The Three Minute Heroes project gives a platform to young people for expressing their innermost thoughts and feelings through the power of music.
Three Minute Heroes Vol. 2
Three Minute Heroes is helping spread mental health awareness with their latest album.
Hull's Warren Youth Project is releasing the compilation album Three Minute Heroes Vol. 2 – a mental health initiative that gives a platform to young people for expressing their innermost thoughts and feelings.
With music written and recorded by local bands and artists, successful in their own right, from the Humberside and East Yorkshire area, they’ve worked together to create an infectious mental health and music masterpiece that dives into the raw emotions we all find ourselves dealing with from time to time.
Since the release of Three Minute Heroes Vol. 1 a few years back, this worthwhile initiative has been so effective in helping young people find a voice, build their confidence, and learn to express themselves, that it’s been added to East Yorkshire’s Withernsea High School curriculum with much success. Now there are plans to do the same with other schools in the area as far as Manchester. What a perfect example of the healing power of music!
As a hotbed of emerging talent, Hull’s music scene has much to offer – and the album features many different genres within the alternative sphere. The album gets off to a quick start with folk influenced "Where To Begin" by Alice Clayton ft Brodie Milner. Having written her track from the words given to her, Alice said, “It’s clear from what I read that these young people are trying to work out where they fit in the world with so many expectations. Everything’s so saturated and they’re trying to work out how to navigate their way through it all as they grow up.”
The album then transitions into the second released single "Being Alone" by Brosnan – an indie rock anthem with distinctive vocal hooks reminiscent of The Strokes in style and feel. It’s a track that touches on issues that many young people face, like loneliness and depression. "Being Alone" has been immensely successful since its digital release getting airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music and numerous other stations across the land.
The first released single "Nausea/Fatigue" by Joe Russell-Brown also shined early on, catching the attention of Radio X’s John Kennedy and BBC Radio 6's Steve Lamacq. This slice of lo-fi indie slacker throws us back to the angsty grunge days of Kurt Cobain with a mellow guitar and whispery vocals loaded with a powerful punch of emotion. Again, the words are a key part of the track and deal with overthinking about other people’s opinions.
At the end of the album is a unique spoken word piece from Jodie Langford called "Wet Newspaper Wishes". She lifts the words off the paper with her performance to conjure up some powerful imagery, all underpinned by an ethereal soundscape that takes the listener on another emotionally infused worldly journey. Following this, producer/DJ Endoflevelbaddie finishes the album off with a remix of Jodie's words that's a true mashup of styles, finishing the album in a very different place to where it all started.
With World Mental Health Day this month, Three Minute Heroes serves as a unique approach in spreading mental health awareness. As 2020 has been a year of trials and tribulations, it's so important to recognise the healing power that music can have in everyday life. From folk to indie and spoken word poetry, young people were given a platform to express themselves creatively. What a beautiful thing!
You can stream the album and visit the Three Minute Heroes website below to keep updated on the project.