YYM now has its own studio space!

iKoustic Ltd, a company based in Wetherby, have built a new 'Safe Space'; a studio pod for us here at our home in The Media Centre in Huddersfield. It is lined with an acoustic wafer and sound baffles to create a quiet space for recording and production. With £5000 in support from the town centre development programme from Kirklees Council, and £3000 from the One Community Foundation, it is a brand new facility for young people in Kirklees.

‘Safe Space Studio’ came into existence following feedback from participants of YYM's Music of Tomorrow: Get Your Music Heard project, asking for open access studio time, so they can continue to meet up and support each other in their music making. YYM has been piloting this for the past month and have had good levels of attendance. The space is supervised by a music technician, who is also trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid. The majority of the young people attending have mental health problems that prevent them from attending education or employment. Since lockdown, the project has been the first time for many that they have left the house and started creating music with others. They work well together and have been encouraging other young people to join them. We hope that in a years’ time, the collective will be able to access other funding streams to continue their work together. We also aim to re-engage them with education, training and work through signposting to other organisations and setting up work experience opportunities.

If we weren't excited enough about our new studio pod, we also now have another reason to celebrate. The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded us a grant of £10,000 which will pay for some additional equipment to finish it off, but more importantly, will pay for a studio technician / supervisor for one day a week to be in the studio supporting community groups or aspiring musicians who want to produce and record in the heart of Kirklees.

To find out more about how to come and work in Safe Space Studio, get in touch with us a [email protected]

This week, our participants and music leaders have been busy testing different layouts and designing the space to make it the best it can be, and we expect it to be fully operational by Christmas.