Listen back to Episode 1 and 2 of Voices Rising that were originally broadcast on East London Radio on 18 & 19 July as part of Walthamstow Garden Party In The Air.

About Voices Rising: We reached out to four artists and organisations who had applied to be part of Walthamstow Garden Party back when the festival was still due to be a live event. You'll find out what these creatives have been up to over the past few months, and also get a chance to hear their original music. 

Artists include: 

Cardboard Wolf 
Cardboard Wolf is a quartet from London, sporting a mix of electronica-infused bangers, soulful jazz jams and outrageous clarinet lines. After encounters in larger bands in and around Guildhall and Barbican, the group formed from an urge to create a tight-knit unit of composer-performers with the potential for just as wide a range of sound. Fronted by Gustavo Clayton-Marucci on clarinet and bass clarinet, with Gerry Brazell on keyboards, James Dibble on bass guitar and Chris Pott on drums, this four-headed beast can often be found foraging in the London undergrowth for grooves and riffs.   

Toothbrush Soup 
Toothbrush Soup are an exciting band made up of four Waltham Forest 14-year olds: guitarist Milo, drummer Rudie, vocalist/keyboard player Zeki and bass player Louis. Formed in spring 2019, the band write all their own material and their music has been variously described as post-punk and psych-rock. But they have their own fresh and distinct sound. Youthful. Energetic. Raw. They performed at a local street party last summer and had several gigs lined up for this year, before Coronavirus intervened, including the Stag's Head in Hoxton. They’re looking forward to being back making music together soon. 

MVP Workshops 
MVP Workshops provides award-winning, open access creative workshop and extracurricular vocational training programs (comic, music production, graffiti, gaming and singing/ song writing) for young people in East London. The main focus is on social and personal development, increased employability and progression in education or employment - a progressive response to youth violence. The Go Live project engages young people aged 11 – 16 in singing/ song writing and music production workshops, with the aim of creating original songs that are mixed and mastered by a professional from the music industry. Music videos created, use industry standard equipment and can be viewed on YouTube. The songs are available on all major streaming platforms, e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, etc. 

RAW Academy 
RAW Academy, Real Actors Workshop (est. 2003), has been running specialised weekly workshops for children and young people in all areas of the performing arts for Stage & Screen for the past 17yrs. Their workshops are taught by a team of industry professionals whose nurturing and inclusive approach using empathy, resilience & well-being are always at the heart of how they work. RAW wants to make a lasting difference to their students' well-being and creative experiences.