This week we spend some time talking with Chelima who is in the middle of the European Tour which marks the release of her first EP, The Beholder.

She tells us about her love of singing and how she discovered, after many years working in the music business with other artists, that she wanted to become an artist and create and perform music of her own.

We talk the evolution of our work in the world, the things that sustain us and taking the difficult path of following our dreams.

Since she can remember Chélima’s first true love has been singing. But it wasn’t until one March morning in 2011, that she woke up and wanted to sing again. The Beholder and
also name of the title track on this five track EP is the result of a soul-affirming journey through Senegal and is an ode to Chélima’s artistic rebirth.

Chélima describes her style as “free soul” fusing blues, jazz and folk with an exotic twist borne from her French x Malian roots. She is not alone on this musical adventure and engages the talents of Bordeaux’s finest musicians in the shape of guitarist Jeannot Mendy, bassist Jasmin Ljutic, drummer Haze Francisco and pianist Valérie
Chane Tef – all consummate players on the French music scene with a collective wealth of musical experience spanning two decades. These outstanding musicians imbue The Beholder with soul and grace whilst elevating Chélima’s poetry to intoxicating new heights.

Connect with Chelima and her music:
You can find her online at www.chelima.net
Live: https://youtu.be/MwiNayt_1cA

The beholder video: https://youtu.be/6Vsgp2V9p7k

Our guest this week is Beverley Glick the ‘Story Archeologist’ who Co-Founded the Story Party with Mary Ann. She shares with us her process for supporting people to share and tell their stories and why it can have a profound impact on both them and their audience.

Beverley Glick has been telling stories for a living for more than 35 years, first as a music journalist and pop magazine editor and subsequently as a national newspaper all-rounder. In recent years she has reinvented herself as a story archaeologist and public speaking coach and trainer who helps people find their voice in the written and spoken word using the power of personal storytelling. She is also the co-founder of storytelling soiree The Story Party, which started in London five years ago and has now spread to Portsmouth, Stroud, Leeds and King’s Lynn.

Connect with Bev:

You can find her online at beverleyglick.com 
And the Story Party at thestoryparty.co.uk

This week we have a rich, deep conversation with Sophie Macklin about what it means to grieve, not only the loss in our lives, but our pain and sadness about things in the world and in our particular cultures which we feel sad and angry about. We explore what it means to express our grief and how we think that doing so can enrich our lives and help us to support one another.

Sophie Macklin is an anti-capitalist abundance coach and feminist priestess in love with the magic of valuing and care. She works with people on thriving within and despite capitalism as we all work to dismantle systemic oppression. She believes the current system for resource distribution is drastically unfair, and relies on the exploitation of land and people. She is working towards creating something different.  Sophie is passionate about women and queers getting supported for their work, mutual aid, and all of us getting imaginative about new economies and new ways of being.

Connect with Sophie:

You can find her online at www.feministabundance.com
And on Instagram: @sophieamacklin