Music4Care wins National Kid’s Count Award!!!

On Monday evening, Inspired Youth & The Springboard Project joined Music4Care participants in Westminster London to attend the Kid’s Count Inspiration Awards 2014. In a high profile event held in the Houses Of Parliament, Danny and Dean Innes took to the stage to collect their award to applause from the audience including MPs. Music4Care won the prestigious  ‘Most Inspirational Campaign On Youth Issues’ award in a fierce category, against an array of other projects from across the country.

The night was a great experience for the brothers who had taken part in writing and performing in the video produced by Inspired Youth. It demonstrates what young people can achieve when you create opportunities for them to shine!

The music4care project was commissioned by The Springboard Project and gave care leavers the chance to share their experiences of care through a song come video. The If you haven’t seen the film featuring rapper Liam KRITIKAL Powers and Isi Dawson yet you can watch it here

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11559363.___Inspirational____project_praised_with_top_prize/?ref=rss

Proud Moment for the brothers who represented on behalf of all the young people involved. Image courtesy of Kids Count .

 

Care Leavers Evaluate their #Music4Care Experience

The #music4care project launched on April 1st 2014 to rapturous applause and tear filled eyes, as the gravity and power of the message in the video hit home to the audience. Since then the film has been praised and supported online by High profile Care Leavers such as Lemn Sissay with this tweet and Paolo Hewitt who supported the launch with an inspirational speech. In addition Sir Ken Robinson famous for the most viewed Ted Talk ever, also Tweeted about the film! The film was even championed by the NSPCC in this tweet!

7,908 views later the film has been seen far and wide and in countless countries around the world. The film will has been accepted into its first film festival which we will announce soon and it is to be presented at the National Care Leavers Conference in October. Amazing!!!

All that said, what impact did the project really have on those who took part? In this new video the young people behind the song and film talk about their experience of being involved!

 

HOW TO FLY – Available to download

We are very excited to announce that “How To Fly” (Kritikal Powers Feat Isi Dawson) released Today **29th APRIL 2014** on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3, Google Play, Deezer and many more http://bit.ly/1mTSrs3 #music4care #HowToFly

“How To Fly” Video Gets Retweet from Seal!!!!

With the buzz of the launch still in the air, the inspired young people behind #Music4Care, The Springboard Project, Inspired Youth, Digital Sun Media, the Lord Mayor of York and attendees from the launch, all set about sharing the link to “How To Fly” online to try and reach the wider public with the powerful message in the song.

The feedback has been immense! On Twitter @Seal and @KokeUSG have retweeted, as well as the likes of the Author Teresa Cooper Author and even the Childrens Commissioner for Wales!!!!

 

If that wasn’t cool enough, the young people managed to draw the attention of  National Charity @NSPCC who tweeted the video and blog to 100,00 followers today!!!

The project has also been given a wide range of exposure through local and national press.

You can read all articles here; theguardian TheYorkMix ThePress Pre Launch Article The Press One&Other

It has also had very inspiring feedback from a wide range of people such as social workers and professionals working in the care system.

One said, “Wow!  I have just watched your video!!! I cannot put into enough words of how the video made me feel….Very moving, absolutely brilliant and such talented customers…

It is also a brilliant opportunity for all these individuals to express themselves and how well they did it… I am just wiping the tears…”

Another said “Just watched your video, it really inspired me and reminded me why I came into this type of work.  Well done to you and your young people.”

The video was also seen by the Children in Care Council, who said they love the track! So it went up on their website to see it click here.

What a fantastic start to sharing #music4care and its powerful stories and experiences with the wider world. We look forward to seeing how that unfolds. #aspire2more

 

“How To Fly” : Epic Premiere Wows Audience

The wave of energy that progressively built as the launch night edged closer, came to an immense crescendo on an unforgettable night packed with emotion and that word again, ‘hope’.

The young people’s journey into adult life was just beginning and Paolo Hewitt was about to make sure they knew that in an emotional and beautifully thought provoking reading from his new book “BUT WE ALL SHINE ON – THE REMARKABLE ORPHANS OF BURBANK CHILDREN’S HOME.”

There were some funny moments but emotionally charged and as it turned out the event had it all, laughter and tears, sadness but joy and hope.

The live exclusive first ever performance of the track since its creation was amazing! Featuring Liam KRITIKAL Powers and Isi Dawson

It was soon time to show the film which was recieved with rapturous applause. Give the film a watch and if you like it share it on #music4care…

The Lord Mayor prepares to give her reactions to the audience after watching “How To Fly”

Some of the young people read speeches out, very powerful words on the aspirations they had for the film to reach out and help people and how the process had lifted their spirits!

The Lord Mayor  Julie Gunnell praised the young people and the #music4care project saying it was “Inspirational” and “Absolutely amazing” and was delighted to present them with cirtificates recognising their achievements.

Kritikal prepares for a live performance with one of the stars of the show.

The #music4care team are Joined by Julie Gunnell and Paolo Hewitt for a photoshoot with The Press photographer

It was a momentous occasion supported whole heartedly by York St John University who hosted it in the fantastic Fountains Learning Centre, an environment fitting for an event designed to raise aspirations and hopes for the future.

#aspire2more

Pre Launch Audio-Visual Test

As the clock counts down for the premiere, to prepare, Dave Young from Digital Sun Media pulled together a team to set up and test the audio and visuals ahead of the launch. It was a chance to see the venue in full effect, a stunning 180 seater auditorium kindly provided by project partners York St John University. It makes for an immense environment, and an amazing atmosphere, fit for celebrating the work of all the people involved, and in particular the young people behind the song and video!

KRITIKAL came down to test run his performance with the audio set up.

Next it was time to to test the video. It was starting to feel like it was all coming together for a very special event, thanks to Dave and his team of technicians and engineers from the music production course at YSJ!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music4Care project gets YORK PRESS write up!

The exciting music4care project was shared with the wider community today, you can read the feature here in the York Press. It is a great start to the build up of momentum as we near the launch on APRIL 1st 2014!! The premier will see the track (written by the young people) performed live by Liam KRITIKAL Powers and Isi Dawson before screening the music video produced by Inspired Youth in front of 180 people including former NME journalist and author Paolo Hewitt and the Lord Mayor of York.

Music Video Review

The Springboard project team and partners all came together to see Inspired Youth’s work in progress on the edit of the music video. It has been a long and emotional journey and it was nice to see it all coming together and share it as partners. We can wait to see it on the big screen come launch night!

Once we had all cried and shared our feedback the discussions moved to the launch night and how to make the event the best it could possibly be in honour of the young people and everything they have achieved through the process.

Even the brand new Springboard Project manager came along to catch up with all the inspiration!!!

The collective excitement for the premiere event is very big and everyone is looking forward to seeing the young people shine!

 

Izzy – Editing at IY

Today i got to come Inspired Youth and  have a look at the edit for the Springboard Music video.

Its been a really good insight in to how all the pieces off the film is coming together to create a really powerful piece of work to express the views of young people who have been in care. When i first came in Kev should me the first start of the draft edit of the film. Its already looking really good, and emotional.

Kev then showed me how to do some editing on final cut pro, this was a really good insgiht into how Inspired Youth works. Liam then showed me how to do some editing for the video (sycning up the clips with the song) I found that this is a very picky hard thing to do, and can often take a long time to get it looking right and proffesianl. Liam then showed me how to change the colours on the clips and make them look more eefective. I then got to have a try at doing this, and found that this doing this to a clip makes the clips look alot more effective.

From the clips that i have seen so far the video is looking really good, and I’m abit taken back in how emotional the video is already looking just with the draft of the first 30 seconds. Its amazing how the song and the filming is coming together to create a really powerful piece of video and music. I cant wait to see the final piece!!

Music Vid Shoot – Day 4

The final day brought a group of all the young people back together to shoot various scenes for the video. All the young people got involved and their performances were unbelievable! It was such a great journey and an amazing and emotional cruschendo to a truly inspirational project. Danny was first up to bring his performance and he was quick to get into it. First we tried to get a shot of him running near some birds but soon as we got anywhere near them they all flew away!!! It was fun and we got muddy feet doing it in the freezing cold, but it was all for the project so everyone was cool with it!

Next Danny raised the bar playing his character, a brother missing his brother. He was very good and came up with loads of ideas to try.

Here the brothers meet again and embrace. Very emotional stuff.

Heres John cracking jokes and bringing his Yorkshire humour Inspired Youth were privileged to meet everyone and be a part of the immense journey.

Sheltered from the cold… Banging the tunes on…

There were so many brilliant performances everyone exceeded their own expectations and tried things they had never experienced.

Everyone took it seriously and played their part.

There were positive shots representing the good in life, hope, freedom, having a voice, futures, aspirations… life chances.

Heres the crew holding up their messages to the world…

The amount of passion and commitment put in was next level and at the end everyone came together. 

At the very end KRITIKAL gets swamped in a crazed moment of effect ion at the end of a momentous project. It was an emotional and moving experience. Next stage is post production where the music and video will come together and create a sort of powerful fusion of the entire journey…

 

Music Vid Shoot – Day 3

Today we worked with Isi Dawson, a young artist with a big heart. Isi’s vocals carry the young peoples message and help to share it with the world. Today she took to the stage to film her scenes. Her character was a girl who had grown up in care, she is remembering her journey and has been crying. But despite the scars of emotion she finds the strength to carry on, to make someone of herself and leave the judgements of her behind.  It was a very heartfelt and genuine performance. We used a simple set with a mirror and a chair.

Later in the scene the character builds confidence and starts to feel like the world has no limitations and that they have the strength to go on. It was very inspirational to see Isi throw herself into a new experience like this. She was very professional and worked hard to put all her emotion into the music video.

Next up KRITIKAL took to the riverside to do some bars on camera. The clouds were moody and then the sun broke through which mirrors the words of the track. It was amazing to see.

To see more pictures and the full blog post click here

Music Vid Shoot – Day 2

Today was Deans time to shine. Dean was playing a character who was missing his brother and who was feeling sad about not getting to see him because of his care situation. It was Dean’s first time working on a professional production and so he was a bit nervous but he brought good acting skills and developed in confidence as the shoot went on. We used a track and dolly to get shots of Dean in character, as he was looking through his phone and hoping for his brother to call. Then we moved on to shots about memories of times they had had together. Dean did amazing with no previous acting experience and really made the charter convincing.

Here Dean clutches a photo of his brother. It was quite an emotional scene and he did the team proud with his performance.

We now look forward to two more days of filming to capture the final scene. The video, which starts by putting their care experiences into context, begins to change from negative into positive and culminates in aspiration and hope, shows their resilience and will focus on all the great things these young people have to look forward to, despite all the experiences they have endured.

Here’s Dean’s character looking forward and in to the light…

Music Vid Shoot – Day 1

With all the momentum of the music production carrying the team forward, it was time to embark on creating a dramatic music video to do justice to the epic track the group had created. We were priveledged to work with young actress Keeva Curran whose perfromance was unbelievable. Keeva plays a character coming home from school to find her bags packed and proffessionals waiting to take her in to care.

These were very difficult scenes for a young actress but done convincingly and with conviction and authenticity. Although the scenes were emotive the production day was fun and there was a great team spirit. There was even time to have a laugh!!

Next it was time for the young people to play their part in the film. Some played characters while others did lip-sync performances too the song. Here is Izzi spitting some bars under the guidance of KRITIKAL!

Here is Scotty looking out into the sunshine, highlighting his character is looking forward to better days.

Here is Scotty shooting a P.O.V (Point of view) shot of his own character on the shoot.

Next it was time for Ruth to do some on screen singing to the track. As a new-comer to the process she was very quick to catch the vibe of the project and she gave a really impressive performance.

Then it was time for KRTIKAL to spit bars for the video. We found a nice location with a fence and KRITIKAL smashed his performance!

It was a fantastic first day and it is exciting that we have our first shoot in the can.

Mix Down – Kritikal and DigitalSunMedia

After all the hard work the young people had put into the creative process the production team were determined to get the track sounding amazing. We found Dave Young at the desk working on the track when we arrived.

It was already sounding big after Digital Sun Media had worked on the track for several hours but now KRITIKAL came to hear the progress and as the key artist overseeing the product, gave his ideas about the mix.

KRITIKAL and Dave made some live changes as they listened through and discussed ideas.

KRITIKAL was keen to give his input. It was really important to him to treat the process as if it was his own production. He was passionate, as was Dave about getting it sounding right. Daves production skills and KRITIKAL’s vision and passion for music was a perfect fusion.

Here they are discussing elements of the chorus which is already sounding very powerful. That was always the intention, that the power and key message of the track was carried by the chorus and the verses tell the story.

 

Dave Young – Digital Sun Media

The hard work, passion, team work and great vibe from this project is amazing. In 24 years of working with Young people, this project will stay in my memory for years to come…Quite frankly it has left me humbled! The whole team is working like a well oiled cog, Inspired Youth are not called that for no reason, Springboard workers, your energy, passion and care is a credit to you all. Rack Mount records guys, again you are showing your excellent production credentials…. Izzy, Joe Fod, Digital Sun Media are proud to have you working with us….. And finally to all the young folk involved, without you guys we would not have such a powerful, honest, heartfelt and most of all bloody well written track…. I salute you…….Now lets all get back to the job in hand, Wensley Dale anyone?

Session 7 – Final Studio Day

This was our last day in the studio. By now we were all really feeling like a team, and the mutual passion for the track we were making meant things quickly started to come together. The last day in the studio proved a very  inspiring and enjoyable experience. What a journey so far!

The young people were really getting confident now and taking their opportunities, on the desk, in the live room and in the recording booth.

Many of the team almost couldnt believe the quality of what we were putting together. There were many funny moments and spirits were high. 

The Rack Mount Records producers had really become an  intricate part of the team. Here is them feeling the love!

Being in the studio can be hard work and takes lots of focus but there were always moments of fun and laughter!

The words of the track resounded through the studio, powerful and provocative – these words were inspired by real experiences of care and could really move audiences when they hear the track.

In the second part of the session a reporter came from the The Press to find out what the project was all about. She took photos and asked the team questions about what it was like and what they were getting from the project. The young people spoke passionately and were very articulate with their views.

Heres Callum holding up words from our track…

For the last part of the session, with the track almost complete, there was time for Rack Mount Records to set up drums in the live room where Access to Music ran a live jamming session.

Even KRITIKAL and the Springboard team got up on the drums!!

It was an amazing 2 weeks of production and we are very proud of what was achieved. Some of the young people were so inspired they signed up to apply for a course with Access to Music

 

Geminem

I have just literally come out of the vocal booth and I never thought my singing was as good as it is. It was nerve racking at first, but once I started getting into it, I found my own comfort zone and I came out of the vocal booth buzzing!!!!!!

KerryLou

Since my last blog I’ve missed a couple of sessions but today we have all come back together to see the finished result.

I hope that when people listen to the song they will be able to learn from it and it will make their lives better.

When I listened to the song, it thought it was better than I could have expected. It sounds really good.

 

Georgia

I’ve never written any music before and it was good to get involved. I didn’t think that this was something that I’d be able to do, but it was great being part of it.

This has also been a good chance to meet new people, make new friends and spend time with people from different areas.

SESSION 6 – RECORDING MASHUP CONTINUES

In session 6, the second half of the group got in the studio and started laying down more vocals to make the track sound even more powerful. We are starting to get a really full sound on the song now by adding the young peoples voices to the verses and chorus. The group was very focused and all the young people gave it a go in the recording booth.

Here is Springboard staff member Tamsin  with Isi the vocal artist during a well earned break from studio time. Here KRITIKAL listens to the playback during the recordimg sessions. Here are the tech guys from RackMount records helping to produce the track.

KRITIKAL supporting the young people in the recording booth.

Kev sings a ballard just for fun.  

Springboard young people were really confident in the studio and were really taking to the project. 

KRITIKAL and Kev.

Everyone involved gave recording a go which is really impressive as stepping up to the mic takes a lot of confidence.

Dave Young checks in on the process to ensure everything is in order and of the highest quality.

 

 

Confidence is key.

We are now on our final stage of the recording process and eveyone is looking forward to the final day in the studio.

JOKER

since i last posted we have done a track and it was hard because we were timed for 2 weeks and and we had to get it recorded  so many time to get it right and to get it sound the best it can be and we are  ready to get it out there .

Tamsin Trevorrow-Earl

Another night in the studio…. it has been an amazing  time so far being involved with Inspired Youth. Seeing all our young people from the Springboard project going from strength to strength in expressing themselves in a way some of them  have never before.

I feel honoured to be involved. The atmosphere between all of us has been awesome and talent is flowing in all directions… its Mint

Although i must say Kev needs to make the topic of his “photos” a bit more varied!!!! ;))

Joe – Artist

Working with everyone on this project has truly been a wonderful experience. I’ve enjoyed working with everyone to build something that hopefully will be truly inspirational to other people in similar situations as the people I’ve been with through the springboard project. Teaching them how to write lyrics particularly was the best bit for me as everyone was really open and everyone had a go which was really nice that everyone felt that relaxed.

HABZY

since my last blog we have got a full song recorded and had it sorted to sound better we are now layering the song with different voices on all the impact words I’ve done it and a few other people have done the same its going awesome so far with a lot of laughs on the way we’ve got this session today and one more tomorrow gonna be a laugh for the rest of the way and getting a sik ass tune out of it the songs comin on very well so far through this session so can’t wait for the end of tomorrow😀

Kritikal Powers – Progression Update

The progression that everyone has made in the project now is next level. The young people have now written the 2 verses for the track along with some spoken word poetry with my guidance. After session 5, we have managed to record the 2 verses and chorus for the song. We all went into the studio and split into 2 groups, i went in the booth and recorded the verses, then the other group went in and got the chorus down. Towards the end of the session, a large number of young people and workers went into the live room to record the chorus all singing together. It was a great session and i think everyone is really happy with the way the song sounds so far. Now we need to get more vocals recorded to make it sound even more epic than it already is and start to mix down the track. I can’t wait to hear the final product and start production on the music video.

Session 5 – Recording Mashup

With the project in full swing all we really needed to do was keep the momentum we had build up and focus that energy into the recording of the track. The session started with a professional discussion about decisions that needed to be made about the structure of the song. On the previous session all the artists, the young people the springboard team and made a decision together about how the song should go. We decided as a group that the spoken word in the middle of the song would make way for an extended chorus and that we would look to put the spoken  word as bookends at the start and at the end. Some of the photos in this blog are taken by the young people. Good skills…

Dave Young and Fodder were so happy about the project they started hugging!

Soon it was time for KRITIKAL to step up to the Mic and start putting down the bars on the recording.

There continued to be a positive focus within the core of the group on the task in hand. It took patience and focus as the group learnt that the creative process can mean doing lots of takes and trying new things and exploring ideas live. The production team came together and brought their talents and ideas to the mix!

When we werent recording we did cool stuff with our hands to make them look blurry🙂

There was constant progression all around. Everyone was developing their skills and getting involved including the artists project workers and professionals in the room.

Here’s some of the lads on the project giving it large! Everyone was excited about what we were creating together.

Here is one of the group joining the recording crew in the studio as the vocals were being put down for the chorus.

Every time we recorded something we listened back, even applauded the artists and every time felt even more hyped!!

KRITIKAL putting bars down in the booth.

Here are some of the actual words of the chorus written out. The group used them to sing in the live room.

We brought back musicians from the first part of the project, who helped to vocal coach the group and build confidence.

Here is some of the team singing together in the live room. Everyone was really getting into it, it was great to see so much passion. The Springboard staff also got involved which was awesome to see.

The group have fun watching the big screens and interacting via the various rooms.

Dave Young leading a debate about the structure of the song. As a professional and a musician he was very impressed with the level of quality we were aspiring to.

Brothers in arms…

Ali and Izzy were cracking up with laughter inbewteen takes. This photo captures the atmosphere of the project so far.

It has been fantastic so far and the progression is next level. The whole team are excited about the final track and the video shoot that will follow to visualise the track.

Debbie – Springboard

I am a member of staff working with the Springboard project

I am amazed and inspired by the calibre of talent we have working on this music project. I’m proud to be part of a team of artists and producers who are creating something utterly unique and emotionally moving. When I refer to artists and producers…I am referring to the young people involved. I’m blown away by their talent in writing, rapping, singing, collaborating, and inspiring each other. Their technical ability is amazing and I’m wondering if this is the beginning of a possible career for many of them.

The motivation, bravery and dedication that everyone is showing is remarkable and some of the skills that are being uncovered are amazing to watch. These are really talented people being thrust together in a space to create an outcome that is extraordinary. Talking about being in care is NOT EASY, let alone creating a piece of professional music to try get a message out to other young people in care.

The hairs stand on the back of my neck every time I listen to the track.

I’m humbled to be a part of it and I’m proud of everybody who is contributing to it. I take my hat off to you guys!

Dean & Danny

Dean

I have been working on a music project about young people in care. so far since the first session we have wrote down how and why we have been in care an how it affected us. Having missed a couple of sessions come back an the song was almost finished an i noticed some of our lyrics was put into the verse an chorus. when i first listened to the track i could relate to most of the song on how we was brought up an went through the care system. i hope this song reaches out to all that is in care an can relate to it an that there is help out there.

Danny

I came to this project because I thought it would be a good opportunity, and a good chance to say what I felt about the care system. The first part of the project we created some characters to help us think about what experiences we had been through in  care, then we started to write some lyrics about it. We wrote one of the main verses in the final track. The main thing I want the track to achieve is to give young people going through care now some hope and inspire people. Hopefully it can help other young people realise they can do something positive and use their experiences for good, rather than going down the wrong path. When they listen to the track or read the words I hope that it makes their day and give them something positive to smile about, and I hope that they share it with their mates and that it goes viral so more people hear it.

Session 4 – Finishing bars and studio recording

The momentum of the project was in full swing on session 4. KRITIKAL worked closely with one group on finishing the bars and writing some new lines for a spoken word piece in the track.  The other group worked with IZZI to put down some new chorus vocals.

Once the song was completely written we all came back together to work in the studio. Some of the lads were keen to learn about the technology and were soon running the desk.

There was a good atmosphere in the room and everyone was enjoying it but also being focused and contributing to the creative process.

We were soon recording ahead of schedule with KRITIKAL in the booth!! Then it was time for the young people to record their voices. Everyone rose to the challenge!!
Here is KRITIKAL in the recording booth with one of our inspired participants. It was a great day and everyone laughed. The song is  emotional but the spirits were high. Here KRITIKAL gets down to business spitting bars written by the group. Dave Young captures all the recordings using industry standard technology.

We are proper excited to see the project unfold further, its a proffessional piece of work, engineered by the minds, talents and experiences of young people who have been through care.

Kev – Reflections so far

I’m so moved by this project. I look around at the characters, young people, maybe tarnished by reputation, marred by stereotypes, just trying to get by, feeling judged by everyone around them but having to go on regardless, trying to keep that head held high. Well, i tell you something now, you should have your head’s held high, you are legends in your own right, powerful and full of potential. I see where you are coming from, I feel that pain and desperation you experienced along the way, but look at what you are doing with that experience; sharing it with others just to make them stronger and more equipped to survive everything you already went through. This is one of the projects of my lifetime and I am so proud to be a part of it. Aspire to more.

KerryLou

I have really enjoyed myself so far. In our project so far we have done work on how it makes us feel to be in care and we have created a character  for a song based on our real experiences. This project has been really fun to get involved with, i didn’t expect to be able to write poetry and write lines for a song as i wasn’t very good at things like this back at school. I was involved in writing the bars for the verses of the song which were all about everyones different experiences of care.

I think the studio is really good, when i saw it i  thought it was amazing I’ve only really seen a studio like that on tv and to actually be in one felt so weird. The studio has got a sound proof room which has really thick walls and when someone stood outside of the room and shut the door they shouted and all we could see from the inside of the room is there mouth moving and were trying to lip read. There is a small room with a microphone hanging down from it so people can do solo singing in there. The other room has got decks in it which are connected up to a computer and there is lots of different speakers to pick up different types of sounds from each one. Each room has got cameras which are monitered in the room which has the decks.

what you think of song. The song so far has got the first verse and half of the second  one done and the chorus done which i helped to do some of the verses. I really liked the song we have done. When doing the verses we took inspiration from some of the things that we had written about being in care.

I think our song is going to help other young people going through the same thing and hopefully it’ll give them some confidence knowing that they are not alone.

I have enjoyed coming to this project because it’s get me away from home for a bit and gives me experience to do something different that I’m not used to doing. It helps me build my confidence with other people. I’ve really enjoyed myself so far.

Geminem

The first session we did was when we all got into groups and talked about what our characters should be like through our own experiences from being in care. I found it really interesting to find out from other people what it was like for them when they were in care.

The second session we listened to some artists performed to us and then we followed on with making positives and negatives for the characters we created. We then started working on the chorus within our groups and we came up with some great lines to be used as a chorus.

The third session Liam performed again and taught us about ‘stacking ammo’. then our group finished writing the chorus whilst the other group were still working on the rap.

I hope to achieve more confidence in singing my own songs in front of other people. I also find this project to be not only music based but will help others to understand better that everyone’s experiences are different.

Liam Kritikal Powers

Over the last 4 sessions, everyone on the project has been fully engaged and given their input into the project. Everyone has worked really hard to create content to use for the track and its been a pleasure to work with everyone. The level of commitment has been great and I can’t wait to see the final product!

Josh T

I have been working on the springboard music project this week with kev and kritikal learning about writing bars and creating music in the studio.
Also been talking and sharing experience of care with others in the group and also building a character from experiences we have shared in the group.
We have been writing words from experiences and taking select words and using them in the track also meeting new people who have been through the same sort of experiences.
I have really enjoyed working with everyone on the project and also learning/trying new things.
I have also enjoyed working in the studio and hearing what has been achieved so far and can’t wait for the final product to be complete.

Grim Reaper

rebellion is a really good song and it told me a bit more about other people’s lives and it inspired me. Listening to other people’s stuff is helpful before I started to write my own stuff. Writing songs and choruses is new to me and I found it hard to begin with, but I feel more confident now than when we started. Getting to know different people and different styles of music and writing has really opened my eyes to what I can do. I’m looking forward to getting the chorus finished with everyone else and seeing the finished piece. Making the music video is something that I’m looking forward to too. I hope whoever sees this article realises what we’ve been able to do whilst being on this course. I believe that I can do this well.

the joker

One of the highlights of this project is getting heard by people, getting them to understand what it’s like to be looked after by local authority. It’s been good to meet and talk to everyone. I’ll be really happy if we could produce a good sounding track with a message the same as Eminem’s ‘When I’m Gone’. I would like this track to be sold so we can make money for good causes and to do this project again.

Kritikal Junior

It’s been a bit strange talking about being in care with people who I barely know. It ended up being alright though cause everyone’s been through it. Learning how to start writing songs was something that I enjoyed which surprised me because I’m not confident with writing, but I know more about it now. Spending time with professional artists was a massive plus and  I really enjoyed hanging out. Best bit so far was having the chance to use the mixing desk in the studio. The equipment is brilliant and it’s something that I’ve never done before. Respect to Liam! Big up Kev and that.

Isi Dee

I’ve recently been given the opportunity to work with some amazing individuals on the springboard project, and one of the first things we focused on was creating a character for the track we are recording.

I am so impressed so far with the progress we have made, every single person involved in this project has gone the extra mile and I am glad that they have felt comfortable enough to share their touching stories with me. Yesterday I got into the vocal booth and jammed out a view chorus idea’s and got some great feedback, everybody was very enthusiastic and we even got a couple of girls wanting to get into the booth and have a go at singing, as well as a lad who wanted to have a go at drumming!  Its wonderful to see this amount of participation at this stage and I cannot wait to continue this project!

On a side note- definitely need more tea

WENSLEYDALE MASSIVE

habzy

To start with we all just introduced and started writing about our experiences which later lead to the making of the character for our song. we’ve been introduced to the professional music studio which was sick and we’ve wrote a few bars and a chorus for the song i don’t really know what got done on the third session because i was not their but apparently they got a lot done and I’m looking forward to hearing it. I’ve had an awesome experience so far and theres better ones to come and I’m hoping to get a professionally developed track by the end of this project and anyone who hears it says thats sick as.

Cassandra

Working with Springboard as a mentor on this project has been an amazing experience. Working together with both the young people and the team, we have all been writing a song together about the experience of going through the care system. Some of the experiences have been written down and used for the lyrics of the song, working with songwriters to get the message across, of moving on from care and making the way in the world. We have created characters from the experiences, which were used to create the lyrics for the song. The artists working with us, showed live performances of their own work, to give us all inspiration, and we were shown examples from other well known artists. We were taught a technique called stacking ammo, which showed us how to write down words associated with what we were writing about, then rhyming them with other words/phrases to be used in the song, if we had writers block. It has all been really inspiring, and the hope is that at the end of all this hard work, the message will be able to come across, of how it truly feels to have gone through the care system, but the hope there is after it all.

Session 3 – Writing Verses with “KRITIKAL”

Session 3 was electric and started with a passionate live performance by KRITIKAL. The performance created a massive energy in the room and left the group energised and focused on the task ahead – writing the verses for our song about experiences of care.

Next KRITIKAL taught the group about ‘stacking amo’ which means to brainstorm words to use for more powerful and creative writing. The group discussed words that reflected their experiences and stacked amo for the song writing.

KRITIKAL then took the group through his ideology for writing and showed examples of different beats and flows.

He showed a DEVLIN track called REWIND and LEWI WHITE track featuring DEVLIN and ED SHEERAN called YOUNG GUNS. 

The group then worked on some words and some started to write lines. A few of the group brought in songs that they had written by themselves and brought those ideas to the discussions. Then everyone shared their ideas with the group. It was very moving and profound.

It was great to see the young people taking the opportunity to share their stories and experiences and genuinely feeling that their voice was being listened to.

It was really impressive to watch the young people grow and find the confidence to share their ideas with the group. The team was going from strength to strength. It felt like we were on a journey, and we were definately heading towards a proffessional production.

The group then devided into 2 groups. Using the content the group had created over the last 2 days of the project, 1 team worked with Access to Music artist IZZY to work on the Chorus and 1 team worked with KRITIKAL to write the bars. By the end of the session even the Springboard staff were ‘spitting bars’!! Liam did a live writing session and the bars were soon written. IZZY was busy in the studio putting down inspiring vocals!!!

The culmination of the determined and dedicated work of the group was immense. We now have the entire song almost completely written, a powerful Chorus and a lot of momentum going into the final day of the 1st week of the project. Here are some more highlights from session 3…

The lads running the mixing desk in a proffessional studio with our partners YSJ University

The lads putting Dave Young of Digital Sun Media through his paces on the desk and below engaging the young people in the studio.

This is a shot of our track in production on Pro Tools, the industry standard for music production.

Here the lights of the desk light up as we hear the track played through high quality speakers.

KRITIKAL listens to the track with the group in the studio.

Inspired Youth and all partners are very impressed with the young people involved and are very proud to be a part of something this special. We are looking forward to the next session where the young people will finish writing and begin the recording process to take their words from a page to a fully professional complete track. Aspire to more!!

Session 2 – Writing the Chorus

Todays session introduced artists from the Access to Music program, who talked about their passion for music and writing songs, before performing live to the group.  They were also treated to a stunning live performance by Kritikal Powers who will be overseeing the progression of the creative process.

The artists helped the young people explore key moments in the characters life, which inspired them to start writing a chorus for their song, about the experience of care.

The young people were commited and brought some powerful and moving concepts forward. Some of their work will directly influence the shape of the chorus and some of it will inspire the verses which they will write over the coming days with ‘Kritikal’ – recording artist and performer.

Session 1 – Research & Development

In order to develop key messages for our youth led music and video production, the team all shared their experiences of care by creating a character with a backstory which will form the inspiration for the track they write. Along side Inspired Youth, Kritikal and Access to Music, we worked as a team in a professional environment at York St John University.  They explored feelings they had experienced on their journey through care/leaving care and situations they had faced. Even though being in care had presented the young people with difficult experiences, they felt overall they shouldn’t let these things determine their future or hold back their progress in life. The session created a very realistic and moving overview of their experiences which will inform the next stage of the creative process, writing the Chorus and Verses with inspirational recording artists. The session created an insight.

See more about Research and Development here