Delta 7, the East Sussex band who all identify as being disabled, having autism or Down’s syndrome, have released their third album in memory of band coordinator Tom Salway who died by suicide in 2016.
The band have been together since 2014 supported by East Sussex based charity Culture Shift, an organisation that involves the community with creative and cultural projects. Since then, they have been challenging attitudes and breaking down barriers in both the learning disabled and mainstream music scene – an industry where disabled people are unrepresented.
Their third album is called The Lockdown Sessions and due to the restrictive writing process over the pandemic, the band says it is a more eclectic mix of genres and styles than their last offering, Summer Waves.
The band members – Mikey, Harry, Lister Cat, Fraser, Elliot, David and Craig – explore a wide range of themes from love to mental health, climate change to sausage rolls.
Rather than the traditional method of writing all together in a room, collecting everyone’s ideas and turning them into the song, the members were able to put their own stamp on their own individual song, creating a varied and diverse sounding record.
The band recently featured in a BAFTA-nominated documentary, which covered the death of Tom Salway and how different people deal with grief and overcoming adversity.
The film went on to win numerous awards, including the Grand Jury prize at the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2020, Best Documentary at Together Disability Film Festival 2019 as well as being nominated for this year’s BAFTA awards.
“We want to be able to do what other bands do. We want to get better and the only way we can do that is by keeping making music, isn’t it?”
Their new album is released on Friday October 29th and is available from Spotify and Apple Music. The band can be followed on Facebook and Instagram.
