“When I first heard that kinetika bloco was holding the bloco banger sessions I was sceptical at first I was worried the way they would explain the process would be complex and too advanced for my level . But I was wrong, I was welcomed by the tutors and they were very helpful and explained the process very simply. I enjoyed working as a group as it made me feel a lot more confident, we learned from each other and discussed our ideas among us .After every session I was more and more exited for the next session. it helped me experiment with creative melodies I didn’t think I was capable of writing . I learned so much in a short amount of time and had an equal amount of fun doing it too.
I am extremely happy to have my song (atl’s battle) selected to play with bloco especially in a time where we have not been able to play together having my song be one of the first pieces i play with other people in person in 7 months is almost surreal to me. I had a wonderful time and one of the best experiences i’ve had in a long time.” –
Atl, Bloco member, Brass and woodwind section

Run by Jermaine Amissah and Misha Fox, together they took a group of 10+ young people through the process of composing a song from scratch for the Bloco. That includes creating bassline, melody, harmonies, chords, A sections, B-sections, texture. Then taking these creations and assigning parts to brass, woodwind, steel pans. Then finally using all off that to create drum parts. Here’s what Jermaine had to say about it. –

“For five weeks, we embarked on an amazing digital journey to write two amazing pieces of music with some of the young people who are a part of the Bloco over zoom. It was so much fun working with them and sharing the creative process behind writing and arranging for the Bloco.

We spent each week building up the tunes from the bassline, to the melodies and chords, and also the drum rhythms that will accompany them. Learning to compromise with one another and accepting that not everything that they came up with will be used is a huge part of growing, not just a musician but also a human being and they handled it with the upmost professionalism.
The final products were absolutely amazing and so much fun to play live and together when we were able to come together.

When the second lockdown was announced, we decided to run the programme again with a new group of young people. I’m really excited to see what ideas they come up with and how it will all fuse together to become an amazing piece of music… stay tuned!”

We wanted to find out what our young people had to say about the project. Here’s what Bloco member and young leader Ben had to say –

“I feel that the bloco writing session was very helpful. It allowed everyone to get a better understanding on how to write songs whether in a group of by themselves. Everyone is unique, so the way they come up with ideas and build songs is different as well and by showing that to everyone it allowed them to understand and maybe to take a different approach to song writing which they wouldn’t have taken previously. Even if you haven’t written a song before, this is a good place to start and build up your knowledge.”
Ben, Bloco member, Brass and woodwind section