Music in My Mind

Dr Kamran Ahmed AKA Doc Kamran is a psychiatrist and founder of the electronic music platform: ‘Rave Reviewz.’ And the Music on My Mind event. The Doc sat down with Music Festivals Australia to discuss this year’s Music on My Mind event to coincide with World Mental Health Day.

1.We gather you first visited Sydney in 2011 but moved here from the UK in 2014, when the "Lockout Laws” had been brought into effect. What impact did this have on the music scene in your opinion?

I had a great time when I first visited Sydney, the nightlife was electric back then. When I moved here in 2014 the Lockout Laws meant music and nightlife was on the decline. You couldn't enter venues after 1.30am, amongst other restrictions, so businesses were suffering financially and parties weren't as vibrant. I was pretty frustrated by it so started Rave Reviewz, a platform to help support and promote electronic music events here.

2.Through Rave Reviewz you run the Music on my Mind campaign, focusing on mental health in the music community. How did that come about?

I work as a psychiatrist, and when I launched Rave Reviewz I realised how tough it was working in music and also how high the rates of mental illness are. Entertainment industry workers have 10 times the rate of anxiety, 5 times the rate of depression and double the rate of suicide attempts sadly.

I wanted to do something to help and realised music is a great way to raise funds and awareness for mental health, so launched Music on my Mind. Over the past two runs, we’ve raised $37,500AUD for mental health charities through our fundraising raves and reached lots of people with our online content to raise awareness.

3.What are the idiosyncrasies in the music industry that cause mental health problems?

There are lots of things that make it challenging… like the disrupted sleep patterns, performance anxiety, hectic touring schedules, easy access to alcohol and drugs and the uncertainty around income. So it's important for everyone working it in the industry to be aware of their mental health needs and for the government not to make things harder.

4.Have COVID-19 and isolation exacerbated the problems the “Lockout” laws created or created a new string of issues?

The industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic with venues shut down, events and tours cancelled and thousands of jobs lost. So I guess it has really amplified the challenges with earning a living in the music industry. Support Act, the charity for music industry professionals that we fundraise for, saw a 52% increase in calls to their Wellbeing Helpline in April to June this year. That figure looks set to increase, unfortunately.

7.Can you tell us more about Support Act and the work they do?

They're a fantastic charity that support music industry workers going through hard times. Anyone involved in music can call their wellbeing helpline on 1800 959 500 to speak to a trained counsellor if they're having difficulties.

5.What have been the challenges with this year's Music on My Mind due to the pandemic?

We can’t do a fundraising rave this year with the event restrictions, so we’re doing a house & techno livestream fundraiser from Club 77 on World Mental Health Day, Oct 10th. 50% of all proceeds will go to the charity Support Act and the rest will help with the costs of Music on My Mind, now and in the future.

8.You're collabing with some of the best electronic music providers in Sydney such as Blueprint, By Your Side, Evolve and SASH. This must give you a buzz being a big music fan yourself.

For sure, really excited to be working with these incredible brands. SASH and Blueprint have been involved in Music on my Mind before and their DJs played awesome sets for us. Looking forward to working with Evolve and By Your Side for the first time. SASH was actually the first party I went to when I arrived in Sydney, so it's nice to be working with them.

6.How can people get involved and support this worthwhile cause ?

The livestream should be a lot of fun so I hope people can tune in, dress up, dance and donate! We’ll be streaming on the Music on my Mind and Rave Reviewz Facebook pages as well as partner pages and Twitch. People can donate throughout October here: https://tiny.cc/MoMM. We'll be sharing music related content to raise awareness of mental health through our social media channels in October too.

9.Bondi Beach Radio are providing local support and publicity, does having an independent station involved help with getting your message out to a broader spectrum of the community?

Absolutely. BBR is a highly respected station in the electronic music scene so it's great to have their support. We're also very grateful to have the backing of City of Sydney and Ticketswap too.

10.Is there one song that can always turn your frown upside down?

I'm a big fan of Nicolas Jaar. His track 'America! I'm for the birds' always puts a smile on my face.

8 OCTOBER 2020