They say music cures all. Local producer Avrum Nadigel is putting
that adage to the test with his unique musical project MN8 (pronounced
emanate) Sound, a youth-driven digital recording company for 13-
to 19-year-olds. After an arduous two-year struggle, Nadigel and
the MN8 kids are launching an eight-song CD titled 2K3 (which
means 2003) at an all-ages bash hosted by the Lotus Sound Lounge,
owned by philanthrophist Mark James, a supporter of the project
from the outset.
Nadigel, the company's project manager, first dreamt up the idea
for MN8 Sound in 1999, just prior to leaving his hometown of Montreal
for the West Coast. The rock band that he had formed and in which
he had played guitar for years had finally made it big, signing
with Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon's record label and playing at the
prestigious hard rock festival Ozzfest. Yet Nadigel wanted no part
of it.
"I found rock 'n' roll was bringing out the worst in me,"
said Nadigel. "The industry is so competitive that you start
doing these crazy antics to gain attention. Everyone's on stage
saying 'Hey, look at me!' and I didn't want to be like that anymore."
Instead, Nadigel concocted an outlandish idea that would renew the
passion for music that the industry had sapped from him. The idea
was to introduce teens to music in the way he wishes it had been
presented to him – with integrity and without the narcissism
and sexual and violent messages. After getting hired to be a drug
and alcohol counsellor with the Burnaby Boys and Girls Club, the
dream began to evolve into a project with an even higher motive.
"I realized years ago that many of my toughest clients identified
music as an important aspect in their lives," Nadigel explained.
"MN8 Sound was devised as a means to use that musical interest
as an alternative to substance abuse. With that in mind we've tried
to offer a positive, creative, team-oriented project that builds
self-esteem. Don't forget, many of these kids have never had any
of those things in their lives."
The success of this approach is best exemplified in Nova Rilly,
a 20-year-old woman who first started with MN8 Sound as an 18-year-old
who was struggling with family and emotional problems. She is now
one of the project's leading volunteers and recording technicians.
"The project really did change my life," said Rilly. "Self-confidence
has always been my biggest problem and more than anything MN8's
helped me see that I'm not a failure."
For Nadigel, these successes are a moral victory, literally. After
growing up in a secular household, the 35-year-old began on a path
of increased religiosity in his mid-20s that continues to grow.
He feels many of the concepts behind MN8 Sound are part of tikkun
olam, the belief that Judaism can be used to make the world
a better place.
"There's an idea within the Chassidic world that everything
has godliness in it and, hence, can be used for good," explained
Nadigel. "So while popular music is generally associated with
undesirable behavior, I think, in the right environment, we can
encourage kids to express themselves positively through pop music."
The influence of Nadigel's Jewishness on the project does not end
there. He credits many of the skills needed to run MN8 sound to
the many jobs he held within Montreal's Jewish community from the
age of 13 until he left the city at 30. The most important lesson,
says Nadigel, was the daunting task of raising funds. The support
of noted organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada,
and music heavyweight Universal Music are proof that the lesson
was properly learned.
Yet as ambitious a project as MN8 Sound is, Nadigel's sights are
set way farther, to the land of his ancestors in fact. Just as music
has given troubled Canadian kids the opportunity to break out of
negative, perilous environments, Nadigel believes introducing digital
sounds to Israeli and Palestinian youth could have similar far-reaching
effects.
"Pop music spans borders, language, religion; it may be our
only hope at getting these kids to talk to each other," said
Nadigel. "I have no doubt they'd find out they have more in
common than they think. And who knows, maybe the adults will start
listening as well."
For their part, MN8's teens have far less grandiose expectations;
they are just happy to get the first CD under their belts.
"I didn't realize how hard it would be to sing the same song
over and over," said 13-year-old Randi Overdick, the youngest
of the troupe. "That's been the biggest challenge – trying
to sing a song with passion when you're really sick of it."
MN8 Sound's CD launch is an all-ages (15+), non-alcoholic event
that takes place at the Lotus Sound Lounge, 455 Abbott St., June
29, 7 p.m.-midnight. Tickets are available at www.mn8sound.com
or at the door. All money raised will be used to purchase new studio
equipment.
Ilan Saragosti is a freelance writer and filmmaker living
in Toronto.
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