MEDIA RELEASE

Local Young People Hit The Beats With UK Music Maestro

Released 15 January 2005

Information and Cultural Exchange
PO Box 4033 Parramatta NSW 2124 Australia
T: +61(2) 9897 5744 / F: +61(2) 9897 5766

Granville may not have a beach but it is has no shortage of beats, with 16 African young people making funky hip-hop sounds at Granville’s SWITCH Centre at Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE).

Local young people are keeping it cool at ICE this Summer with the ‘Music with Mystro’ program, a partnership between arts organisation ICE, Granville TAFE and Hype-in-Ackshun. The workshops are providing young people with the opportunity to make their own beats and write and record their music and songs using digital technology. The participants are being taught by renowned hip-hop musicians MC Mystro (UK) and MC Trey, Australia’s leading lady of hip-hop, who is also a Granville resident.

UK music master Mystro, touring Australia to promote his new EP, has taken time out to share his expertise with local young people. “These kids want to be rappers or musicians but they don’t have knowledge about it,” he said. “I get satisfaction out of showing them how to be an individual as opposed to just copying other styles. They’re not just listeners, they can contribute to the taste, and that’s what hip-hop is all about.

“When I started making music there were no workshops; you just taught yourself. This is better because the students are getting hands-on teaching—you’re giving them the tools to do what they want to do. As well, these kids are from other countries, so it improves their confidence in English and it helps the cultures in those countries to grow,” said Mystro.

“We were overwhelmed by the response to these workshops,” said MC Trey, who has been coordinating the program. “Instead of going to the beach this summer, these kids have chosen to work on creating music. They motivated us to run these workshops.”

“Many of the young people participating in this program have come to Australia as refugees from Africa in the past year,” said ICE Director Lena Nahlous. “Some of the young people have been here for less than three months. Music is a language that crosses borders and allows self-expression.”

SWITCH Multimedia and Digital Arts Access Centre is a partnership between ICE and Parramatta City Council and was developed to increase access to arts technology for communities across the Western Sydney region. The centre received core funded through the NSW Government Ministry for the Arts.

For further information on ICE and SWITCH and upcoming workshops call 9897 5744
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: CAROLINE SHEPHERD 9897 5744.