UWS Student turns recovering addicts stories into music at Ayr River Garden
April Dowling worked with residents at River Garden to transform their life story into songs.
An Ayrshire Student has been helping survivors of drug and alcohol addiction to tell their stories through songs.
Commercial Music Student at UWS, April Dowling has been working with the residents of River Garden Auchincruive – a recovery centre outside Ayr – to transform their stories of addiction into music.
The centre – located on a stunning 48.5-acre site on the banks of the River Ayr – offers a residential programme for people in the early stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
"I was very lucky they trusted me"
April has spent months getting to know some of the residents, and through collaboration and conversation, turning their lived experiences into lyrics that they felt represented them, in a genre of music that they connected with.
The centre has worked with UWS for a while, but this project was something completely new, and April is hoping that through the music, it can contribute to River Gardens mission of removing the stigma surrounding addiction.
She tells Greatest Hits Radio: “I was very lucky, that the residents trusted me with their stories. They’re in a very vulnerable situation to tell me about that.
“I interviewed all the guys extensively and from there went through it, highlighted key parts that I thought would fit their songs to the stylings they wanted their stories to sound like and just from there allowed the creativity to flow.
“Speaking to someone about their life experience would make a lot of people uncomfortable, but not me. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone here and finding out about their life.
“I hope it does help remove stigma. Being able to turn that lived experience into a song, it might help someone relate to it more, and appreciate the meaning behind it.
“I’m so pleased that I have been able to work with these amazing people, at this incredible facility.”
The men behind the songs
All proceeds raised from the album are going directly back to River Garden, and the some of the residents have been telling Greatest Hits Radio their thoughts on the outcome of the album.
Franky has been in recovery for around 8 months and it’s the first time in his life that he’s been sober for an extended period of time. He had written poetry about River Garden that helped influence April’s lyrics for one of the songs.
Franky said: “I’d always done a bit of writing throughout my life, but I’d never shown anyone it. Now April has turned some of the lyrics of my poem into a song that tells the story of me wanting to now change my life.
“Alcohol and Drugs effects everyone’s family in Scotland, so I think if people can gain an understanding of what the lyrics in these songs mean, it could help them to understand a family member who is struggling with addiction.”
One of the other residents Kern, who has been at River Garden for 15 months, said he was shocked at the results.
He told Greatest Hits Radio: “I couldn’t believe it. I’d asked her to make my song a rap because that’s my music. I didn’t know what to expect but wow it really blew me away. You never expect a song to be written about you, it’s a nice feeling.”
Margaret Gibson OBE, a trustee at River Garden, said: “The residents involved in this project were absolutely delighted at the end results, and it has been an enormously positive experience for them.
“I’m truly grateful to April for taking an active interest in the life-changing work done here at River Garden, and I look forward to watching her career going forward. I’ve no doubt that her future is bright.”