Fast Forward Direction Thru Music is helping transform the lives of students through the power of music. We spoke to founders Stevie Lee and his fellow musicians/co-founders, along with several students, to hear about their important work and the crowdfunder that hopes to help them train more students in music production skills.
At LeftLion, we love to support local businesses and causes – and one, based right next to our offices in Sneinton Market, has recently caught our attention. It’s an innovative new music education project, providing comprehensive and specialised learning and support for young individuals with diverse needs – particularly those who have been excluded from mainstream education. The project is currently expanding to help more students, with a Crowdfunder campaign to help secure much-needed donations.
Around eighteen months in the making, Fast Forward: Direction Thru Music is the brainchild of Stevie Lee, DJ and one of the founding members of Nottingham’s highly respected music tribe, Smokescreen Soundsystem and Aussie house music producer Scott Ballam. They are collaborating with acclaimed Hip-Hop artist and producer Joe Buhdha, and DJ, producer and teacher Chris Goss of Quadrant Sound System.
As well as being musicians, all four have years of experience in professional education, both in mainstream schools and alternative provision (AP). “I’m passionate about the education of young people,” Stevie says. “Music gave me direction in life when I was a teenager, and now I want to use our collective skills to inspire kids to explore their own creative talents.”
He makes the beats and I can rap – we’re on a mission to make tracks
Jayden, 14, Fast Forward student
We met Jayden and Maison at the studio, who are both fourteen years old and have been excluded from mainstream education. The students are polite and evidently passionate about the work they’re doing at Fast Forward. They seem happy in their surroundings and truly engaged with what they’re doing. There’s an atmosphere of peace and creativity in the place, which houses the right technology and equipment for the students to create their own music and learn how to use music software.
Maison, who’s shown a real talent for music production, has created more than a dozen tracks in the few months he’s been at Fast Forward. “I’ve always been around music – my family is really into reggae and soul,” he says. “Maison has a real gift for production,” says Joe Buhdha. “We noticed very quickly that he has impressive and diverse music knowledge – we’re currently using samples from old reggae tracks and mixing them up into new DnB and jungle masterpieces. We are very impressed with both lads’ progress – their talents probably wouldn’t have been noticed at their previous schools, given class sizes, behavioural problems, general structure of the education system – all that. Fast Forward is open to any student experiencing difficulties – we want to welcome a diverse range of students, of all genders, backgrounds and abilities.”
Music gave me direction in life when I was a teenager, and now I want to use our collective skills to inspire kids to explore their own creative talents
- Stevie Lee
“Mainstream education simply does not suit some students,” says Chris Goss, who is a secondary school music teacher as well as being a founding member of well-known crew, Quadrant Sound System, regularly playing in venues across Nottingham and beyond. As well as teaching music technology in mainstream schools, both he and Joe have experience of working in AP education, as well as secure units.
The students kindly play us a few tunes they’ve made – they wouldn’t sound out of place at a proper jungle event or DnB rave. However, both are modest about their talents. “We’ve got a few more as well, but they’re not ready to share yet,” says Jayden. “Yeah - we want them to be perfect,” Maison agrees. The two have also been collaborating, using their different skills.
“He makes the beats and I rap,” says Jayden. “We’re on a mission to make music – and eventually, money.”
“As much as we’re teaching them, the students are also teaching us,” explains Joe. “Sounds, styles and techniques have moved on since we first learned how to create tracks – Jayden and Maison are teaching us about different genres, such as grime and drill. There’s a thirty year age gap between us, so we can really learn a lot from them, and vice-versa.”
“Jayden is a great rapper. I’m a hip-hop artist so I am really enjoying helping him develop this talent. Obviously, music is my vocation, and I’ve been lucky enough to make money out of it – we’re hoping to pass this focus and ambition on to our students, to help give them focus and purpose – and in some case, a career.” Drill music famously has a lot of connotations with violence and gang culture. “Our aim is to let the lads express any anger or aggression – after all, it’s normal for any teenager to have some of these feelings, especially if they’ve had additional problems to deal with. Then we guide them to writing more positive songs for their course work, and in some cases, radio play,” says Chris.
“The students are encouraged to attend sessions so they can engage creatively with music,” explains Stevie. Students’ attendance is recorded, which helps them gain access to further educational settings, such as college, once their time at Fast Forward comes to an end. The programme gives students tangible and respected music qualifications, which they can work through during their journey at the studio. These include RSL (Rock School) certificates in music production, performance, event management and more.
The three directors are on a mission to make this valuable service more accessible to more students, with a Crowdfunder to source more equipment and funding for further, full-time provision. You can donate to the campaign here.
“I love coming here - the teachers are cool. I’ve made bare tracks since I started,” says Maison. Jayden adds: “I’m looking forward to another mate of mine starting too. We work together and that makes the music even better - we’re all good at different stuff.”
Donate to the Fast Forward Crowdfunder here and help more students find a vocation though music.
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