On 5 April the University of Westminster held a launch event to celebrate the soundtrack of BBC Three’s new series Boarders release on Spotify, an album produced by Associate Professor Mykaell Riley and Westminster students.
The 22-track album has a wide range of genres running through it including reggae, electronic, rap and RnB to name just a few. The event brought students, colleagues and industry professionals together to celebrate the achievement and listen to performances from those who contributed to the album.
The BBC Three series, created by award-winning writer Daniel Lawrence Taylor, follows five talented underprivileged Black students from inner-city London as they gain scholarships at St Gilberts, an elite boarding school. It is a high energy, coming of age comedy drama following a problematic viral video involving a student. The leads are offered sixth form scholarships to St Gilbert’s in an attempt to rehabilitate the image of one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious schools.
They soon find themselves in a world they can only describe as something out of Harry Potter, surrounded by lush playing fields, cloistered grandeur and complex social rules which they must decipher quickly in order to survive.
Photo: BBC Three, Boarders
Westminster’s Mykaell Riley was the Musical Director for the series and invited Westminster students to join the team to create the soundtrack to the new show. The students brought a diverse mix of talents and musical perspectives, with a mix of male and female song writers, vocalists, rappers and programmers getting involved. The group got the chance to use a range of technology from Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, Vimeo and Adobe Premiere to create the soundtrack to the show.
Through the experience they got the chance to face real-life challenges of creating a TV soundtrack, with students at one point contributing from New York, Canada, Italy and the UK to hit deadlines.
About the experience Mykaell Riley, Reader, Director for the Black Music Research Unit (BMRU) and Principal Investigator for Bass Culture Research at the University of Westminster, said: “This was such a great opportunity for the students. For many of them this involved an almost vertical learning curve, but suffice to say they not only delivered the soundtrack, but gained a unique experience and an IMDb credit on their CV.”
The students' collaboration on the album directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and 4: Quality Education. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfill their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Listen to the full album on Spotify.
Find out more about Music courses at the University of Westminster.
Photo credit: Nattan Ralph
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