Hedland Senior High School student Zahnaysha sits in front of a microphone, her ears covered by a large pair of headphones. She’s recording a rap that she’s written herself, so that it can be produced into a song.

Optamus (Scott Griffiths) raps alongside her, gradually dropping the volume of his own voice as she gains confidence. When she catches the rhythm you can feel the energy in the room shift and lift, like magic.

The expression on her face says it all. There’s joy, surprise and pride, all mixed in together.

This is a snapshot from the second artist residency for Now Sounds Hedland, which took place in late February.

This residency saw rapper and producer Optamus, Bunuba/Jaru/Bindjareb Nyoongar filmmaker, producer and performer Shakara Walley and Zambian-born Afro-fusion dance teacher and choreographer Mubanga travel to Hedland to lead workshops in beat making, rap, lyric-writing and intercultural dance.

That magical energy pervaded the residency.

It was the first time that the music and dance workshops have overlapped at Now Sounds Hedland. Peeking in one room you might find Mubanga running a dance workshop for community members. Walk around the corner and you could discover Scott and Shakara working with young people in the recording studio.

Also contributing to the buzz was the number of young people returning to Now Sounds. For some it was the third time they’d participated.

The fact that they have come back to the Now Sounds workshops, repeatedly, is a sign of their commitment to the project.

One of the attractions of Now Sounds is that it allows young people to be involved in the creative process. During this residency a number of participants recorded lyrics that they’d written themselves, in this residency or the previous one.

The atmosphere that the Now Sounds team creates sees young people clued into the creative energy of the project and their own creative energy, happy to soak up the vibes while they wait their turn, excited by the opportunity to explore a talent, or refine a skill.

Take Laquade (age 12), who has been an attendee since the team’s first trip to Hedland back in September last year. A natural lyric-writer and performer, Laquade has been absorbing new techniques with endless enthusiasm, including leadership skills. In this most recent residency we watched him support his peers, with words of encouragement or even just a gentle pat on the back.

With just one more residency left for Now Sounds Hedland, the team has already recorded a demo of the song that will be part of the project’s creative outcome. It sounds like a banger, with snappy rhymes complemented by soulful vocals.

But the real magic happens behind the scenes, as young people discover just how capable and creative they can be.

The third and final residency for Now Sounds Hedland takes place in April during Youth Week WA and will culminate in a community-wide celebration.