Creating visual music
Signkid
Silent World. Photo by Gabrielle Salonga.
Silent World. Photo by Gabrielle Salonga.
Signkid is a musical artist who translates British Sign Language and UK Sign Slang into a visual-based language for deaf and hard of hearing people, and hearing people who want to learn sign language.
He discusses his latest project, SILENT WORLD, and the need to make music more inclusive.
My name is Signkid and I’m a producer, writer, performer and a recording artist.
My work involves translating British Sign Language (BSL) and UK Sign Slang into my own original lyrics to make a more visual-based language suited specifically for deaf and hard of hearing people, and even hearing people who want to learn sign language.
SILENT WORLD
SILENT WORLD is a musical short film using rap, BSL and UK Sign Slang featuring myself, Signkid, as the central character and musical narrator. This film is about the world under attack by a virus discovered by a Deaf person. They are deeply lost amongst the public information and unable to access it.
This was the same experience for D/deaf people during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown inspired my idea for the short film and staff at Arts Council England shared their own ideas and collaborated with me to make this happen. It's very important to build a bridge between the deaf world and the hearing world to understand deaf people’s experiences in everyday life.
Silent World. Photo by Gabrielle Salonga.
Silent World. Photo by Gabrielle Salonga.
Arts Council England support has been important throughout my career journey. In 2020, I received a Developing your Creative Practice (DYCP) grant – which is a funding programme that supports individuals who are cultural and creative practitioners and want to take time to focus on their creative development.
This helped me to develop as an artist and actor to better myself for the long term. Without it, the production of SILENT WORLD would not have happened, nor would I have received nominations for an Oscar Qualifying Festival for the Academy Awards, and the BAFTA Qualifying Festival for the British Short Film. And there are still more nominations pending at the moment.
SILENT WORLD was made as part of BBC Arts and Arts Council England’s Culture in Quarantine. Watch it here.
Making music more inclusive
When I was younger there were no deaf artists who could have then inspired my work on TV. As a hearing artist, Kanye West was the main artist who inspired me because his work is innovative. When his new work drops, it feels experimental and different.
There are not a lot of artists who are similar to him, and this is what continues to inspire me as it’s all about new, fresh ideas. I like a challenge and I like learning new things, and this is vital to my process.
Friends from the United States have shared videos of American festivals that always provide deaf and hearing interpreters for deaf and hearing people in the crowd. Although the United States has not yet recognised American Sign Language as an official language, they have made a big difference for audiences.
So, the UK has a lot of work to do in providing BSL interpreters and subtitles on-screen to help deaf people to understand music and media output. The BSL Interpreter should be positioned next to artists or set up in an accessible venue for deaf/hard of hearing and disabled people. A big problem is that there are not enough deaf interpreters in the UK and this issue needs to be solved.
On 27 April 2022, a bill was passed recognising BSL as an official language. This means a lot to me, and it’s vital resources are allocated to make access improvements, like increasing the number of deaf interpreters. Today, I found out that a local cinema provided English subtitles for deaf awareness week. Deaf awareness and deaf access should be an everyday occurrence – and not for one week only.
Signkid. Photo by Rachel Alminas.
Signkid. Photo by Rachel Alminas.
What's next
I’m currently working on a few new singles that will be released soon and my music video for my track Squid Game was just released. I’m looking forward to working on a new EP or album in the near future too so keep an eye on my posts on social media to see what I have next in store.
Follow Signkid
Twitter @Signkidtwi
Instagram @Signkidgram
Facebook @signkidbook
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