Category: Projects

We had an eclectic group of musicians develop their artistry on our Music Course at Reform Radio (funded by MAES). Whether first-timers or new artists looking for guidance, all the participants worked over two weeks to write and produce a song. Expert help from our Reform Radio mentors, Alex, Femi and Les, led these budding creatives towards their end goal, where they had the opportunity to play their new song live on Reform Radio’s airwaves. The sheer talent and passion from our attendees on this Music Course can be experienced via their ‘Quest For Groove’ show, where they let you into this new, exciting chapter of their musical careers.

Listen below.

We caught up with two members of the groovy crew at the end of their course to see how they developed over their time here:

Please can you introduce your name, and pronouns, and tell us a bit about what you like getting up to in your free time?

S: Hi, I’m Sakinah (she/her). I am a classically trained actress, but I’ve always had this hidden hobby for music. Music is something I’m in love with, it has saved my life. I love to listen to sounds like R&B, Ragga, Jazz and Hip-Hop. Hip-hop is my therapy. My goal is to make a lot of music and perform onstage.

J: My name is James (he/him). I’m a folk and soul singer-songwriter. I always grew up around music, and even when I wasn’t consciously looking for it, it became a part of my life. I love old soul music. Otis Redding is my favourite singer in the world. I have an eclectic taste, I love bits of everything. My end goal is to share music and help people with mental health – hopefully they can relate to my songs and put people in a better place.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

S: Tranquility, fun, light.

J: Unique, honest, brave.

If you were stuck on a desert island with a record player, what record would you want to have with you to listen to?

S: ‘I Will Always Love You’ by Whitney Houston.

J: One song that’d keep me going is ‘Dry The Rain’ by The Beta Band.

Did you have much musical experience before? If so, what’s your favourite thing about making music?

S: I’ve mainly got acting experience. But my sister said to me when I was sixteen that I can’t sing, so I thought that I was never going to be able to do that. So I always hid behind dance and acting when truthfully, I’m a little superstar who loves singing!

J: I went to college to study music performance. But from growing up around music, I have developed an eclectic music taste. Music for me is about expression, you can really express how you feel; express soul and love and even unhappiness. Most sad things turn out beautiful in music. After studying music for three years at college, I really realised that this is my life. I like performing and feeling the soul and feeling a buzz. I don’t really feel that when I wake up, but when I’m onstage I feel something – I don’t know what it is but it’s something that keeps me going.

What prompted you to get involved with the Music Course?

S: I’ve come on this course to get confident being around other people who are creative in this music bubble. I just wanted to be able to feel confident. I want to create something and share it because I feel like loads of people are gonna relate to me. I’m supposed to make these songs to help people. I love healing the world, so this is my method of doing that.

J: I’m unemployed because I want to work in the music industry and it’s something that you can’t really just walk into. So, I was at the job centre talking about my music, and Damian, who’s very good, directed me to this course. It’s been really good, this course has helped me so much. It has taught me so much and shown me how music is important to me.

Let’s throw it back to your first day at Reform versus now, tell me a bit about your first impressions/feelings/emotions in comparison to how you feel now. What has changed? 

S: I came here with an open mind, receptive to anything that was asked of me. I’ve got more clarity and confidence now because I’ve been able to practice what I do in front of people and have feedback, which I never had before.

J: Coming from college, I always found there was a lot of pressure to be a certain way. So I said to myself, “I’m going to come in here with a mindset that just wants to learn and grow with other people.” It’s been really chill, and I’ve met a lot of nice and creative people who genuinely care about the soul of music. People who care about the journey and not the destination. At college, it wasn’t like that. Alex and Femi are absolutely phenomenal, I’ve learned so much from them already.

What’s your go-to album to listen to after a long day?

S: When I’m creating, I don’t listen to any other artists. I only listen to frequency music. Because if I listen to them now, I’m potentially going to try and sound like them, and I can’t afford to do that because it’s important that I keep my originality. But when I’m not creating, I listen to Janet Jackson (‘That’s The Way Love Goes’), Lauryn Hill, and Missy Elliott.

J: For me, that’s easy, I’m going to say ‘Otis Blue’ by Otis Redding. It’s got some really beautiful and calm melodies and some more upbeat melodies. Every time I listen, I think, “That’s my man Otis Redding”. I love that man.

Do you have any musical role models that inspire your practice and why?

S: Beyonce, because she does this thing, that when she’s creating a world and a body of art, she’s drawing from all these different elements and she’s using that to be the foundation of the art. Everything she does is calculated. She’s not putting anything together just because it looks good.

J: My dad. He’s been singing in bands all his life. Without him, I would not be the musician I am today. I’m very lucky because my mum and dad play great music. My dad taught me the basics of the guitar. He is my music hero.

What will you take from the Music course moving forward & what are your plans from here onwards?

S: I want to perform. I want to do festivals and concerts and support artists; writing and write for people. With my whole new lease of life, I just want to live it. I want to get onstage and share to the masses.

J: Keep creating music. I need to start up a social media page for it. I’m not a big fan of social media, but I know it’s important if I want to raise my music awareness. I want people to see it! I’d love to work in the industry facilitating music courses for disabled people.

To find out about our future projects at Reform Radio, sign up to our Projects newsletter here.

We had a blast at our recent Music Course, funded by MAES. The two week programme was filled with songwriting, music production, and radio workshops. Meanwhile, to close the project, all the songs our participants created were showcased on a live radio show on Reform Radio.

It was about time we delved deeper into what our attendees got up to, so meet Theo, one of our participants who told us more about their musical inspirations and where they’re heading next.

Please can you introduce yourself, your pronouns and what you get up to in your free time?

Hey, I’m Theo and my pronouns are they/them. I like exploring abandoned places around Manchester and photographing them on my camera.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

I’m curious, inquisitive and adventurous.

If you were stuck on a desert island with a record player, what record would you want to have with you to listen to? 

It would be ‘Jubilee’ by Japanese Breakfast.

Did you have much musical experience before you joined the course? If so, what’s your favourite thing about making music?

It was all very new. I had taken piano lessons as a kid when I was 6 and then did nothing musical. My favourite thing about music now has been being exposed to different genres of music. Also, I’ve liked seeing the different processes individuals have undertaken. It’s been great to see how my course-mates have developed their ideas. Furthermore, I have learnt the basics of chord progressions; I feel so empowered by that.

What prompted you to get involved with the Music Course?

I discovered the course on Instagram and I just thought I’d give it a go. I was a bit afraid of giving music a try but I’m glad I did.

Let’s throw it back to your first day at Reform versus now, tell me a bit about your first impressions/feelings/emotions in comparison to how you feel now. What has changed? 

I didn’t think I could write music. Now, I know I actually can if I’m encouraged and guided through it. Additionally, I thought I couldn’t sing but Alex, the facilitator, gave me all the confidence in delivering two lines of singing within my spoken word piece.

What will you take from the Music course moving forward & what are your plans from here onwards? 

Experimenting and arranging new tracks is something I want to keep doing, alongside collaborating with more people. The musical process can be so solitary sometimes so you forget that you can let go of agency when you work with other people.

Who would be your dream artist/producer to collaborate with? 

I love how Aldous Harding writes so it would have to be her.

Throughout June we hosted a new bunch of participants here at Reform Radio for another round of our DJ Sessions. Funded by MAES, attendees were led through the likes of mixing, beat-matching and self-promotion. This cohort also received masterclasses from the likes of Not Bad For A Girl, Genre Music and GigPig. To close the course, our new DJs took to the decks at Revolution Manchester to play a 10 minute set, showcasing all they’d been working on.

We were lucky enough to catch up with two of our participants, Caylee and Cookie, about what they got up to and where they plan to take their new DJing skills. Check it out below.

Introduce your name, pronouns, and what you get up to in your free time.

Cookie: My name is Cookie (they/them). I’m a multi-disciplinary artist. I do design, illustration, mural work, poetry, and spoken word. I’m also a vocalist in a punk band and a creative producer for The Untold Orchestra.

Caylee: I’m Caylee, my pronouns are she/her. I don’t really do much in my free time. I used to bartend at events. I’ve quit that now to live life and focus on where I’m going next.

What prompted you to get involved with the DJ Sessions?

Cookie: I bumped into a friend who was on the last DJ course when she was on her way to Reform. She just had a different energy about her. We both had said we were going to learn to DJ this year. She said I had to get on this course so that we can do a B2B we’d been planning for years. I could just tell from her energy that it was a good thing. I immediately signed up.

Caylee: Well, I heard about this through my friend and also through the Job Centre. I signed up as soon as my friend told me about it and then the Job Centre helped me to get onto the register. I have a few DJ friends. One of my friends, he’s a very accomplished DJ and producer. I used to always go to his events in Sweden. I just love the way that he gets the crowd moving. He’s constantly in the zone and I just admire his craftsmanship. I was wondering how he does it so I decided to give DJing a go.

What do you love most about DJing?

Cookie: I’ve really enjoyed learning about the equipment. I do ad-hoc stage managing and I’ve wanted to know what all the names of all the equipment are. Because I work on live shows, there’s no time to be asking questions. So it’s been nice to be around people who are willing to help you learn at your pace. It’s been really encouraging.

Caylee: The creativity of it all. I’m enjoying just getting behind the decks, freestyling and having fun. It’s just constant excitement. Once you learn something and then you can apply it yourself and it actually sounds good, it’s the best feeling.

Cookie: I completely agree. Sometimes I forget I’m not in the crowd dancing and then I come back into the room and remember I’m the one in control of the music.

Caylee: Me too. I’m in the practice rooms raving to my own mixes. It’s the best serotonin hit.

Did you have much experience in DJing before? What’s one stand out thing you’ve learnt at Reform?

Cookie: I didn’t have any experience in DJing so it’s amazing being able to just understand all the different operations on the decks. Doing hot queues; I’m obsessed with the fact that I can do all these new things. I feel like I’ve got a higher knowledge of the music now.

Caylee: I think just knowing how to make it sound good. I’ve enjoyed playing with the tunes, taking out certain aspects of a song to help another song and even having two songs playing at the same time. It’s the best feeling when it’s sounding good together.

How would you describe a DJ set of yours in three words? 

Cookie: High energy, intense and eclectic.

Caylee: I would say fun, light-hearted and different.

Do you have any role models in the music scene that inspire your DJing practice and why?

Cookie: Jaguar, as a DJ. I met them a few years ago when I was doing body painting at The Warehouse Project. It was when they were just starting off. They were telling me what they were going to do in terms of doing a diversity rider, so that when they get booked, it ensures that they have other marginalised genders, races and identities at the same events. I was saying they were going to change the game with that and they really have. Now, they’ve got their BBC Introducing residency and it has actually changed the way that most DJs are booked.

I also love Metrodome. He’s been DJing since he was four years old and he is such a varied DJ. I love watching him and seeing his same childlike energy now and the faces he does when he has excited himself. He’s the only person I’ve seen that can turn up to a gig, realise he’s left his USB back at home, borrow someone else’s, and play the tunes better than them. Adele, one of our Reform mentors, has also inspired me too. I was blown away by her DJing.

Caylee: Me too. Adele just had so much energy in her when she was playing for us. Again, my friend Eric is a huge inspiration to me. If it wasn’t for him, I would have never even thought about being a DJ. I’m from a very musically inclined family but I can’t sing or play any instruments. Now I’ve got into DJing, it all makes sense; this is what I’m supposed to be doing.

Let’s throw it back to your first day at Reform versus now, tell me a bit about your first impressions/feelings/emotions in comparison to how you feel now. What has changed? 

Cookie: I feel really comfortable in the space now. I’ve been to Reform for a couple of other things in the past and I was always worried being around such expensive equipment. I would always think ‘Cookie, don’t touch anything, don’t knock into anything’. Now I know what everything is and what it does. I feel much more comfortable here and very knowledgeable. I feel like I’ve learned so much in these past few days, but in a manageable away.

Caylee: I feel very much more confident in myself, even just in general, and also optimistic about my future. I used to be so scared of the future and thought I would have to do a boring 9 to 5 job. Now I know I can take other routes and still live my life happily.

If you could DJ at any festival, event, or place in the world, where would it be and why?

Cookie: Definitely We Out Here Festival. It’s the most comfortable I’ve ever felt at a festival. It’s very well mixed in terms of diversity and race and gender. There’s a lot of opportunities to DJ in the different spaces there. For example, they have a roller rink you can DJ at. Last year, on another stage, they had breakdancing in the background and DJs on stage. I would love to have that mix of creativity going on around me.

Caylee: If I was going to choose a festival, it would be Boomtown. It’s such a colourful festival. Venue wise, the Avicii Arena is my favourite. You know when you have a really personal connection to a certain place that you can’t explain to someone else? It’s just my place.

What will you take from the DJ course moving forward & what are your plans from here onwards? 

Cookie: The course has given me a space to be inquisitive which is nice. It’s a welcomed inquisition rather than making you just get on with things without asking questions. There is space to ask more and it is welcomed to do so.

Caylee: It’s given me lots of knowledge and skills, and the confidence to actually put myself out there. I’m obviously sad that I’m not coming to Reform anymore, but I’m excited to actually get out there and see what I can do with my new skills in the world.

If you want to find out more about our future courses, drop our Engagement team an email on projects@reformradio.co.uk.