Last year we considered youth theatre, 2Funkyarts,
social enterprise, mental health SISO Project (Safe Inside. Safe
Outside), Pedestrian Project and the work of Soft Touch.
Excluded has released a first album of songs.
The Leicester based organisation provides a mobile recording studio and records
and produces music made by people who are excluded from mainstream services:
those who are homeless and who might also have drug and alcohol problems or have
been in prison.
Making music helps with rehabilitation, Greg
Semple told
us. Greg set up Excluded when he was a volunteer with Action Homeless and the
YMCA. Sound engineer Greg has been homeless himself and knows what it's like.
He has also discovered how music can provide people who are facing problems with
an empowering medium.
The first album has 15 tracks and four radio edits and is
an amazing collection of musical delights. Several of the artists have recorded
songs from their native background; including Angolan music, Irish folk, rap
and hip-hop.
Chilla, for example, by JK and Fegredo, has a compelling
reggae beat with some really great rhythmic content, trumpet backings and strong
rasta feel. Many of the tracks celebrate the musical culture of the artists who
made them. Track 4. Muxima by Ney Corte Real and Tony Du Du is sung
in Angolan, backed by some really splendid guitar work.
I particularly liked Drowsey Dub by Joshua Dean,
with its Irish folk violin parts blended with dub beats; a really exciting fusion
of musical idioms, it was an inspirational track. It reminded me of the Afro-Celtic
Sound System albums in my small but perfectly formed collection of CDs.
You can hear this track on the
Excluded web site.
R 'n B, rap and hip-hop are strongly represented but what
comes across is the musical vibrancy and eclectic mix of idioms. I liked some
tracks more than others but anyone with a broad taste in music will something
on this album to excite them.
Greg Semple's work with Excluded is remarkable and deserves
a wider audience.
An event highlighting youth work services in the
city is taking place in Leicester city centre this weekend (5th
November).
Part of Humberstone Gate will be transformed into a bustling roadshow celebrating
National Youth Work Week, from 12noon to 5pm.
Activities will include dance, music, arts and crafts, sports,
a graffiti art workshop and inflatable laser tag game. The event will feature
a pod village, offering different activities in each pod area.
Leicester City Council is working with voluntary youth work
organisation StreetVibe, ER Dance and Leicestershire police on the event, which
is designed to raise the profile of the city council's youth services.
Local artists The Headstarts, Curtis Clacey and singer Justyne
Whyte will also play at the event, and there'll be performances from break-dancers
and the ER Dance troupe.
The event is free and open to all 13 to 19 year olds.
Leicester assistant city mayor with responsibility for children, young people
and schools, Cllr Vi Dempster, said: "The city council's youth
services are responsible for a huge range of activities and work with young people,
and this event is a great chance to showcase that hard work and give people the
chance to find out what's on offer in the city.
"It will be an exciting opportunity for young people to try out some of these
activities for themselves and learn more about what is available to them."
Monday 10th October
Mental Health Day show at the Y Theatre
A fair sized audience gathered at the Y in East Street for
the event that included the awards for the Summer Competition and a performance
by Leicester band Refuge.
The event was held on World Mental Health Day. Refuge has
supported mental well being in Leicester through their work as a band and with
the local group SISO (Safe on the Inside, Safe on the Outside).
The evening was compared by Leicester comedian Jim
Smallman and featured a guest appearance by star of the Full Monty and
Coronation Street,
Steve Huison.
Comedian Jim Smallman did a great job of getting the audience
engaged and holding the stage together. He is appearing at highlight comedy club
in Leicester on 29th October.
A variety of important people gave messages of support for
the occasion including Assistant Mayor Manjula Sood, Richard
Chester of the
Leicestershire NHS Trust and others.
Denise Claxton read her winning poem 'Panic
on the train'. James Hulings also read his poem 'Dribbles and
Bubbles.' One of the judges for the poetry competition was the world famous dub
poet Jean
Binta Breeze.
The organiser's of the night had gone to a lot of trouble
to decorate the venue and even provided a buffet during the interval. They had
been successful in getting a variety of businesses to donate the impressive array
of prizes that were given out.
Refuge brought the show to a resounding
and highly enjoyable close with their set of beautifully played songs. Lead by
the characteristic voice of Peter Hirst, the six piece band delighted the audience
with their artistic chemistry and fine playing.
Aided by the impressive sound system in the theatre, Refuge
played an exceptionally good set of their own songs, including one containing
the winning lyrics from the people who wrote them as part of the competition.
The songs were evocative and atmospheric, sumptuously orchestrated
with flute, keyboard and saxophone parts by sessional musician Graham Dale who
had joined them for this one gig.
One of their songs 'Darkness and Light' from their Allowed
a Voice album,
with lyrics by Stewart Snowden, was about schizophrenia.
Peter Hirst's lead vocals were harmonised by backings from
guitarist Philip Seaman. The band has a sensitivity of touch in their music and
proved themselves to be an excellent ensemble.
There was a really good buzz from the audience throughout
the show and the band's performance drew a strong and enthusiastic response from
them. As an encore, the band played their song 'Cornered.'
Based in Market Harborough, established in 2005, "The CHAT
Room" was reconstituted in 2009 as a not for profit social enterprise. We do
not seek funding from grants, instead we focus on selling our targeted projects;
once our running costs are covered any additional funds enable our social educators
to deliver our STOP, START and CONTINUE projects to young people locally for
free.
At the C:HAT room we work with young people relationally
- which means the quality of the relationship we build is critical to the outcome.
It's about consistency and continuity and letting young people know that we care.
Our work is underpinned by the principles of restorative
justice and using street based methodology, our team of social educators use
an unique stop, start, continue technique to engage with young people and the
significant people in their lives to support them in generating long term behaviour
change; enhancing community cohesion and creating safer communities.
These processes
allows young people to explore the issues, which affect their lives, creates
a better understanding of their present and develop potential for their future.
