A recent music spotlight event has given north-east music students the chance to play their music to top industry figures and gain detailed feedback on their work to help their future careers.
Silvernote North East Spotlight was held at North-East Scotland College’s (NESCol) Aberdeen City campus last Thursday.
The event was brought together by NESCol music tutor Dan Stevenson, Cooked With Chef (aka Olaoluwa Akisanya or Aberdeen rapper Chef) and creative enterprise Silvernote.
Industry exposure
NESCol music and production students were invited to submit one piece of work prior to the event for a chance of it being played and receiving feedback in front of a panel of music industry professionals.
These included Stuart Fleming (PRS for Music), Audrey Tait (Franz Ferdinand), Charlotte Printer (Joesef Joesef), Phoebe Inglis-Holmes (BBC Introducing in Scotland) as well as Chef.
The submissions were narrowed down to four student pieces that were played on the night, with each receiving constructive feedback from the panel.
All four students will now receive further mentoring and coaching from NESCol to help further kickstart their careers in the music industry.
Bridging the gap
Speaking of the inspiration behind the event, Chef said: “Seeing the amount of musical talent in Aberdeen and knowing that so many of them were in education, I realised there was a disconnect between formal education and the music industry itself.
“We came up with this initiative to try and bridge the gap between the two.
“The main thing was to get exposure for NESCol students who will be going into the industry and making careers in it.
“I think the event has been a real success.”
Achieving goals
NESCol music lecturer Dan Stevenson added: “The quality of the submissions far exceeded what we were expecting.
“I don’t like this idea of divide where you see a superstar artist and think, ‘I’ll never be able to reach that’.
“I wanted people to think about how they can actually do it and hopefully, how events like these could be a stepping stone towards achieving their goals.”
Top of the pops
Music student Natasha Vroegindewey’s song Sometimes I Wonder was selected as the panel’s favourite, and it will go on to be recorded and released as part of NESCol’s Silvernote project.
The Peterhead based artist said that she was delighted to have received such positive comments.
“I appreciated all of the panel’s feedback so much and I’ll definitely be taking it on board,” said Natasha.
“For industry figures to comment and listen to the emotions I put into my music really means a lot to me.
“Going forward, I want to keep making more songs that other people can feel that they relate to.”
For more information on music and production opportunities at North East Scotland College, visit their website here.
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