DECIBELS YOUTH MUSIC

Words and Photos By Mitch Kuhn

Walking into Reservoir library looking for a music studio sounds a little misguided. It's quiet, as you'd expect. I followed the signage to the first floor where Decibels Youth Music centre is housed. Still quiet. Turns out that due to the downpour occurring that day there was a small turnout in the studios, one young person working on a project in the smaller studio B, two in the larger studio A.

I sat down with Rose, the director of the centre, and she was more than happy to share all the great work going on behind those closed doors.

Decibels is a professional grade music studio, offering their gear and expertise to anyone aged 12 – 25, free of charge and full of heart. It features three separate spaces with multi-functional and interconnected capabilities, plus a communal kitchen and hangout area. Studio A is stocked with drums, piano, guitars, amps, mics, a computer to track your recordings directly, practically anything you could want if you're a budding music maker.

Studio B is a computer lab, with six work stations each with a small interface to work with, as well as a communal desk and a vocal booth plus more instruments. Studio C is the main control room, with a computer, pre amps, many external effect units, studio monitors, mics and another vocal booth. All equipment is of the highest standard, all rooms and booths can be connected for ease of workflow, a testament to the effort put in to establishing the studio.

Rose tells me about the range of programs they run for the youth coming through. Their “Access” program runs Tuesday to Friday from 12.30 to 4pm. This is a slot reserved specifically for 1214 year olds, with terrific support from the staff alongside the young punters.

On Thursdays they host “ReZonate”, a beatmaking/hip-hop workshop from 4 to 6.30pm. Fridays there's “Turn Up”, a young women and gender diverse program that aims to create a welcoming and supportive space in which their musical projects can come to life. Outside of these, the facilities are available for general bookings, up until 6pm from Tuesday to Friday.

Alongside these, the centre also runs “FReeZA”, an event management based program on Wednesdays, from 4 to 6pm. This has been in operation since the 90's with funding provided by the state government, as opposed to all other funding which comes via the Darebin council. “FReeZA” allows young people to accrue key skills in events planning and management for any type of creative display, from gallery exhibitions to outdoor music festivals and many others in between.

Often these pathways and programs lead to further opportunities in the richly populated Melbourne music scene, be it as a performer, as part of a tech crew, an event planner, the list goes on.

This team of support officers I have been referring to are solid gold humans. I am making an assumption regarding two of them, Seth and Robin, as they weren't in the office during my visit, but if Rose and Dave are the examples being followed, then the creative youths of Rezza are in good hands. Dave is a youth arts development officer and has been at the studio for five years now. Being a professional musician aside from his responsibilities at Decibels means he is a trusted guide for the next generation of musical talent. The passion he exudes when speaking about his role working with the young community is electric.

Beyond the scope of simply being a publicly available music studio, Rose tells me that as part of the mentoring duties it sometimes becomes necessary to engage with other public services on behalf of the youths. If someone is experiencing hard times, they can turn to one of these support officers and trust them to reach out to health services, social workers and any number of other organisations. They are a critical element in providing a safety network for youth experiencing difficulty.

If you've got kids, or know of a young person who is seeking an outlet for their creative expression, please get in contact with Decibels Youth Music. Or just show up, they don't turn anyone away, in their own words they try and bring new people into projects that are underway, especially if the person is still new. You can check them out at www. darebin.vic.gov.au/decibels , call them on (03) 8470 8003 or just front up! For as Rose puts it, they're a team that exists to, “Support young people in their music or creative pursuits. It's an inclusive, encouraging space for young people.”