A-Levels: Music, Music Technology, Sociology (2005 – 2012 )
Shortly after leaving sixth form I decided to take a gap year as I wasn’t really keen on the idea of a 9k per year course I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do. I think this was the best decision I made. I applied for a seasonnaire position in Val Thorens France where I worked full time and snowboarded for 6 months. Shortly after, I travelled Asia and hopped over the waters to work in Western Australia. Coming back home felt a little depressing so I took the leap and moved to London on my own for a fresh start.
A few more years and odd jobs down the line I began to realise how much I missed music. I eventually ended up going to The University of Hertfordshire in 2015 where I studied ‘Music Composition and Technology’. I had the best 3 years, I loved every project I worked on and produced my own Ambient electronic album. I never believed I would achieve a 1st Class Honours, but somehow I did and I’ve never been so proud of myself!
School was difficult for me as I’m a slow but methodical learner, so trying to keep up with the pressure of multiple subjects was a real struggle. I always had ‘average’ grades, It really only dawned on me as an adult that actually this is ok, and nothing to be ashamed about, it’s impossible to expect every student to learn in the same way. I found what I was good at and I put my all into it.
After uni I interned for Air-Edel which is one of the top music agencies which supervise and compose music for corporations such as Disney, BBC, Netflix. I then went to work for Merlin Digital Rights which look after record label rights when distributing their content across Spotify, YouTube, etc. This job took me to fancy music awards and bougie events across London. After Merlin, I flew out to Ibiza to train in Artist Management where I got to co-manage a famous techno DJ. I then went to work in business development for a ticketing platform which works with music festivals around the world so I got to visit many cool events and countries.
I’ve been out of work for a while due to the pandemic but I am so grateful for this year of reflection to allow me the time to think about what I really want to do. I realised I craved the solitude of a quiet life and it really put the spotlight on how important it is to have a healthy work-life balance. Thanks to 2020 I finally have the time to make music again.
