Ayrshire College charity single set for release during Mental Health Awareness Week
A charity single recorded by former Britain’s Got Talent winner Jai McDowall for Ayrshire College’s #PassingPositivity campaign will be available to download from 10 May.
‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ will be released at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week (10 May–17 May) in association with The Kris Boyd Charity for #PassingPositivity, a mental health awareness campaign organised by HND Coaching and Developing Sport students at Ayrshire College.
A songwriting competition was organised for #PassingPositivity last year, which was won by then-16-year-old music student Leah Batty. Jai - a former Ayrshire College student - has now recorded the song following a short delay due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Ayrshire College’s student-run record label Sun Turtle Records is behind the record, which was produced, recorded and mixed by David McAulay (who has worked with King Creosote and Mogwai) at Ayrshire College’s Rockpool Studios, and was mastered by Paul Savage (Mogwai, The Twilight Sad) at Chem19 Recording Studio.
The artwork, which was hand-picked by Jai McDowall, was designed by eleven-year-old Prestwick Academy student Fraser Ferguson as part of an Ayrshire-wide competition and portrays a similar message to the song’s lyrical content.
A special episode of Rockpool Podcasts will also be released on 10 May through Spotify, featuring discussions with Jai McDowall, Kris Boyd, Leah Batty and staff from the college explaining the process of how the collaboration came together.
A remix of ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ has been produced by former Ayrshire College Sound Production student Daniel Beattie (aka Bluewave), from Saltcoats, as the B-side.
Jai McDowall said: “I have really enjoyed being part of the single. It was great to be back at Ayrshire College recording, and it’s a great song for a great cause. I am really looking forward to seeing how well it does in the future.”
Former Scotland, Kilmarnock and Rangers striker Kris Boyd said: “It has been brilliant to be a part of another #PassingPositivity achievement. I have worked with the college for a few years now on this mental health awareness campaign, and it’s been great to take it one step further this year by using the song to raise awareness of mental health challenges.”
30 April 2021
Share this post
