GOOD NEWS FOR THE WELSH MUSIC SCENE:
Pontypridd artist, Hemes Selected By Forté Project
in a new Covid friendly model.
Despite the recent hardships faced by the music industry in Wales, Forté Project, an artist development scheme for emerging musicians, is proud to announce that Hemes from Pontypridd has been selected to embark on its 2021 programme on Thursday 7 January, alongside eight other artists.
Forté Project did not give up the fight in 2020 and has secured Arts Council of Wales and PRS Foundation funding for the first time, allowing the project to expand beyond its original South Wales regions and reach artists across the country.
Thanks to this, Hemes will be given professional industry support designed to progress her early career, during a six-month mentorship programme.
She will receive masterclasses from top names in the industry such as Romesh Dodaganda (Grammy-nominated producer: Bring Me The Horizons), Corey Sanders (Songwriter for Katy Perry), Warp Records (home to Brian Eno and Aphex Twin), Bethan Elfyn (BBC Radio Wales), and Davey Newington (Boy Azooga).
Naturally, the programme has been shaped to suit a more Covid friendly way of working with all classes taking place digitally, and the addition of some new pandemic-proof lessons. Hemes will gain an understanding of how to professionally live stream and record tracks at home, which is more important now than ever before.
On top of this, another new yet relevant aspect of the programme this year is working with Mental Health England to deliver a digital mental health support package tailored to each act.
Forté Project’s Lead Officer, Spike Griffiths says, “Even though the past year has been crushing for the music industry, it feels great to finally say that something good has come out of the other end.”
“It was important for us to adapt our ways of working to be relevant right now which is why we’ve introduced live streaming, home recording and mental health support packages for each artist.”
“The new way of working has allowed us to expand outside of South Wales and discover incredible quality of music like Hemes’s. Obviously, this all made things very difficult for the panel in the final selection process.”
Commenting on her selection, Hemes shares, “I’m so excited to be part of the Forté Project this year! I am really looking forward to getting to know the other artists, collaborating and attending industry sessions. I can’t wait to see what this year brings!”
Over five years, Forté has worked with over fifty young artists to build their profile, generate opportunities and provide the necessary knowledge to help propel them into a career in the industry. Former acts who have previously benefited from Forté support include Welsh producer EÄDYTH, pop act HANA2K and singer-songwriter Otto, who signed to Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart’s record label in 2020.
