SoSlam – writing the hits of the future

August 23, 2018 by Ray Morgan

Last week I ventured into Chinnery’s (scene of many a teenage ‘going to see my friend’s boyfriend’s band’ nights out) to see the SoSlam Young Musician’s Showcase. ‘Young Musician’s Showcase’ brings to mind perhaps a flute recital, or classical piano…this was not your average kids’ music performance. SoSlam is a non-profit community collective of local musicians, who create labs for young songwriters to develop their skills and talents as musicians and songwriters. 

This was the live showcase of all the kids’ hard work (I say kids, they’re all secondary school age, but I’m in my mid thirties so I can legitimately call them that) and there was an excited buzz as the venue filled up with the performers, their parents, friends and supporters. My friend’s son, 13 year old drummer Herbie Buckley-Robinson (the reason I went along to the night, Jo and I have been babysitting Herbie and his brother since they were 3 & 4 years old!) opened the show with a percussion set and really set the tone for high quality music. With just a djembe drum perched on his lap, Herbie created impressive beats that got everyone moving. This kid has been tapping beats on any surface he can find since he was still at primary school – to see him come alive on stage was a really proud moment.

The teens that came on after were mostly performing their own songs (with a few well-placed, wry covers) – something I found absolutely staggering. Honest, heartfelt lyrics that sounded like they had a lifetime of experience of love, loss and everything in between – when I was their age I was writing poems about lichen and too scared to show anyone anything I’d written. I was so impressed by their confidence, their poise and professionalism. 

The fact there is a platform for young adults to get together and brainstorm songwriting ideas and inspire each other is so bloody great. The songwriting talent was so high a standard that I kept thinking that we’d caught a lucky glimpse into the hit-makers of the future. I didn’t get to stay for the whole event but aside from Herbie, two other musicians stood out for me: Nate Doucette, a perky young dude who can rock a flat cap who showed us intelligent songwriting alongside a punchy cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Baby One More Time’. That song came out in 1998 and I was 14 – I bought it from Woolworths on CD single. Nate wasn’t even born yet, but he did the cover right by making it his own. I was also blown away by Clementine Talbot, a young songwriter who cracked out such a perfectly pitched, effortlessly languid ‘I’m over you’ ballad that I stood there, in the Chinnery’s, on a Thursday night while the Golden Mile flashed and blared outside and thought: this is a hit. This song is going to be a hit. Southend’s answer to Sia was right there on the stage.

I felt privileged to watch these young musicians perform, and can’t wait to see what they do next.

Find out more about SoSlam sounds at http://soslamsounds.com

This article is by Ray Morgan. To read all of Ray's previous blogs, please click here