From his regular radio show on Reform Radio, Music & Mind, Levi Love has been busy highlighting the indelible link between sound and the psyche and this weekend the program finally comes to life down in the SOUP basement. Two former guests of the show, Mike O’Mara and Amy Amor, will join him in the DJ booth for a night celebrating the healing power of house music whilst raising much needed funds for mental health charities Mind and MASH.
The aim of Music & Mind will be to book artists who have a story to tell and a journey to share rather than big name headliners and this weekend’s first event features a trio of veteran DJs who all also work in mental health.
Dr Molefi Dinga Mathe aka Levi Love
Music saved Levi from the psychological cul-de-sac South African township life often creates for residents. Deep house music shaped his desire to stay true to himself. That included looking after fellow humans in terms of their mental health. In addition to spinning and making tunes, he’s now a child and adolescent psychiatrist for the NHS, hosts Reform’s Music & Mind show, and works with Save Our Scene to help those experiencing mental health difficulties with DJing and production.
Mike O’Mara
Mike has been playing records for more than 20 years across the north of England, holding down residencies at Development and Inside Out in Manchester, and huddle in Sheffield at various points, sharing booths with the likes of Move D, Kerri Chandler and Linkwood. Between those late night excursions and mixtapes for institutions such as Wolf Music, Stamp The Wax, Sub Club and Mr Bongo, he’s also worked in various mental health and substance use roles for a decade, and his current role is with NHS Alcohol Care Teams.
Amy Amor
Smooth vibes in 4/4 format, Amy is a monthly resident at Levenshulme spot Overdraught and also holds regular court at Swansea’s Dogruff and Lost & Found parties. She’s had festival appearances at legendary Welsh weekender Freerotation, Love Saves the Day and Full Circle, and runs her own Present Tense party, which currently calls Eastern Bloc home. Aside from all that, she is Greater Manchester’s first full-time paid Peer Support Worker within a community mental health team, using a combination of empathy and lived experience to provide support and empower individuals in their own recovery. She is also NHS Lived Experience Consultant for community transformation and service improvement.
With the traumas of the pandemic still fresh in the memory of musicians across the UK, many of whom suffered severely with their mental wellbeing during lockdown, this weekend’s event hopes to raise awareness about the therapeutic effect of music for all of us, and allow attendees to contribute to mental health charities and allow them to continue providing their vital services.
Music & Mind
Sat, 25 Feb 2023
22:00 – 04:00
SOUP
31-33 Spear Street, Manchester, M1 1DF, United Kingdom
