A music production programme aimed at supporting young people’s creative talent and keeping them off the streets has launched a mixtape highlighting the work of some of Islington’s most talented budding artistes.
The record, which contains a mixture of rap, soulful melodies and spoken word, is performed by children aged 15-19, who are part of the Platform Youth Centre’s music production programme, Gain Ctrl.
Nine young performers took to the stage at Platform in Finsbury Park on Friday 16 October to perform tracks from an album they have been busy creating for over a year.
One of the centre’s users, Troy Fletcher-Jones, 19, has credited the programme with keeping many young people in Islington on track and out of trouble.
Fletcher-Jones said: “Platform is a place that brings youth together, away from the streets and into the recording studio. Instead of stabbing someone, it gives us the opportunity to make a track.”
The founder of Gain Ctrl, is 33 year-old Semothy Jones.
Jones, who has worked with big names such as Plan B and Lily Allen, said: “I started the programme because I went to something like this when I was younger and it helped kick-start my career. If you give a young person some time they can do amazing things.”
Krishna Ellsworth, a Youth Engagement Worker at Platform, told Islington Now that since Gain Ctrl launched a year ago they had seen ‘rapid growth’ in the number of young men attending.
‘This is a way in for them. It’s a product they feel they are gaining something useful from and can relate to,” Ellsworth said.
You can see the new release on the Gain Ctrl website.
Featured image: Susie Coen
