Kids tap their teacher’s song at the recording studio and it will now be used nationwide by a charity

By Denny Macgee

A new track was recorded for a charity to use as a musical theme and background music for a Paisley-based charity.

And it was sung by Grade 6 students at the city’s Mary Russell School.

The song is called “I Am Me” which is the same name as the charity and it was written by Mary Russell’s teacher Martin Coffield.

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The children recorded the song at the newly opened Raptor Recording Studio in Johnstone.

I Am Me, which has won numerous national and local awards for its innovative campaigns and projects on difficult issues such as hate crimes, disability discrimination and children’s rights, will now use the song in its videos, animations and presentations as an official theme. adjust.

The origin of the recording dates back to 2018 and an I Am Me competition for schools in Renfrewshire.

Martin Coffield, teaching Mary Russell for 11 years, said: “We had developed a very good relationship with I Am Me, but then the pandemic hit and of course everything changed.

“In fact, with everything that has happened over the past 18 months, I had completely forgotten about the song until the charity asked if we would perform it when the Keep initiative launched. Kids / Young People Safe.

“We are delighted to record the song for charity use.”

The Raptor Recording Studio was opening in a building on George Street that had remained unused for 15 years.

Each student received a CD and I Am Me will use a digital version for their work.

The students designed their own CD covers to contain their individual copies of the recording.

Danny Smith, who started in the music business at the age of 16 and has been involved in it for over 30 years, was not shy about offering Raptor’s facilities for free.

He said: “Obviously the studio is a commercial enterprise and has to generate a profit. But part of my business ethic is to encourage young people to take inspiration from music and stimulate their creativity by mingling with like-minded people in a safe environment, while keeping them off the streets.

“I Am Me and the Mary Russell School do a great job with the kids. “

Mhairi O’Rourke, I Am Me Project Initiatives Manager added: “When we heard the kids singing this song at the launch, we immediately thought about using it as a musical theme.

“We had a great morning at Raptor Studios with lots of laughs, fun and even pies.

“It was great getting to know the kids a little better and watching them sing and dance.

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