The human brain, that buzzy little organ weighing three pounds give or take, is responsible for higher-order functions such as communication, cooperation, and creativity. But these don’t exist in a biological vacuum; input is needed. Creatives thrive by feeding off of like minds, everybody riffing together.
Therein lies the key to SoundLab, a free-admission, uniquely collaborative open mic at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach marking its first anniversary in December. Every third Thursday of the month, the session put on by Good Problems Collective begins with three producers trying out new beats for an audience including lyricists, rappers, vocalists and songwriters that then votes on its favorite.
Good Problems co-founder Matt Kelly tells PureHoney what happens next: “We leave the winning beat on for 20 minutes, let the writers write, and then we have an open mic.” To quote one of the collective’s social posts, “What can you write in 20 minutes???” (No pre-writing allowed.)
Kelly says he got the idea for SoundLab while living in Oakland, California, and brought the open-mic variation he saw there back home to South Florida with the blessing of its creators. Almost one year in, he says, “The community impact has been tremendous: 600 sign-ups in 10 months, and 185 individual artists have been tracked, bringing in new people and repeat artists.”
Beat makers and performers from across the state have become aware of SoundLab, and they’re signing up via QR code to participate, Kelly says. What draws people and distinguishes SoundLab, he believes, is its hybrid of showcase and workshop. “The whole thing is a collaboration, producer showcase, and writer’s open mic, and we’re the only ones doing both,” he says.
Kelly and Co., have worked to grow the concept that he first encountered out west. They make each gathering “seamless and immersive,” in Kelly’s words, by deploying bespoke visual projections and other proprietary elements. Recordings of past SoundLab sessions are free online to stream. “We would love for the idea to spread,” Kelly says, adding, “Respectables has been really great about letting us do whatever we want, basically.”
SoundLab’s First Anniversary session is 8pm Thursday, December 18 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. Instagram @goodproblemscollective ~ Tim Moffatt
