Youth access to recording studios can transform their relationships with music and provide pathways that may otherwise seem well out of reach. At Glebe Youth Service, Studio 37 offers young people between 12 and 18 the opportunity to learn about music production, hip-hop culture, and songwriting in a supportive environment. The collaboration between Nakama Arts and Glebe Youth Service combines technical instruction with mentorship, creating a space where participants develop both artistic skills and a better understanding of the music industry. Beyond teaching the mechanics of beat-making and recording, Studio 37 helps young people find their creative voice while building pathways to potential careers.
The Independent Foundation: A Different Approach
Established in 2022, Nakama Arts operates under a funding model distinct from most creative initiatives. Its founder, Chris Hamer-Smith, brings over fifteen years of industry experience as a producer, recording artist, and DJ, including the creation of two ARIA-nominated albums with his group Astronomy Class.
Working alongside Chris is Lorenz (known professionally as P.Smurf), whose journey in hip-hop began in his early teens.
“I’ve been doing hip-hop as a performer and as a writer, releasing music since I was quite young, since around 13-14. I started to MC in about 2003, and then by 2005, I was doing live performances. Over the next few years, we are doing lots of gigs with our group Reverse Polarities. Releasing selfengineered mix tapes and CDs out of our bedroom.” Lorenz explains.
Unlike many arts programs constantly struggling for dwindling government grants, Nakama Arts operates from a position of financial independence.
“One of the best things about Nakama Arts is that it’s independently funded. It’s not relying on government funding or community funding” Lorenz says. This support comes through Technical Audio Group (TAG), a physical music distribution company, and their charitable arm, TAG Cares.
“We’re not competing for funding. We’re only aligning ourselves with organisations that we feel could use our support”.
This funding model provides stability, allowing the program to focus on development rather than constantly seeking grants.
From Student to Mentor: A Natural Progression
Studio 37 also encourages a transition from student to mentor. Mali, one of the younger instructors, is one example of this journey, having first come to the studio as a high school student interested in making music.
“Since I was in high school, I started making beats here at the studio,” Mali recalls. After absorbing the technical and artistic elements during her mentorship, Mali found herself invited to guide others on the same path. Her transition from participant to mentor reflects a cyclical process of giving back to the program while continuing with her professional development.
When asked about what she most values from her time with Nakama Arts, she responds, “probably just how much I’ve learned about song making and how much I’ve developed as an artist. I’ve learned a lot about what I like [to compose and sign], and then I’ve learned how to do that.” This self-knowledge–understanding not just the technical aspects but one’s artistic identityforms one key pillar of the program’s success.
Beyond the Classroom Paradigm
While structure exists within Studio 37, the approach differs from traditional mentorship programs. Friday nights transform into open studio sessions where community members between 12 and 18 years of age drift in and out, each finding their own relationship with music.
“That’s more of an open session, free form. If someone rocks up, we could work with them on building whatever style of music they would like,” explains Lorenz, highlighting the program’s responsiveness to individual interests rather than prescribed curricula.
Mali further expresses their unique approach: “To be honest, it’s not a classroom type of thing at all. As much as they say workshop, we’ll sit up here and we’ll start making a beat usually just on our own and then wait for kids to come in. They give us a reference of something they like, and we try and teach them how to recreate it.”
Balancing Creative Expression with Positive Content
Contemporary music, commercial rap among those, often features themes of violence, wealth, and other potentially negative content. Young aspiring artists naturally draw inspiration from what they hear in mainstream music. The instructors at Studio 37 work to balance respect for creative expression while encouraging more constructive themes.
“A lot of rap music that they might be listening to,” Mali says, “which is mainstream for their generation… is about violence, it’s about money, it’s about negative things that, quite frankly, kids that age shouldn’t be listening to.”
“To have a microphone and utilize your voice, it’s a great opportunity to be able to connect with people and show them a positive way out of their situation.”
The mentors at Studio 37 don’t seek to censor expression, but rather to reveal the responsibility that comes with artistic voice.
“To have a microphone and utilize your voice, it’s a great opportunity to be able to connect with people and show them a positive way out of their situation,” Lorenz says. “Having a voice to be able to record and show that music to a wider group of people, you’re in a position of power there, and we want to empower the kids to utilize that position to enrich their communities, listeners and audience.”
The approach isn’t to sanitize or simplify. Rather, it’s to expand: “I don’t ever want to stifle someone’s creative outlet, but we always encourage people to talk about… how can we find a way around this situation? If we’re going to talk about something heavy, how can we create an avenue away from that at the end? Or how can we educate people into potential ways of supporting themselves or supporting each other throughout their lives?”
The Music Industry’s Shifting Terrain
The last decade has witnessed tectonic shifts in how music reaches audiences. Physical albums have largely surrendered to streaming platforms, altering not just distribution but the fundamental economic structures supporting artists.
“Over the last 10 to 15 years, the industry has swayed a lot from physical sales into music streaming. Spotify and Apple Music have become the major ways of connecting and distributing your music.” Lorenz explains. This more open access has double-edgedimplications: while artists can now release music independently without label backing, the support systems traditionally provided by industry structures have also narrowed.
Hip-hop’s technical accessibility – requiring fewer physical instruments than many genres – has positioned it at the forefront of this DIY revolution. Yet the question remains: how can artist’s survive now that music has lost so much of its economic value?
Here, Nakama Arts intervenes. The program offers a non-profit label structure, where revenues flow back to the artists rather
than being siphoned upward. Along with studio access, engineering expertise, and industry guidance, this model offers a chance for young creatives to grow beyond mere artistic development, towards actual career viability.
“I think having support networks to be there that aren’t taking any money from that artist, but are inputting their knowledge and facilities and connections to help grow and educate artists on the best ways—I think that’s something that Nakama is really amazing at,” Lorenz reflects.
The Community Canvas: Glebe’s Distinctive Composition
Studio 37 doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s embedded within Glebe, a suburb with a unique demographic and social composition that is reflected in the program’s participation.
The challenges faced by many young participants stem from broader socioeconomic realities. As Mali puts it, music is also affected by “how socioeconomic issues like poverty or family issues impact kids that are still growing up, still learning about the world.”
The studio offers neither escape nor distraction from these realities, but rather a constructive channel through which to process and express them. “We make it clear that this room is for music; anything that doesn’t belong in this positive space, shall be kept out,” Mali emphasizes.
This necessary boundary-setting creates the adequate atmosphere to channel creativity into a healthy expression.
Beyond Entertainment: The Case for Continued Support
Studio 37 stands as a reminder of art’s fundamental role in community cohesion and individual development.
“Glebe is an extremely special space with a tight, strong community and so much talent,” Lorenz says, ‘The youth centre as a whole, people should be investing in that because it is just a really great place for the community to come, to connect, and to get the support that they might need.”
“Glebe is an extremely special space with a tight, strong community and so much talent. The youth centre as a whole, people should be investing in that because it is just a really great place for the community to come, to connect, and to get the support that they might need.”
After more than a decade witnessing the centre’s impact, Lorenz has witnessed the benefits from plenty of lived experience: “It needs ongoing support and funding from a wider group. It’s a key meeting point and support for that community, and we’re very blessed to be a part of it.”
At its core, Studio 37 represents a counterargument to mainstream narratives about youth, creativity, and community. While commercial forces restrain creative freedom through the narrow interest of what is marketable, this modest studio in Glebe invests in authenticity and connection – qualities that may not immediately translate to streaming numbers but build something far more valuable: voices that will carry forward long after the trends have faded.