Young people from Cornwall's Sowenna mental health unit launch an album

The album has 17 new tracks and was created by young people during their inpatient admission at Sowenna. The work was enabled by visiting music producers working with many new music forms including Hip Hop, IDM, folk, indie pop, d&b, soundart and dubstep.

Listen to the album on SoundCloud.

Jonathan King, Head of Education at Sowenna said, "For some of our young people, the opportunity to create music and experiment with sounds has been a small ray of light and hope during a very dark period in their mental health.”

"We are incredibly supportive of this project, our school and our charity and their work to improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing," added Debbie Richards, Chief Executive of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

The young people and the staff team at Sowenna worked with creative partners, dBs Pro at the dBs Institute in Bristol and dBs-i a non-profit sound and music company, for 2 years.

Jay Auborn, Creative Producer at dbs Pro said, “We all know that music can be powerful and in some cases change people's lives, but having access to instruments and the confidence to pick one up isn't always within reach.  During the making of this album, we worked with young people who, in some cases, had no previous experience with music and sound creation. Using simple-to-operate and affordable technology, we helped remove the entry barriers for engaging with a creative practice, in this case, music and sound art. It was a privilege to have been involved with the project and see first-hand the enormous benefits playing with sound and music can have for young people dealing with so much in their lives.”

Dr John Matthias, Head of Research at dbs-i added, "The new tracks are both imaginatively creative and thought-provoking and it would be great to hear them on the radio.”

The Sowenna Appeal Charity funded the project and provided crucial and easy-to-use music technology equipment and visiting music producers which enabled the young people to create hip-hop and pop music song forms. The tracks were mixed in Bristol at dBs Pro at The dBs Institute by Jay Auborn and Bristol-based music producers Gemsski, Tugkan Mutlu, Louis Marcell, Pauls Lux, Dr P, Gutnose, Jamie Bird, Matt Smith and Elise Livingston.

A parent of one of the young music creators said, "The work that Sowenna does is amazing. There is nothing else like it in Cornwall and it is so needed for our young people.”

About Sowenna

Sowenna is run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and provides inpatient treatment for young people aged 13 to18.

Sowenna welcomed its first patients in October 2019, delivering on the NHS commitment to reduce the number of young people treated miles away from home. It's Cornwall's only adolescent mental health inpatient unit.

Young people access Sowenna as either day patients or inpatients. In addition to providing all the usual facilities you would expect from a hospital, Sowenna also has a multi-purpose activity barn, an educational wing with equipment for arts, music, cooking; a gym, and therapeutic outdoor areas. There is also accommodation for parents.