Music activities on the road

Over the past month Boom Box has been collaborating with five young men living in supported accommodation at Rochdale's Statham House. All of the young men are from outside the UK, having moved here to live in our care system. This track came from a jam session using furniture as percussion, then once participants added instrumentation, the idea quickly evolved, resulting in vocals sang in both Kurdish and Arabic.

Memody and GMYN have also taken Boom Box to the Kershaw Centre to work with Bury CICC and some of their looked after young people. The sessions have been overwhelmingly well received with over 10 participants contributing vocals, raps and instrumentation to a number of tracks. Here's what Bury CICC Youth Participation Officer Heather Walton said about the sessions:

'For care experienced young people many of their life experiences have been beyond their control, decisions are made by professionals around them. Young people really value the opportunity to be listened to. Engaging in song writing gives young people a powerful voice and also provides them a safe space to process some of their experiences. Collective song writing is particularly beneficial for care experienced young people as it is non-competitive and allows them to share experiences with one another, reminding them that they are not alone. Being able to hear a finished song that contains your own thoughts, feelings and experiences is powerful in itself but knowing that that song will be shared with professionals in power who make decisions that affect young people in care on a daily basis is incredibly powerful. Engaging in music activities and performing also has huge benefits for self-esteem which is particularly important for children in care as many of them have a negative sense of self.'

Boom Box is a youth music funded programme delivered in partnership by GMYN and Memody CIC, for more information on Boom Box please visit the GMYN website.