating Brent’s sound system culture and its part in music history. Led by artist and DJ Linett Kamala from LIN KAM ART, we are inviting a group of young people aged 18 - 30 years for a week of sound system exploration, to dive into the culture and heritage, to collaborate and build a custom made speaker box.

About the residency

The residency will run from Monday 30th September - Friday 4th October 2024, 11am-5pm each day.

Venue: Punchdrunk Enrichment Stores, Watkin Road, Wembley Park, HA9 0NL.

This is a paid opportunity with a bursary to support each participant to take part. If selected you will receive £100 per day for your time as part of the project, a total fee of £500.

We are looking for people who are:

• Aged between 18 - 30 years
• Not currently in education or employment 
• Living in Brent
• Interested in storytelling, music heritage and sound system culture 
• Wanting to have a go at carpentry and learn new skills
• Looking for a community of people to create with including sound engineers and designers
• Curious about the intersection between immersive theatre and music

We strongly encourage applications from Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Indigenous, Latinx, Mixed-Heritage, Native American, or SWANA backgrounds, and those who have grown up in a household where English is not spoken as a first language.

We welcome applications from everyone, including those with disabilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments to participate in the recruitment process or to take part,  please let us know, and we will work with you to provide the necessary support.

To apply, please complete the google form below by Monday 16th September at 10am. You can answer the application questions in video (maximum length five minutes) or written format. If you need the application in a different format, please call 020 7655 0940 or email recruitment@punchdrunkenrichment.org.uk.

Click here to complete the online application form.

Linett Kamala is a DJ, Artist, Academic, Creative Producer and Founding Director of Lin Kam Art. She works across various disciplines including installation, paintings, public art, DJ soundscapes and performance.  Her current project BASS TONE REGENERATION is a touring innovative sound and light installation.  

Linett is known as the Notting Hill Carnival ‘Sound System Queen’, being credited as one of the first female DJs to perform on a sound system in the mid 1980s at the event and now serves as its Board Director.  Today she continues to champion inclusion within sound system culture, advocating for underrepresented groups, including her two initiatives; Lin Kam Art Sound System Futures Programme developing the next generation and Original Sounds Collective; amplifying the presence of women in sound system and moving the culture forward. 

She is also President of the University of the Arts London Alumni of Colour Association, Associate Lecturer in Performance: Design and Practice at the University of the Arts London and in BA (Hons) Live Event Management at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.

@linett_kamala          @lin_kam_art