New recording studio in the Marolles gives youth a voice

A new recording studio has recently opened its doors in the heart of the Marolles district in Brussels. The studio has been created to provide the young people and residents of the neighbourhood with the opportunity to explore music and sound creation. The idea is to provide the people of the Marolles, especially those in social housing, with a microphone through which they can voice their ideas and feelings.

The façade of 117 Rue de Terre-Neuve gives nothing away but once through the front door, a corridor leads you to a courtyard where, on the other side, a fully sound-proofed cabin has been set up with microphones, headphones and mixing equipment for budding musicians and sound engineers.

Behind the glass, one local resident, Hamza already feels at home in the sound booth. “It's a good place to express yourself, meet new people, and exchange socially and culturally,” he says, adding that he has never left the Marolles and grew up in one of the area's apartment blocks. “It's a kind of freedom."

The studio has been financed to the tune of €10,000 through the Made in Marolles initiative that supports local projects through a competition scheme. Plans are put forward in response to a call for projects and the winners are awarded funding through the initiative, part of the neighbourhood contract designed to support local actions. The studio is one of the winners of the third phase of calls.

A fourth edition is planned, with projects that should be initiated by the end of 2022. During its first four editions, Made in Marolles supported 46 citizen and associative initiative projects for a total budget of €325,000.