Vocal Beats Academy, Vol. 1

Vocal Beats Academy launched in 2022 as an offshoot project to award-nominated music-making programme Vocal Beats for hospitalised young people at Royal Brompton Hospital and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Following years of hospital-based working, it became clear that young people who had taken part wanted to continue developing their music after completing their treatment. This led to 10 weeks of rehearsals and creative planning, culminating in a fantastic showcase of talent at The Roundhouse, Camden. The young artists who took part inspired the audience, and formed lifelong friendships.

This year we have teamed up once again with The Roundhouse. Our Vocal Beats Academy artists spent their summers writing, rehearsing, co-producing and recording their own body of work at the Roundhouse Recording Studios, taking full advantage of their Creative Studio Membership scheme for young people aged 16-25. Working with our Grammy-nominated and professional musicians, our young people have created a piece of work that deserves your attention, not because of the factor that draws them all together, but in spite of it.

These young people are full of life, creativity and world class talent, reminding us what music is truly about.

The EP opens with 'The Music of Life', an incredibly grounding and raw collaboration of spoken word (Lauren Angrish) and music production (Apollo). The piece highlights the bittersweet nature of being a survivor, urging the listener to sit in the present and not to take anything for granted.

Jumping straight into the arms of an absolute classic, Rebecca Dennis delivers the cool, smokey vocal performance that 'Dreams' demands, with a backing that stays true to the original, although perhaps ever so slightly enhanced by Maddy Elleby's natural talent on the drum kit. Rest assured you are on firm ground.

Singer-songwriter Marie Beall takes us on a bus ride into the heart of her emotional city with 'Crying On The Bus'. Accompanying herself on the piano she tells a painfully familiar story of day-to-day life struggling to make ends meet, feeling like you are asking for too much and taking refuge in your favourite song while you cry on the nightbus home - come on, we've all been there.

Apollo (Eshant Khosti) follows with a dreamy burst of warmth in his track 'Doorstep', evoking memories of carefree, endless summer days in the metropolis. Sampling his own voice and citing producer Aries as an influence, Apollo highlights his homegrown production skills with ease and natural flair.

With a little help from Maddy Elleby on drumming duties, STYX (Adam Buckley) has taken 'Hope', a song he wrote whilst daydreaming his days away at his Saturday job in the local Post Office and reinvented it with vigour. A short, punchy and vibrant tale of unrequited love.

Bringing everyone together to round the EP off beautifully, Lauren Angrish, with her trademark honesty, speaks on expectation versus reality in this gut-wrenching ode to life after Cancer, 'The New Girl I Am'. Be brave, steady oneself, grab a tissue.

This work was made possible thanks to The Roundhouse, Youth Music, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity, Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Vocal Beats is an rb&hArts Project.

Proceeds from sales will support further Vocal Beats music sessions, so that more young people can create music throughout and beyond their treatment.