Music Support hosts BRIT School Masterclass with Gorillaz musician, Seye Adelekan

The BRIT Trust’s mission is to draw upon the transformative power of music and the arts to do good and enable positive pathways for young people of all backgrounds. With this in mind, we were delighted when two of our beneficiary organisations, Music Support and the BRIT School, came together recently for a special session that epitomized this very mission.

Music Support is a charity that helps anyone who works in the UK music industry experiencing substance use, addiction and/or mental health challenges. The BRIT School is the leading Performing and Creative Arts school in the UK, completely FREE to attend. Building upon their existing relationship, the BRIT School invited Music Support to host a masterclass for their year 12 students on a range of topics including health and wellbeing, professionalism and looking after yourself on tour.

Music support CEO, Joe Hastings, hosted the session as a discussion with multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, Seye Adelekan (a valued supporter of the charity). Seye, best known for being the live bass player for animated, multi-media band, Gorillaz, has also recorded and toured with a long list of artists from Ellie Goulding and Paloma Faith to Benjamin Clementine and KT Tunstall. He is a singer/songwriter in his own right and six years sober, using his platform to raise awareness, break down barriers and inspire others.#

Joe and Seye’s discussion covered a wide range of topics from setting good practices as you embark upon a career in the industry to the importance of building community. Seye shared how it was necessary for him to take a break from music to focus on his recovery when in rehab, but how he came back with a renewed sense of purpose and creativity.

The students were fully-engaged with the session and asked a number of thought-provoking questions from dealing with imposter syndrome to navigating the industry as a sober artist.

As a closing thought, Seye shared with the students, “Anybody who can make music has a superpower that this world needs. I feel lucky and I think we all are. Every single person here, no matter what style you do, what discipline you have, whether you want to be on stage, behind stage, in the studio; we need your voice. You are needed. I’d encourage each and every one of you to explore who you are as deeply as possible and hold on to this music thing.”

Reflecting on the experience, Joe said,

“Music Support is very proud and grateful to be a BRIT Trust beneficiary charity. As well as providing vital funding towards our team’s essential work, it also affords us opportunities like this to spend time with the young people who are the future of the UK music industry. I was so impressed by the maturity and understanding of the BRIT School students and grateful to Seye for his time and insights. Our vision at Music Support is to empower our UK music community to navigate the highs and lows of the industry and achieve their full potential. That truly resonated in the room today.”

Chris McInnes, Assistant Director of Music / Course leader for Music Technology for The BRIT School said:

“The work that Music Support does is vitally important and links so well with our efforts to get young musicians to focus on their mental and physical health from the start of their careers. It was incredibly useful for our students to benefit from their experience and we look forward to working with them more in the future”.