Putting Music into the Community.......
We are Music is a registered charity helping people through popular music. We help young people make friends with shared interests, develop skills, and perform at events in the local community. In addition we strive to provide for the advancement of young people into the music industry, and education.
We are Music -(WAM) Harwich & Jaywick. We provide regular sessions for young people between nine and sixteen where they mix together in bands, develop skills and make friends. Most of the young people stay for several years or longer and for many it becomes the focus of their interest and friendships and important to their well-being.
We are Music- Strives to provide for the advancement of young people into the music industry, and education. We are excited to be running a project Let's Break the Mould with the support of the Youth Council , Decoy Studios and Colour Sound.
WAM Youth Council comprises seven young people from Harwich & Jaywick who meet regularly to come up with ideas to provide a better support to everyone. They run the Saturday Club and have instigated and delivered several projects.
We are Music is a charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered in England 6916641 Registered Charity No. 1130937 Registered address: 12 Queen Street, Great Oakley, CO12 5AS WAM HARWICH, WAM JAYWICK are operated by We are Music Ltd.
WAM HARWICH is located at Building 4, Dovercourt, CO12 4DP
In the summer we had a visit from The Health Lottery and they have put up this article on their website under the heading Good Causes! and produced a video.
We just wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you that support us as a charity enabling us to support young people and work closely with the local community.
FREE ROCK BAND SESSIONS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Essex Music Hub helped us pilot this programme in 2023 and now we are progressing long term funding with a National Community funder to support this expansion. We provide free Rock band classes at our centre for local primary schools. Up to thirty children are receiving six weekly one hour sessions, during school hours delivered by a team of Music Leaders. There are two one hour sessions 1-2pm, 2-3pm in three fully equipped rehearsal rooms.
THE YOUTH COUNCIL CONTINUES TO BE ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY. Following on from the Saturday Sessions, the production of a CD of all the bands for the Christmas show, and the support to the local primary schools further initiatives are underway.
- We are to provide monthly DJ and drum and bass sessions to Harwich Youth Club.
- workshops in A & R and recording techniques at Decoy Studios were conducted.
- The WAM summer show at Hamford View on Saturday 1 July was supported by over 200 local people with a great afternoon of sunshine.
Let's Break the Mould
This project has received grant funding from Youth Music. It will provide a better deal for young artists to fund their recordings, release tracks and work with Industry Professionals.
The project will:-
- Give young people the support necessary to develop A&R skills to identify and support young artists.
- Prepare artists for submission to the Colour Sound panel of Producers.
- Enable selected artists to record in a world class studio
- Develop sound engineers skills including workshops with professional engineers.
WAM Harwich
New members are welcome and you do not need to be able to play. You can join at any time. Contact us now to register your interest phone Toby on 07713 336919
Harwich Centre -We have three studios, fully equipped with drums, amps and PA. We run sessions between 5-9 pm on Mondays. We provide all equipment and a one hour supervised session. All sessions are free.
WAM Saturday Club
These run regular sessions on Saturdays between 10am and 2pm, these sessions run every week during term times and fortnightly during holidays. Contact Toby 07713 336919
The “open house” sessions will be for social gathering, jamming and rehearsal spaces open to current and former members from both Harwich and Jaywick.
This provides an opportunity for former members to re-join the local music community. It enables them to play with other people not in their band, book rehearsal space, organise gigs and fundraising in the local community, form new bands and just meet up with friends
WAM Jaywick
New members are welcome and you do not need to be able to play. You can join at any time. Contact us now to register your interest phone Toby on 07713 336919
Jaywick Centre -Sesions run on Tuesdays between 5 -8pm at the Jaywick Martello Tower where we provide full band equipment including PA and full drum kit. The one hour supervised session is free.
WAM Term Times
- 30 October to 20 December 2023
- 4 January to 16 February 2024
- 26 February to 28 March 2024
- 15 April to 24 May 2024
- 3 June to 23 July 2024
- 2 September to 25 October 2024
- 4 November to 20 December 2024
- 6 January to 14 February 2025
- 24 February to 4 April 2025
- 22 April to 23 May 2025
- 2 June to 22 July 2025
Youth Council.
The Youth Council comprises members from WAM Harwich & Jaywick. They run the Saturday Club and shape the future of the Charities activities.
Chris Scott
Chairman Trustee
He is is a director of Hamford Studio & Colour Sound. He has worked with Cenzo Townshend for over 20 years building Decoy Studios.
Peter Browne
Trustee
Pete has supported We are Music since its formation in 2009. He helped build much of the facilities and continues to provide regular support.
Amber Scott
Trustee
Amber works as an Equality Diversity & Inclusion Officer at an independent School in Norwich. She is a multi- talented musician, singer song-writer.
Joe McCann
Trustee
Joe is a former rock school apprentice who worked for several years at Decoy Studios. He worked on such artists as Ed Sheeran, George Ezra and Jamie T.
Toby Scott
Project Manager
Toby is a multi- talented musician and Manager of Hamford Studio. He is Project Manager for all projects with experience as an both event organiser, live sound engineer and music mentor to bands.
Nigel Whatling
Music Leader
Nigel is co-founder of the Curves a drummer with many years experience. He supports sessions in the Harwich & Jaywick centres and helps young bands get live gigs.
Nakitta Scott
Social Media
Nakitta provides her social media skills working with young bands and artists. She also has provided music reviews for an online magazine and a blog. She is also our Safeguarding officer.
Kyle Willats
Music Leader
Kyle finished his Internship in March 2021. He runs Hamford Studio is a DJ, plays in bands, provides video engineering and supports all WAM activities.
Tyler Gosling
Studio Engineer
Tyler has completed a popular music course at Colchester Institute. He had developed his skills in Pro Tools,and manages the Saturday Open House sessions.
William Atkinson
Music Leader
He is an accomplished vocalist and guitarist working with young bands. He has completed a Popular music course at Colchester Institute and manages the Saturday Open House sessions.
Fran Douglas-Gray
Studio Assitant
Fran is an acomplished guitarist nd is currently studding music. She is developing skills in Pro Tools,and assists with WAM Harwich.
Decoy Studios
Decoy Studios Melton, Woodbridge IP13 6DH. Situated just over an hour outside of London in picturesque Suffolk countryside, it provides a truly unique recording experience. This is the home of award winning mix engineer Cenzo Townshend The studio is equipped with Pro Tools Ultimate and Dolby Atmos with two 7.1.4 reference rooms.
Hamford Studio
Hamford Studio is located in Little Oakley CO12 5JJ. The Studio provides excellent facilities.The studio is a Network Partner with Decoy Studios and has received considerable help from Cenzo Townshend.
Located in an idyllic location with sea views across open fields. It provides the perfect location for song writing and recording. It also provides overnight camping for extended stays at the site. It operates with Pro Tools Ultimate and can mix in immersive Dolby Atmos.
Following on from our GET KNOWN project we are now pleased to be able to extend our work with the Let's Break the Mould 18 month project funded by Youth Music.
This will provide a better deal for young DIY artists. Enabling them to benefit from online streaming, to get their music heard, develop a following and receive streaming income. chrisscott@we-are-music.org.uk
Get Known has helped many young artists with live performance videos and industry knowledge. With the expansion of online streaming and social media our ideas needed to change and we are committed to our continued support to 18 -25 year olds.
The support of Colour Sound provides a mechanism to share income from the artists streaming income with potential fans and those wishing to help young emerging artists.
The Project will
- Give young people the support necessary to develop A & R skills to identify and support young artists.
- Seek artists, from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have excellent original material, an active social media, a significant following, good work ethic, performance skills and are driven to succeed.
- Support the work in preparing young artists to be ready for submission to the Colour Sound Producer selection panel including an audition video.
- Provide opportunities for talented artists to progress their career by obtaining a deal with Colour Sound that enables them to record in a World class studio with top engineering staff and release their material online.
- Assist young sound engineers to develop their skills including workshops with professional engineers including mixing in Dolby Atmos.
Colour Sound is committed to help young artists and has a panel of Professional Engineers, who work with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Snow Patrol, Everything Everything, Paloma Faith and Keane and will select artists they would like to work with at Decoy Studios.
The big ambition of this project is to provide a fair and innovative way for emerging musical artists to gain funding and support for their work, while also giving fans and backers the opportunity to share in the success of the artist they support. chris.scott@coloursound.org
- Artists are selected from an audition video by a Producer.
- The ownership of the recordings and song remain with the artist.
- Any other income from performances and merchandising remains with the artist.
- The issue of track tokens (NFT’s) by Colour Sound will support funding for artists to meet recording costs and any excess will be paid as an advance to the artist
- The artist has no upfront cost, and shares the streaming income with Colour Sound and the token holders after agreed production costs have been recouped.
- This provides a mechanism to share income from the artists streaming income with potential fans and those wishing to help young emerging artists and perhaps back a winner!