Fatboy Slim Joins Mental Health Initiative

US Superstar DJ shares his skills with Heads On charity 08/07/22

Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) has joined NHS charity 'Heads On' to provide DJing lessons for people with severe mental health problems. He'll be providing lessons illustrating the joy and simplicity of mixing records, alongside some of the more technical aspects of EQ and, presumably having it large in a responsible way! Here's an excerpt from The Guardian:

Cook is here as part of a scheme funded by NHS charity Heads On to set up arts events for people with severe mental health problems, that also involves singing workshops, samba classes and sound healing. "I really wanted to make music accessible for all," says Natalie Rowlands, senior occupational therapist at Sussex Partnership who programmed the events, "to break down the stigmas around mental illness, to build people's confidence and to have really high-class music workshops in really nice venues. A lot of the people here have been musical in the past, but they've gone through so much, they're coming out of it again, and this gives them an amazing opportunity."

"Natalie reached out to me, and it sounded interesting," nods Cook. "It's sort of life-affirming really, it's good for me to see the people who've never touched a set of decks before going between two tracks and thinking: 'Whoo!' Sometimes I can get a bit blase about what I do for a job, and seeing that innocent joy about the way you can manipulate music: it's exciting, it centres you, it gives you a nice warm feeling. So it's joyful to see people who've been struggling going through that process."

Amazing work, and what an inspiring teacher to have! Read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/21/twiddle-knob-make-a-face-norman-cook-fatboy-slim-mental-health-dj-classes

Find out more about Heads On here: http://www.headsoncharity.org/

Fatboy Slim recorded a wealth of DJ mixes during lockdown, and continues to tour over the summer. Playing Glastonbury last weekend:

https://www.fatboyslim.net/

About the author [midierror]: midierror makes nifty Max For Live devices, innovative music hardware, award winning sample packs and hosts a podcast speaking to people in the music world.