Occupation Records, the record label that grew out of the Occupy London movement to spread the message of and support the Occupy movement, is launching the School of Roccupy this fall across the United States.
Utilizing the processes developed by Occupy Wall Street, the School of Roccupy unites artists, high school students, and Occupy activists to empower youth to amplify their voices through music.
The one day School’s, initially taking place in New York City, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, bring high school students together with well-known musicians to write, perform, record, produce, and promote a single track addressing issues they fell strongly about.
Through the process of consensus, students decide what issues to tackle and the general feel of the track. Students then self-select into four working groups – one to handle each area in the release of the single. The four working groups include:
Music Performance Working Group – the students in this working group work with artists to write and perform the lyrics and music of the track.
Mixing and Mastering Working Group – this group works with artists and sound engineers to record, mix, and master the track.
Album Artwork Working Group – students in this group design the album artwork and produce the packaging
Music Press Working Group – students in this group work with rock journalists and members of the local Occupy press working group to write the press release, interview the artists and students, handle media inquiries, and develop a distribution plan.
Each hour students return to the School of Roccupy General Assembly to offer updates from their working groups and solicit input. By the end of the day, all students leave with a packaging compact disc of their track, while Occupy activists offer follow up support for students who wish to take the lessons learned back to their schools and communities.
The original School of Roccupy class in London worked with artists Kate Nash, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., and NME journalists Dan Martin.[1] They produced a track titled “Ephebiphobia” which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaM4SV6o4I4
The School of Roccupy is being funded through an IndieGoGo campaign which can be supported at http://www.indiegogo.com/schoolofroccupy
[1] Kate Nash’s backing track for St. Paul’s camp – Evening Standard, 2.17.12
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/kate-nashs-backing-track-for-st-pauls-camp-7444168.html
