For music students, getting the chance to step into a real recording studio is pretty exciting. But having your work featured on the biggest album of the year is even better.
For students at the Regent Park School of Music, itâs nice to have a friend like Taylor Swift.
Swiftâs new album âLoverâ includes a song, âItâs Nice to Have a Friend,â that samples a composition written by a group of music students from the school, which offers a wide variety of music education to kids ages three to 18 in Torontoâs high-priority Regent Park neighbourhood.
âItâs Nice to Have a Friendâ samples âSummer in the South,â a composition recorded earlier this year by RPSM students with the help of music producer Frank Dukes, who has worked with The Weeknd, Drake, Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar.
The original piece features 14 of the schoolâs students, between the ages of 9 and 18, playing guitar, saxophone, cello, violin, viola, steel pan, harp, organ, strings, drums, and xylophone, as well as their voices.
âSummer in the Southâ is featured along with 10 other compositions from the same session on âParkscapes,â a music library that donates the majority of its sales, licenses and royalties back to the school. Mustafa the Poet, a Regent Park native who has won acclaim for his poetry since age 12, gave the tracks their names.
It was Dukes who shared the piece with Swift. Her decision to buy the sample and use it in her song means that every sale, stream or sample of her album will bring royalties to the school.
Thatâs no small thing, given that Swiftâs new album, which was released last Friday, became the top-selling album of the year during its first day of sales.
Employees at the school knew that Swift had been eyeing their work since December, when âParkscapesâ was recorded, the schoolâs executive director Richard Marsella told HuffPost Canada. But they didnât know if it would actually happen â they didnât even know which track she was looking at.
âThere have been rumblings for months that weâve been keeping quiet, because weâre this little community music school,â Marsella said.
âItâs Nice to Have a Friend,â the song that samples the schoolâs composition, seems to be about a couple who first met as kids at school, with lyrics about sidewalk chalk and video games. The words are simple and innocent; the music is whimsical and almost melancholy. Billboard called it âthe most captivating song on âLover.ââ
Thematically, the song was a great choice to incorporate the schoolâs composition, Marsella said. âShe couldnât have written a more apropos tune to give to our kids and our organization as a beautiful gift to us,â he said. Hearing the song for the first time was a âbeautiful revelation,â he added.
Beyond the obvious benefit to the school and the community, it means a lot to the 14 students featured on the song, Marsella said. âTheyâre going to be reflecting on it, and putting it on their resumes, and remembering it for the rest of their lives.â
Dukes seems to also be encouraging other artists to take note of the Parkscapes library. âThe album is comprised of a series of sparse, melancholic compositions that are ripe for use by contemporary music producers and artists,â Dukes said in a press release.
Marsella, for his part, added that the second volume of âParkscapesâ will likely be out this fall.
He also readily admits that he didnât know too much about Swiftâs music before this past week. âIâll go on record saying I wasnât the hugest fan. I just didnât know enough about her work,â he said. âBut I really admire her now, as a role model, as an artist who takes this very seriously and does everything with thought.
âIf you have that power and youâre using it for good, hats off to you. I want to be on your team. Iâm a Swiftie now.â