A West Cumbrian DJ and club owner is to lead an initiative aimed at inspiring the next generation of artists.
Jonny Donat, who runs the Workington nightclub Electric Soup and the Canned Heat Gin & Cocktail Bar is launching the Cumbria and Lake District DJ Academy which will welcome its first students on April 4.
The course is free and is open to 11-16-year-olds in Carlisle, Barrow and West Cumbria.
There will be groups of up to 20 students per area and the academy is currently recruiting for tutors to help deliver the workshops.
The course will take place over four days, with a further 10 days in the summer and a similar course in winter.
Discussions are also underway to take the students overseas as part of the course.
“I used to work at RV Projects five years ago before I opened Electric Soup, and we worked at Furness College and worked with local kids who fell away from education at 16 to try and get them back engaged,” said Jonny.
“We did work experience and things like that. We did level three qualifications in English, Maths and then things like life skills and employability. We did a three-month course and then at the end we took them on a trip to Eastern Europe to do voluntary work.
“I saw a video of kids DJing at Workington Academy and got in touch with my old boss to see what was possible and it looks like it is going to do well.
“There is nothing available like this currently.
“We are going to be going around schools and pitching it to the kids.”
Jonny hopes that the initiative will help foster the next generation of DJs – but also help to provide some well-needed leisure activities for teenagers in Cumbria, keeping them out of trouble.
“It is about both of those things,” he said.
“It’s about giving people access to something that is not in the normal curriculum and we are hoping it will give kids something different to do and allow them to get a career through it.
“That is the aim of it.”
Jonny has been running Electric Soup events for the last four years but says one of the highlights was a surprise visit from BBC Radio One DJ Danny Howard in 2019.
“He had been at a wedding in Workington and posted asking if there was anywhere nearby for an afterparty. He turned up and played for free,” said Jonny.
“He came back and played for us too and gave us a mention on BBC Radio One.”
As well as welcoming Danny Howard through the doors, the club has also seen sets from Defected Records queen Sam Divine, The Shapeshifters, Dave Pearce, Melé and Darius Syrossian.
Jonny says COVID had a huge impact on his business.
“It was a horrible year last year and the year before. Last year we had 30-40 per cent of people not turning up to events who had bought tickets,” he said.
“That makes it very difficult to manage.”
But with the easing of restrictions, Jonny is now seeing a bit of a resurgence in dance music in the county.
“We are now seeing a lot of events popping up in Carlisle, Whitehaven, Millom – everyone is trying their hardest,” he said.
“It’s good to see it becoming such a common thing.”
A recent survey suggests the UK could soon be left with just 5,000 nightclubs – almost half the number in 2010.
And with the full extent of the coronavirus pandemic still to be established, it is feared that number could go even lower.
“I have seen it online and it is quite scary,” said Jonny.
But he is seeing signs that the demand for clubbing remains.
He says a warehouse party planned for Dunmail Park tomorrow sold out in just 15 minutes. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the event will now take place at Whitehaven Civic Hall.
A takeover of Dunmail Park will take place later in the year.
But looking to the future, Jonny is working on exciting plans with Electric Soup in Ibiza this summer.
With t’s to cross and i’s to dot, he is staying tight-lipped for now.
Anyone interested in signing up to the Cumbria DJ Academy is asked to contact [email protected] or call 07472 960369.
Meals will be provided during sessions.
