St Andrews students launches mental health album

A second-year St Andrews student has released a new album encouraging people to talk about their mental health and to raise funds for Mind.
John came up with the idea for ‘Let’s Talk’.John came up with the idea for ‘Let’s Talk’.
John came up with the idea for ‘Let’s Talk’.

‘Let’s Talk’ features musicians from around the world playing songs that reflect upon their own experiences with mental health – and urges listeners to think about their own mental health and wellbeing.

The album is the brainchild of John Kite, who, having heard about the financial troubles many charities were facing because of the Covid-19 pandemic, wanted to raise funds to support the charity, Mind – the mental health charity provides information and support to those who are struggling with mental health issues.

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John was also aware of how lockdown had impacted on a lot of people.

“As a result of lockdown, mental health was going to be negatively impacted,” he said.

“It was isolating and could be depressing. That’s part of the reason I wanted to help Mind.

“It was important for me to try and do some good through the album. And it comes at a time when Mind has struggled. I wanted to try and turn a negative into a positive.”

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John, a musician who has released his own music in the past, contacted friends and other musicians, including another five from St Andrews, to put together an album.

A summer internship had been cancelled because of the crisis, and John wanted to make productive use of his time and help those in need. And it was not just his friends who helped.

The St Andrews Folk and Trad Society have also been involved in the effort, as well as musicians from around the world.

The album was released last week and has already raised more than £600, at the time of writing, towards Mind.

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Figures showed that nearly twice as many people were showing symptoms of depression during the height of lockdown as usual.

This was part of the reason John wanted to record the album – and made his own contribution.

“My song is called ‘It will be OK’,” he said. “It’s about mental health and when you have too many thoughts.

“For some people, being alone with your thoughts is not a good thing. The song says it’s OK to be overwhelmed sometimes and not to be OK.

“A lot of people are struggling, but if we can make a difference with this album that would be great.”

To donate or listen to the album, visit the website – linktr.ee/Letstalkcharityalbum.

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