FReeZACentral, the Victorian Government initiative designed to help young Victorians break into the music industry, has released their latest double CD music compilation, Mixtape. Released in the July issue of triple j magazine, Mixtape features 30 tracks by established musicians and the young artists they’ve taken under their wings. It provides the listener an amazing window through which to discover the voices of tomorrow, today. Each year, nearly fifty youths are mentored in the streams of performance, music business, technical production, marketing, and event management.
“Listening to the compilation it’s impossible to pick the mentors from the mentees!” states Jen Cloher, a second time mentor with the program. Her track Mother’s Desk, and her protégé Siobhan’s already-smoking folkie guitar number Penny Farthing appear on the double album.
I had an opportunity to catch up with Ms Cloher and Siobhan, and I asked them about the program, what it all means, and what the experience was like. For Cloher, it was an amazingly rewarding experience, deeply rooted in the philosophy of sharing. “I think in society we have a tendency to think we need to keep information to ourselves,” she says. “I’m a believer that you have to give it away. So mentoring is a way of giving back to the music scene. We need mentors when we’re first starting out – particularly in a field where you need to have so much faith in yourself and blaze your own trail. To have someone to talk to or check in with can be the affirmation that will help you to get on with your next project. It’s a scary profession because on the one hand you are faced daily with people’s success so you can move into comparison and become paralysed with fear. Mentorship reminds you to stay on your own path and not be swayed by external conditions.”
Being a two-time mentor with the program, Cloher has seen her share of success stories. “I’ve watched quite a few people come through the program,” she says. “The most exciting moment is when you see someone who is entirely passionate about music, genuinely talented, who wants to create their best work. I love watching people slowly work out what they are about and then put it into action. The most exciting thing is watching the people who create their own opportunities by being fearless and becoming a part of their music community.”
One of those who created their own opportunities was Siobhan, who had seen Cloher speak at the 2010 Face The Music Conference around the same time she was applying for the mentoring program. Siobhan explains: “After hearing Jen Cloher speak, I knew that she was the kind of mentor that I wanted. I heard that she had also been involved with the program previously, so I put her name down straight away as one of my mentor preferences.” And how has being involved in the program changed the way she approaches her craft? “Being part of the program has given me opportunities that would have otherwise been impossible,” Siobhan admits. “The program has taught me not to be afraid in venturing out of my comfort zone with writing songs on other instruments as well. Furthermore,” she continues, “the program has boosted my confidence with my vocal abilities.”
