Guest blog by Big Leaf Foundation

Big Leaf Foundation is an award-winning charity supporting displaced young people aged 15-25 across Surrey.

They first launched their Music Connects project in 2020 as a direct response to the increasing social isolation caused by Covid lockdowns. Music Connects is designed to bring displaced young people together with young people from their local communities to develop friendship and comfort in the places we call Home.

For displaced young people beginning new lives in the UK, one of the many challenges is working out how to build positive connections in their new communities. Language and cultural barriers, separate ESOL classes in colleges and a lack of family networks can make it challenging to meet and mix with local young people.

This works both ways. Many young people growing up in Surrey have no idea how many of their peers are restarting new lives in the same area, often alone and after great hardship. There are very few opportunities for these two groups to meet and make friends, and Music Connects changes that, fostering understanding and empathy on both sides.

Alongside the lead vocalist and guitarist from Canadian rock band Mother Mother Ryan Guldemond and multi-genre, multi-instrumentalist producer Livingstone Brown, the young people spent a day at ACM Studios planning, writing, and recording a track.

The song ‘Please Don’t Let Me Down’ features young people from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kurdistan, Chad, Afghanistan, Surrey, and Sudan. It explores themes of hardship, self-awareness, and hope and is a beautiful fusion of musical styles from across the world. The final track was mixed by Ryan Guldemond and mastered by ACM.

“The amount of friendship and happiness that was shared really stood out. The project gave me new friends, perspectives, abilities and memories all of which I am very grateful for.”
​J, Music Connects Participant

The track is now available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music, and any proceeds will support future Music Connects projects.