Welcome back to another #5MinsWith feature, where we introduce game-changing creatives in the music industry. For this feature, we invited Color Of Music Collective’s Social Media Leader and Contributor, Emily Yankana, to learn more about this fascinating platform.

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“The Color Of Music Collective is an inclusive environment where LGBT+ and POC voices are amplified in discussions regarding what is happening in the music industry right now.”


###### **The Quarantine Mixtape:  How would you define Color of Music Collective to someone who has never heard of it? **

**Emily Yankana:** The Color of Music Collective is an initiative that brings together panelists from all the sectors of the music industry, specifically from POC and LGBTQ+ communities (that's our main focus!). Through our biweekly panels, we hope to increase diversity and inclusion. We aim to be a force to be reckoned with and be leaders within the music industry. Through the Collective we want to place more of an emphasis on increasing conversations surrounding these topics.

###### **TQM: How was this platform created? What was the inspiration behind the Collective?**

**EY: **Our founder, Mia Van Allen, realised during her internships in the music industry that there weren’t that many people that looked like her. Those experiences led her to recognise the lack of representation for <people of color> in the industry. Similarly to co-founder Carla Hendershot, who in her work experience wasn't surrounded by people who identified as <LGBT+> like her.

Mia pitched the idea to Carla and it all took off from there! I was later brought in to help with the social and digital side of things. That’s how the Collective came to be!

###### **TQM: How did the team evolve from there? How many people are involved? **

**EY: **It was a combined effort of advocating and looking for volunteers within the college scene and online groups. We wanted to create a platform that would empower our volunteers to reach out to their own communities and create meaningful impact elsewhere.

It's really crazy to me, we now have over 100 volunteers! The great thing is that they all have something to show, they all have their own skills and their own work that they get to share on our feed. We let our volunteers pick the path they want to be on. 

![ColorOfMusicCollective-Logo_CircleCrop.png](https://bucketeer-5a8ae918-5ea2-4eb8-aeb4-3d222713feda.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Color_Of_Music_Collective_Logo_Circle_Crop_0ad021636b.png)

###### **TQM: Can you tell me more about the Mentorship Programme? **

**EY: **Our Executive Director, Marcella, alongside Mia and Carla, wanted to give back to the volunteers, they wanted to create opportunities for them. That’s how the Mentorship Programme came to be. We matched up our volunteers with different mentors for a 10-week programme. Everybody has their own projects, they are all working on growing their confidence and working on their feedback. It’s a really exciting programme and I'm really looking forward to seeing it grow!

###### **TQM: On a more personal note, how did you find the Color of Music Collective?  How did you become the Social Media Leader and Contributor? **

**EY:** Mia and I met in college and became friends instantly: we both had the same ambition and drive. She came to me with the idea of the Collective while she was still having preliminary conversations with Carla. She wasn’t sure what to call it... I suggested we should name it ‘Color Of Music Collective’ because color defines more than just our race or religion, it's all-encompassing! 

We both came from Public Relations and Communications, I graduated last year and have been working ever since. Mia asked me to run the socials as I'm more focused on the strategic, digital and content creation side.

With the help of our great volunteers and amazing graphic designers we all work as a functioning team: they help me write the posts and plan our larger showpieces... It's a lot of planning but we are constantly developing all parts of the Collective!

For example, our panels are very time consuming, finding the right people to chair, making sure everything is ready to go…

![73FEA855-4CE5-4EBB-94AE-43CFB3056533.jpeg](https://bucketeer-5a8ae918-5ea2-4eb8-aeb4-3d222713feda.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/73_FEA_855_4_CE_5_4_EBB_94_AE_43_CFB_3056533_f3f4cfa4c2.jpeg)
[The Future of Live Music:Post- COVID Panel ] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6FxdifTRBY&t=6s)


###### **TQM: Where do you see the Color of Music Collective going in the future? What are your goals? **

**EY:** On the topic of panels, when I’m sitting there I can’t help but feel empowered. These conversations need to be heard, people are recognising the importance of social movements and people who didn’t have a voice are now coming forward and standing their ground. We are getting the conversations started! We have started to invite  speakers from all sectors of the industry, they all highlight the same problem: we obviously need change to mitigate those issues and prevent them from keeping people suppressed. We want to hear everyone's voices!

I think these panels play a pivotal role in creating conversations and mitigating change. At times we've had panelists saying that it's the most refreshing thing they have been part of in a long time! Going forward, we want to definitely continue our work with our panelists. 

Additionally, one of my favourite parts of the Collective is to see our volunteers thriving. For example, some of them wanted to include artists and musicians into these game-changing conversations. We took this and created a section of the Collective dedicated to this purpose called ‘The Cultural Reset’. It's been really exciting to watch our volunteers come up with their own ideas and develop them within the platform. Our volunteers ARE the collective and are the ones who will take it on in the future. 

If you would like to volunteer, don’t hesitate to get in contact on [colorofmusiccollective@gmail.com](mailto:colorofmusiccollective@gmail.com)


#5MinsWith Color Of Music Collective

Lockdown chats is back! Aka our interview series in which I go around Zoom calling all my favourite artists and see what they have been up to during lockdown.



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For this first episode, I interviewed Greysha. The Norfolk (UK) born singer, who is just finishing college and is ready to take the music industry by storm. Her work ethic and passion for her project are truly inspiring. 

###### ** “I’ve always loved music. Female singers like Katy Perry and Selena Gomez, I was so obsessed with them! There were so many artists that I was so inspired by: the know how to portray a message and give people power and makes them feel great (...) I remember sitting in my mom’s car and thinking I want to do that! I want to help people through music!” ** ######

We talked about her creative process and the meaning behind the lyrics of her new single Aspirin (out now!)

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Watch the full interview [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCrday0QB_E&ab_channel=TheQuarantineMixtape)

Greysha is managed by [MLR Management](https://www.instagram.com/mlrmgmt/?hl=en)





Greysha // Lockdown Chats 

In August 2020, I received an email with probably one of the most beautifully crafted Electronic Press Kit’s (EPK) I have ever seen. The eye-catching quotes from the likes of Ally Shehan and the Culture Fix promised genuine and authentic talent - and safe to say these quotes did not disappoint. 

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Alexander Mountain is a singer/songwriter from East Sussex (UK). A genuine, down to earth musician with a true passion for his craft. He describes his sound as similar in the range to “ pop and a folky mix and match”. He draws his inspiration from the early musical works of [Bon Iver](https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LEiUm1SRbFMgfqnQTwUbQ?si=-wm1_0ctQ9qE51Iz8RzS_g), [Gabrielle Aplin](https://open.spotify.com/artist/3w6zswp5THsSKYLICUbDTZ?si=7lMOqnaTRkyKhyEpzuBrog) and [BANKS](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2xe8IXgCTpwHE3eA9hTs4n?si=RWIUfMvFRqmO2DwlvsfYfw).

During our call we talked about Alex’s musical career: from a GCSE class project, to releasing anonymous songs on Soundcloud, to the release of his two singles and his exciting plans for 2021. 

As time progressed, Alex felt more comfortable sharing his own feelings and struggles of transitioning into adulthood, “I felt I was being pushed with expectations of what I should and shouldn’t do. I think there is this belief, not so much now but with older generations, that in order to live a happy life you need to have a partner, a house … when you are thirty you need to have kids”.


![301d2be0-5b3c-4537-9675-a40267342457.png](https://bucketeer-5a8ae918-5ea2-4eb8-aeb4-3d222713feda.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/301d2be0_5b3c_4537_9675_a40267342457_7f19e13903.png)
Listen to [We Fall Down](https://open.spotify.com/track/7gc9QgcLYK4gwMCMIGCVAP)

Taking inspiration from these topics and through some (very!) encouraging friends, Alexander took the plunge in early 2019 and released his first single [Blizzard](https://open.spotify.com/album/3W8a9vF3dyOO5sJ2iaUls9?si=t83PmOXlRfiE3B422KXgVA). At the time, he was having a “really shit time, of course” (he joked) “as is always with the beginning of a good song”. After the success of his first single, Alexander got straight back to songwriting and published his second single [We Fall Down](https://open.spotify.com/track/7gc9QgcLYK4gwMCMIGCVAP) a year later, on July 23rd 2020. “I got really nervous and anxious because it had been over a year since my previous release and I was like oh god! Now i'm stressed! So it took a long time to get to where it was, but I learnt a lot throughout the process and can hopefully learn from that experience”. 

###### ““With lockdown it's been so hard to be productive, when you have so much time for yourself, you lose that pressure and also that motivation to do things because everything just feels like a constant cycle. It's very difficult to motivate yourself! For me when I tried to record over 2020 I just kept on getting annoyed at myself, not happy with what I was recording… I then came to the realisation that I had to understand my own limitations. I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking other people to help you with bits and pieces, especially if you lack experience on them. It's taken me this long to realise this though!”  ######

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Watch the full interview [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hthpZIhJksk&ab_channel=TheQuarantineMixtape)


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