Since 2006, David Hyams has been running a series of workshops in different Western Australian jails that has resulted in original songs being written and recorded by inmates, most with no previous experience in music or songwriting.

This project was born out of a chance meeting in a Fremantle cafe in 2005 between David and the (then) Arts Coordinator for the Department of Corrective Services, Frank Italiano, which resulted in a song writing workshop at Woorooloo Prison Farm.

The resulting songs were so impressive that they ended up being recorded and this led to further workshops and recordings from 2006 to 2010. The result was over 50 original songs, spanning genres that included hip hop, country, blues and rock, which were written and recorded in Hakea, Casuarina, Albany and Bandyup (women's) prisons, and Boronia Pre-Release Centre. One of the songs was performed by David with a women's choir from Boronia Pre-Release Centre at an international convention held in Perth in 2009.

In 2010, a compilation album of 12 songs, 'Songs from the Inside' was released. The album was recorded and mixed by David, and mastered by James Hewgill.

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LISTEN to Songs from the Inside: Click on the player below to listen

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