High Rankin & friends – Untangling mental health in music – words Alexa Wang
We all face many pressures. The pressure to look right, to conform or even to rebel in the right way.
We live in a hooked-up online world too which seems to magnify everything. For young musicians the pressures are great. Many people involved in the industry have experienced emotional and mental problems. Sometimes it’s hard to admit it or even realise what is happening and try to seek help.
Well now High Rankin the DJ, producer and raconteur is exploring these pressures and how it can affect us. He is hosting a series of live podcast events at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen throughout Jan, February and March with guests including TV presenter, DJ and CALM board member Eddy Temple Morris, legendary beatboxer and HipHop artist Killa Kela and musician, performer and technologist Tim Exile (Warp/ Planet Mu/Beta). Even better a proportion of ticket sales will go the charity CALM. We’ve always liked this initiative at tackling mental health issues in an open and creative way.
“In the middle of 2018 I had a severe burnout that had been on the boil for a number of years. I was ready to turn my back on the last 20 or so years of work after feeling a pressure from the industry that I felt I could no longer bear. I began to speak to people in the industry and was shocked, but in a way not surprised, to find out that what i was feeling was far from the minority of cases but was happening to almost everyone I knew in in the industry. On my journey to resolving the issues, I had (and still have ongoing) I’ve discovered a lot about where things go wrong and what I feel can be done to mitigate against the negative effects of the industry and help to improve the lives of those suffering the same feelings”
– High Rankin
The podcast series will cover topics such as:
- How to define success in your work and industry
- How to build supportive micro communities
- how to recognise when you are falling into a dangerous hole and also speak out about what you are feeling
The podcast series forms part of Shoreditch event collective SuperCulture‘s season on MENtal health
“This residency quarter will acknowledge is that as much space as men are given to talk; it seems the conversation about the devastating effects of poor mental health is isn’t being had. Toxic masculinity still pervades all walks of life, and the Me Too movement demonstrated how devastating the effects of this culture is for women and non-binary people.’
‘Thankfully, a younger generation of people are finally having the conversations about mental health and speaking without stigma about what they’re going through. With this in mind, our upcoming Wellness quarter will feature residents addressing the core issues of mental health and deconstructing toxic masculinity from within, hearing from men, women and non-binary people on the frontline of changing this culture.”
– Jenna Al-Ansari , event organizer for SuperCulture
The first panel in the Untangling Mental Health in Music series starts next Tuesday and tickets are £10. a portion of all ticket sales going to the Suicide Prevention charity Calm.
Guests are as follows:
Jan 15th – Cyantific, Tim Exile, Ben Verse
Feb 12th – Killa Kella, Matt Cantor (The Freestylers)
March 12th – Eddy Temple Morris, Dylan Richards (King Cannibal / House Of Black Lanterns)
Tickets:
Tuesday 15th January: http://www.hoxtonsquarebar.com/listings/just-announced/29581/untangling-mental-health-in-music/
Tuesday 12th Feb event: http://www.hoxtonsquarebar.com/listings/just-announced/29583/untangling-mental-health-in-music-2/
Tuesday 12th March Event: http://www.hoxtonsquarebar.com/listings/just-announced/29584/untangling-mental-health-in-music-3/
