Hi Guys!
Have you heard of the term ‘pay it forward’?
Pay it forward, in it’s simplest form is the idea of; doing something for someone else without any reward or benefit to yourself.
When I started playing live music I promised myself that if I was ever lucky enough to become a full-time professional live musician I would pay it forward or give back to the community.
Luckily I achieved my ambition of becoming a full-time musician early on in my career & as such I wanted to give something back! I wanted to help our elderly, so I performed for many care homes around the local area. I help charities, by performing many big stage & theatre shows for them. One main charity I work with is ‘Singing for Happiness’ in which I became an ambassador for. I even wrote & produced a charity single in which we recruited the help of 15 classical crossover artists from all around the world to sing with me on the record. Finally, I wanted to help our younger generation and for many years I attended schools performing for children & helping to inspire them through music. (Watch the Xmas School Video) I often receive messages from the parents of schools I’ve performed for who say their child has found their voice through music, & this warms my heart! In fact I’m still in contact with many of the families & they, to this day support my musical journey which is so lovely.
So that’s the backstory done! Now, onto the exciting part of the story…
I have agreed to produce a record for 12 year old singing sensation, Ciaren. I heard Ciaren singing a beautiful rendition of ‘Read all about it – Emeli Sande’ on Instagram & was blown away by his raw talent, how he connected with the song & amplified the meaning of the words.
As I am so busy with international live music performances & projects I don’t get very many chances to go into schools & inspire our youngsters these days. So this for me is a perfect opportunity for me to pay it forward.
It was a great privilege for me to watch Ciaren experiencing the studio environment & vocal booth for the first time. It really took me down memory lane thinking about my first experience of being in the studio. It was a real joy watching Ciaren become more comfortable in the vocal booth & start to laugh and joke with me as we recorded takes. After a time he become more adventurous with his vocal runs & in my opinion gave the exquisite Emeli Sande herself a run for her money!
The special thing about Ciaren isn’t just his voice; he’s also a really well mannered, very kind & clever young man. I’m very pleased to be working with him & helping to inspire an already very inspiring, young man. Please do join me in follow his musical journey.
Once the record is complete I will update this blog post with further information & leave a link to the record so you can all hear & enjoy young Ciaren’s singing! (TIME MACHINE) The record is complete & we even shot a little video for it! Click here to view it!
Here’s a link to the ‘Pay it Forward’ website if you’re interested in learning more about the non-profit charity & spreading a little kindness yourself: Click Here.
Speak soon,
Matt 🙂