Leeds School of Arts students support Leeds artist Graft on upcoming music

Graft, who is actively involved in the Leeds cultural scene, came to Leeds School of Arts during two weeks in June, where he recorded new songs, to be released next year. Students from Music and Sound courses joined the rapper in the Leeds School of Arts studios, to support with hands-on tasks like recording, editing, and preparing the final tracks to be sent to Graft’s producer.

Xanthe Sparke, a third-year Music Production student, said: “I enjoyed the opportunity to work with Graft on this project. It was fun to learn about creative process and find ways to enhance this in my role as a producer. Getting to meet students from other courses and build connections in the Leeds music scene is very important and I hope to work with them again.”

Jacob Shipley, a second-year Music Production student, said: “To work with an established artist and with fellow students on music that others will get to listen to and enjoy is really exciting. Graft is great to work with and I look forward to hearing the final result of our work together.”

Ben Foden, a third-year Music Production student, said: “This is a great opportunity for us. It’s been a pleasure to work with Graft, he’s a really talented artist. In the future, I’m planning to do a lot more studio work, which is why working with Graft has given me some great experience.”

Sam Langman, a third-year Music Technology student, said: “I chose Leeds School of Arts because it offered great lecturers and guest lecturers, as well as exciting external opportunities, like working with Graft over the past two weeks. It’s been really interesting to work with a well-known artist, it gave us a real sense of working as professionals.”

Graft, who is an award-winning Leeds-based rapper, commended the students’ skills and the facilities at Leeds School of Arts: “It’s been amazing to be in the studios over the past two weeks, working with these amazing engineers. We’ve been recording new songs, working with a drummer, trumpet player, vocalists, and a poet. It’s been great to meet the students, work with the musicians, and get the songs done. The facilities are amazing, and hopefully I can come back to Leeds School of Arts more often and use the space again.”

Leeds Beckett University is a Principal Education Partner of LEEDS 2023, contributing to the yearlong celebration of culture taking over the city. Students across the university, and especially at Leeds School of Arts, have had a chance to work with professional artists, or within industry settings, to prepare them for careers across arts and culture.

Alex Stevenson, Course Director for BA (Hons) Music Industries Management and BA (Hons) Music Performance and Production at Leeds School of Arts, said: “Projects like these offer incredible opportunities for our students to put their creative and technical skills into practice, as well as make full use of our fantastic recording studio facilities.

“These real-world experiences allow our students to apply their knowledge and network with musicians across the vibrant music we have in Leeds and help us bridge the gap between education and professional creative practice, supporting our ethos of our students being active participants within the creative industries from the moment they enrol on our courses.

“Graft is an incredible young artist who has been working with our alumni community, so he had confidence in our ability to both provide professional recording facilities and student engineers who would be able to support his creative vision. We are delighted to collaborate with him on this project.”

Music and Sound students at Leeds Beckett University benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, such as recording studios, performance studios, production suites, dubbing theatres, acoustics testing labs and more, all kitted out with the latest industry-standard equipment. Here, anyone who is passionate about music and sound will be able to create, innovate and develop the skills required to unlock a range of exciting career paths within the industry. To find out more about studying Music and Sound at Leeds School of Arts, visit our website.