Magic, music, family, resistance, a second home, liberdade (freedom), love, hope, community, solace in chaos...

These are some of the words that have been used by participants, mentors, teachers, academics and the local community of Goldsmiths Alchemy to describe what it is and what it does. We know it is a space for professional music training and access to youth workers for local 13-19 year olds in Lewisham, but it is so much more. As the programme approaches its 7th year, the Alchemy team is proud to present this collection of writing, poetry and music with portraits of the contributors by Chiara Ambrosio, that go deeper into understanding and expressing what Alchemy really is.

This mixtape contains music that has been created recently at Alchemy (some tracks were finished just days before this release, so very fresh!) and shows the range of creativities that take place at Alchemy, from spoken word to improvisation, from songwriting to rapping.

This download includes a digital copy of the Alchemy Is... book which features writing from Mikey Kirkpatrick, Lara Pereira, Esther Sayers, Kirsty Collander-Brown, Miranda McVicars, Andrés Peña, Jake Armstrong, Yasmin Ali, Kocoa Brown, Martin Vito, Zoe Olajide, Joshua Hunt, Rofeda Bougaga, Moziah DeRoche, Kieron Morris, Shavelle Jones and Alinda Petek.

The mixtape was compiled, mixed and mastered by Alchemy's founding director Mikey Kirkpatrick, who writes:

'I have infinite gratitude for the people who have made Alchemy possible; the team, past and present who attend every week and give everything that they have, the people who have supported with space, kindness, funding, or advice and constructive criticism, and of course all of the participants. We are in the process of better understanding how to make Alchemy sustainable in the long term, and this includes looking into how we can better evidence and evaluate the impact of what we are making. This book and mixtape, thanks to Goldsmiths Civic Engagement, is part of that process. There are so many stories we can tell, and what you see in this book is a small snapshot of what Alchemy is today. It is not simply a celebration of what we have done, but what can be done, and hopefully a source of inspiration to others who would like to do something similar'.