“Art is an Integral Part of Culture”
Mental Health in Music
“In Europe, governments look to support and protect [music] because they understand its value, but in the UK the government see it as a joke,”
Edinburgh-based hip-hop artist, Conscious Route (real name Rolain) does not stutter or hold back when talking about mental health in music, especially following his debut collaborative album Lost Routes. You can blatantly see the passion he has for this subject with not only his new album but in how thoroughly he can talk about this subject.
“I think art supports a lot of people with their mental health. My personal journey involved a lot of trauma, rejection, and anger. Music gives a voice to the feelings and experience of the conscious as well unconscious self, and that helped me not just in my understanding of self, but also got me back connected to knowledge and education”
After working with many youth organisations throughout his life, the projects allowed Rolain a first-hand insight to see how music and art helps young people find their voice and speak about their challenging experiences. “I work as a counselling psychotherapist and have seen someone draw something that made me understand deeper than they could convey in speech. Art, they say, is the portal to the soul and I wouldn’t disagree”
His debut collaborative album, Lost Routes is a crafty combination of live instrumentation, hip-hop, D&B and electronica. Touching upon current themes, the record is filtered with interview skits helping convey his messages in a more direct approach without coming across preachy. ‘How would you describe the relationship between music and mental health?’ asks one of the interview skits, encouraging the consumer to recognise themes that can be hard to distinguish initially in hip-hop records.
“I mean, the biggest cause of mental health problems [is] mainly environmental, so child trauma and poverty or just neglect and a lot of other factors. In musicians, I think the reason why a lot people get into art is because life puts them on the path, and they find music acts as a soother maybe to what they have experienced. In terms of the system we live in and the way mental health as well as art is valued is a big indicator to the issues we face in the current climate. Art is an integral part of culture because it is emotionally felt and a relatable way of engaging in the community”
A recent report found that 73% of independent music makers suffer from symptoms of mental illness, and that anxiety and depression were the most commonly experienced negative emotions in relation to music creation. Rolain expresses that he feels this is becoming a class issue due to processes musicians need to endure to gain funding for projects. As a result of this, he believes that the working class will be at the bottom of the pile, when it could be them needing music the most as mental health support.
“I think, financially, the government and art councils could do more for people in the lower classes regarding funding for projects. I think class is an issue in that a lot of the forms are too difficult for even educated people to fill in and it kind of leaves the money going to people who probably have a lot more resources anyway. I find the funding streams and what they are asking of artists in terms of evidence generally puts this out of reach. This could be the difference between someone being able to continue on an important path, not just because their talent, but also because the art is maybe the only support they have for mental health”
It seems the government seem to be the easiest to blame in terms of lack of support for the arts and the mental health of those responsible for the art. As he previously stated, “In Europe, governments look to support and protect that because they understand its value, but in the UK the government see it as a joke”. He continues, “I think the lack of moral value to human wellbeing is because of the aristocracy and values they hold in terms of the contempt they show to lower classes. We are more like cattle to them, something to maintain so they can use us as a resource to keep them wealthy and sustained”
At Quite Great PR & Marketing, we have set up the Quite Great Musician Therapy Service in conjunction with specialist skills coach and psychotherapist to help support artists that we work with. You can find out all the information HERE
‘Every recording artist and performer of music has to have at least two sides to their personality in order to really reach the heights that they wish to achieve, and as they go through each stage in their development they need to handle many differing pressures, from demands made on them by managers, labels and agents to handling being ‘dropped’ by labels and at times coming to terms with the fact that their popularity is diminishing’.
Where mental health issues are such a risk for musicians today Quite Great makes sure that mental health is a main priority and is something that they will help to support throughout campaigns.
‘At Quite Great we believe in caring for our clients on all levels. We spend a lot of time making sure we understand all areas of our client’s background, including their lives and how this may have influenced their music and the importance it has played. Music can be inspired by many things including tragedy, hardship and mental health issues. We therefore offer professional guidance in how to deal with these issues and how to try and create a positive outcome from these situations’
Email ask@quitegreat.co.uk for more info.
Stream the new Conscious Route album HERE
Words by Jasmine Hodge
