Falmouth Honorary Graduate is awarded an MBE for his work with Deaf Rave

Last July you were awarded an Honorary Master of Arts from Falmouth University. How did you find the experience?   

That was a real shell-shock moment. I’m one of five siblings, and while my brothers and sisters all went to university, a lot of my personal education came from growing up on the streets of Hackney and learning from the school of hard knocks. Deaf people in my era were at high risk of falling through the cracks when it came to education, and that was the case for a lot of the early Deaf Rave crew. For me to now be blessed with a master’s degree feels deeply meaningful.    

I was decked out in the ceremonial cap and gown, and I didn’t know whether I should throw my hat in the air to celebrate, or whether I might knock out a seagull! It was amazing to meet Dawn French, too. Being honest, I’ve never understood a lot of comedy – Deaf culture tends to be very visual, so a lot of the stuff on telly doesn’t really translate, but Dawn is my sister’s idol. She loved French and Saunders when we were kids.  

I have to say a special thanks to Falmouth University’s Adrian Bossey. He headed up the Live Audience Accessibility and Augmentation (LAAA) project, which involved installing a vibrating haptic dance floor at Falmouth, and he worked closely with Deaf Rave to learn how Deaf audiences’ experience of live music can be enhanced using kit like haptic Woojer vests. We developed a great relationship, and it’s one of my favourite collaborations so far.   

Deaf people face so many barriers, deprivation and discrimination. Mental health is an enormous issue for the Deaf community; while one in four hearing people report mental health issues, for Deaf people it’s more like one in two. It gives me real hope when I make genuine, deep friendships with advisors and mentors like Adrian, and receive the backing of platforms and organisations like Falmouth University.  

Can you tell us more about The Live Audience Accessibility & Augmentation collaboration? 

I first met Adrian in 2022 at a music venue in London where Deaf Rave were appearing. I was DJing, and MC Geezer performed tracks from his EP, ‘W.Y.S!?’ (What You Say?!), all synced with a Beat Blocks haptic dance floor.     

After getting a taste of Deaf Rave, Adrian asked us to visit Falmouth and participate in his research, which concentrates on facilitating accessibility and inclusive participation of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people at live music festivals.  

Through the LAAA project, I was introduced to a talented Falmouth student named Freya Pretty. I encountered her again at Glastonbury Festival, where she was working as part of a programme called ‘Levelling the Field’, which employs Deaf and disabled people to work backstage. Last week I invited Freya to attend a Deaf Rave Board Meeting, with a view to getting her more involved going forward.  We’re looking to bring smart younger people on board and working with universities like Falmouth is key to making that happen.   

What have you been up to recently? 

I’ve just come back from a Deaf cultural exchange in Shanghai, China that was organised via the British Council’s Connections Through Culture programme and supports collaborations between artists and creative organisations in the UK and East Asia.  The Deaf people I met in China were so keen to learn; we held a DJing workshop and a live performance with sign language rap! 

Learn more about Falmouth’s Live Audience Accessibility and Augmentation projects