BACK in February, when the world was a much different place, students from Harlow Rock School descended on the studios of Cosmic Audio for a week, as the culmination of a concerted period of songwriting.

Funded by a grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation, the intention was to produce an album of songs that showcased the eclectic mix of talent and genres prevalent in the project, then make it available via digital download and CD with the proceeds being ploughed back into the charity in order to keep the project running.

Dan Gliddon, a former student who has returned to volunteer at the project, had this to say.

“We entered into a joint songwriting venture with Livewire, and several of our students attended these sessions. From this, the initial ideas for the songs were born, and this acted as a spur for the rest. Most of the young people really didn’t know where to start writing a song, but as they got further into it, confidence grew and it showed in their rehearsals on stage. Because we knew we were going to record these songs, we really wanted to push the students to write for themselves as it eliminates any copyright issues.”

He continued “The original idea was to have an ‘Album Launch Night’ performance once we had the mastered tracks from the studio, but for obvious reasons that has had to be postponed. It’s a real shame, as we’re really proud of the finished article, James and Mark at Cosmic did a great job.”

Explaining why they chose Cosmic, Dan said “Rock School have worked with them prior to this, and have always found them very accommodating whilst remaining highly professional. They were also happy to let some of the students and volunteers sit in on the mixing and mastering sessions, and answer all our questions, no matter how daft or trivial! Add in the fact that James was a Rock School student, and it really wasn’t a difficult decision.”

James Nugent, one of the partners from Cosmic Audio, added “I’ve always maintained contact with Rock School since leaving, and to have them back in the studio again was an absolute pleasure. It’s great to see that the level of talent in the area hasn’t diminished, and that there are still people willing to give their time to support and nurture it, especially amidst the current crisis. It’s actually partly inspired us to start our own You Tube channel with content that we hope will be beneficial to a lot of young bands who are just starting their musical journey.”

Dan explained how the current crisis has affected Rock School, and what they are doing to keep the project alive. “Obviously, the COVID-19 situation has had a massive affect on us. We have a building and bills that still need to be paid, and had no way of funding ourselves. The project has always been free, and we have no wish to change that, and we were also worried about keeping the momentum going with our young people. A lot of our students have always seen us as an escape from the pressures of school and everyday life, and we wanted to still be here if they needed us.

“We came up with the idea of live streaming some of our students from their homes, in the same way that some of the bigger bands seem to currently be doing. We decided to start our own Twitch channel as a means of doing this, which has since taken off, and we have all sorts of acts wanting to be involved – current students, former students, and people that just want to be able to perform – and people wishing to donate. A portion of the money will go towards the NHS as a thank you for the incredible work they are presently doing, and it’s giving us plenty of ideas for where to take the project in the future once this crisis is over.”

For more information, go to www.HarlowRockSchoool.com
www.twitch.tv/HarlowRockSchool
www.cosmic-audio.co.uk“>www.cosmic-audio.co.uk
www.Facebook.com/presentdayproductionUK