Front Line Young Minds podcast series delves into the connection between music and young people’s mental health.
Front Line Young Minds is a five-part podcast series created by Lewisham Music and our team of Young Producers – Sam Sikiru, Tendo Ntege, Toni-Ann Gurdon, and Charlotte Davis, and features special guests – The Floacist, J Akasha and Lex Amor, alongside a number of music practitioners and young creatives.
Meet the Young Producers
We have a great team of Young Producers working on Front Line Young Minds, get to know a bit about them and their favourite part about producing the podcast by hovering and clicking any of the pictures below, all will be revealed along with the short intro video.
“After weeks of hosting, planning, curating and producing, we have just wrapped up Front Line Young Minds, I am so excited to show you the hard work myself and the other Young Producers put into this!”
Toni-Ann, Young Producer
What to expect on the podcast series
The series will take a close look at the connection between music and young people’s mental health with topics including, the role music plays in supporting young people’s mental health, the real cost of working within music as a woman, and the role music plays in shaping young people’s actions, and much more!
Where can I listen to the series
Episodes will be available below, as well as across all top streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Links to podcast platforms
Listen here

Episode one: Music and Me
In the series opener we explore and discuss the role of music in young people’s lives and the part music plays in supporting our mental health. Episode one touches on young people’s personal reflections and the research we have done during visits to community music projects. We also have an interview with a young upcoming artist, J Akasha as well as a performance at the end by Akasha and co-host of the podcast, Tendo.
Episode two: Women in the Industry
This episode focuses on women in the music industry. We look at the highlights and struggles of being a woman in the industry and its effect on their mental health. We also explore the situation for women working in the industry, how this has changed through the years, and how this environment affects emerging young women creatives. This episode features an interview with an emerging Lewisham-based group, as well as a 1-to-1 chat with Lex Amor, and an in-depth conversation with the legendary, The Floacist.
Episode three: Shaping Actions
This episode focuses on the role music plays in directly influencing young people’s mental health and actions. We discuss the position artists hold as role models, and the power of record labels and what they promote. We interview Natty Dreads, one of Lewisham Music’s young creatives and a very talented emerging rapper, as well as hearing some of his new music.
Episode four: The Energies of Music
In this episode we discuss energies in music, the use of 808s, the effect of sound on the body, as well as synesthesia and its effects on young people.
Episode five: It’s a Wrap
In the final episode of the podcast series we look back on the journey and speak about the project as a whole. As a group of young creatives, we also share some of our favourite artists who we believe deserve more exposure due to their talent and potential.
Project funders
This project has been kindly funded by Greater London Authority and The Albany.