We gathered at Kala Sangam on Sunday 2nd Feb, for a big jam in the large theatre space. We also had some tuition in how to use the lighting rig and gig photography.

Suggy showed us how to take photos with a DSLR camera, and some of the results are shown below. One of his top tips was to always send the band both the colour and the black and white versions…

The space was great, and Sam gave us a good idea on how the lighting rig worked, allowing some of us to get hands on and light the jam as it happened.

For the Jam we tried to create a supportive atmosphere that would give to the opportunity to try something new. Many people had a go on a different instrument, or joined in with people they don’t usually play with, or tried a new scale or chord progression.

In general, I think people just loved the opportunity to play with each other.

In other news, our latest Youth Music Live! showcase show aired at the end of January:

Featured Artist is a new show on BCB Radio that promotes young musicians from the district.

Our first show went out the other day and is available to listen again below.

If you would like to be the presenter on a show like this, check out our radio page for more details.

If you are a young musicians and you’d like to be our featured artist on one of the shows, then please contact us. And, if you have music that you would like us to play on the radio, visit our Promote Me page for details.

Our second Masterclass took place last Sunday at the Brick Box Rooms in the centre of Bradford. The venue has a capacity of about 60 people, with a small area that can function as stage. Eleanor, from the Brick Box, explained a little about the philosophy of the place, and how it was a space that was open to people and their ideas.

Bradford poet, Kirsty Taylor, came along to share her expert advice on performance and the use of words. By the end of the day, everyone had created their own poem. They had also had a chance to explore their own creative ideas, and done a number of exercises to examine how it feels to be stood in front of audience.

Dom Sheard, came along to helps us with all “the tech stuff”. He has a background in DIY grassroots gigs and running events around Bradford. His session allowed everyone to work together to set up a PA, soundcheck guitars and vocals, and have a rig ready for our poetry performances at the end of the event. Using a problem solving approach, he enabled people to learn for themselves by doing the job.

Feedback from the event has been good. We’ve had requests to look at focusing on songwriting in the future. People also seem to be keen and excited about our next Masterclass about using computers to make music.

Our Youth Music Live! Showcase show, went out on BCB Radio on Thursday 7th November at 10pm, with a bit of a review of the event. We had conversation with Joshua and Ewan, feedback interviews from the day, and we showcased young local musicians. We’ve also had an interview and music from the folk from the Music, Performance and Production course at Bradford College.

Our Youth Music Live! Showcase shows are all on Mixcloud if you want to catch up.

A bunch of our young presenters have been working to put some promos together for the project.

The promos will be used on the radio throughout the schedule over the coming months.

We’ve got 4 different types that give a general overview of the project, put a call out for musicians and presenters, and advertise the masterclasses.

We’ve put them up on our Soundcloud page, and posted them below for you to have a listen.

Top photo: Danny Ryder
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dannyryder/20934932250
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

We had our first project taster day last Friday.

It was great to meet 8 young people that we’d never met before. Most had heard about us because of a Facebook post/event, and a couple had come because they’d heard from other BCB volunteers.

It was good fun. We got to have a play around in the radio studios, and to make some bleeps and beats with midi controllers and a laptop.

We also came up with some more ideas about what would be good to do as part of the project. That explains the picture.

We kick the project off properly in a week or so. We’ve got plans in place for our masterclasses and our radio training so watch this space.

Bradford Community Broadcasting receives funding from Youth Music Foundation

Bradford Community Broadcasting (BCB) is delighted that they have been awarded funding from the Youth Music Foundation to support the development of youth music in Bradford.

BCB will be supporting young people to develop more opportunities for young musicians to perform live in Bradford, in venues appropriate for young people from diverse communities and backgrounds.

Though a series of regular workshops, young people will learn all the skills needed to put on live events themselves, hearing from industry professionals, venues and promoters. Young musicians will also be mentored to develop skills around how they can promote themselves to venues.

Another key strand to the project is for young people to become radio broadcasters on BCB Radio, producing and presenting music focused programmes, reflecting the wealth of young talent in Bradford.

We’re looking for young people in Bradford aged 12 – 25 , with a passion for music, to come together and develop their skills in whichever way they choose. We know how important music is for so many young people and we want to nurture that passion and support young people to understand the opportunities that are there for them in the music industry

BCB’s Director Mary Dowson says: ‘These are really exciting times for Bradford. We’re delighted to be working with some fantastic partner organisations to deliver the project including Kala Sangam, Brickbox, Fuse, The Underground, and Belle Vue Girls School. I’m sure that working together we can make some lasting change for young people in Bradford’.

The first taster sessions for the project will be held at BCB 11 Rawson Road BD1 3SH on Friday 23 and Friday 30 August 2- 4pm.

Anyone is very welcome to come.

To find out more about the project contact David Carpenter 01274 771677 or david.carpenter@bcbradio.co.uk

The project runs for 2.5 years until December 2021.