8 Rooms, 8 Films, 8 Months

Introducing Eight Rooms – a series of songs and films that I’ve been working on since last spring. This time last year I made the move from my studio, to a place closer to nature. It’s in one of the quieter parts of London that many people – myself included – take a little longer to discover.

The landscape – trees and vast green spaces – changed my perspective, and for the first few months all I could do was give thanks. With this period of change and solitude came a big wave of emotions I hadn’t fully met before – deep sadness, loss, grief, shame and many others that I felt personally afraid to accept, let alone tell people about. Maybe they were always there, under the surface, waiting for the right chance to come out and be heard. I was lucky to have wonderful people around me who supported me through this challenging time and still support me today. It showed me that others’ love can rescue you from yourself when things get particularly hard.

I also learnt to write more boldly and freely than before. I’ve always strived to speak truthfully from the heart but this time around I tried not to “cut corners” – not to mumble words, or find clever ways to soften what I was trying to say, whisper, or even scream.

Over the last year I realised the power of acceptance – letting your feelings out no matter how overwhelming they may seem at first. I learnt, and am still learning, to accept myself with, and without, these emotions.

And so, this is how Eight Rooms was born. I dreamt of creating a safe space for full and free expression. I decided to create short stories through the medium of film about the real emotions people may be feeling, or what they may be going through. Sure, we are each unique in how we feel things, but I truly believe there are so many more similarities between us than we think.

I hope you enjoy the Eight Rooms – the stories, the music, and the spaces in-between.

My intention was to create a space in which I can share my emotional world, in the hope that it builds a bridge to yours, so that, perhaps, you can join me in sharing more of you, too.

– Lyves