Sian Anderson: Youth First

Meet Sian

Last weekend, the brilliant Sian Anderson hosted our exclusive concert at Gorilla Manchester with Not3s & Jaykae! Check out how Sian Anderson puts youth first in the rest of the blog.

At age 29, Sian Anderson is an ambassador for Grime music, a DJ and presenter on BBC Radio 1xtra. From a young age, Sian had a love for music, especially Grime music. She even considered being a Grime MC herself at one point to fill the gap in the market. Though, she much prefers to help get things moving and watch artists develop over time. This attitude is reflected in the projects she has created and worked on for young people in the last few years.

Moving Through the Industry

Before working at BBC Radio, Sian was previously a presenter at Rinse FM. It was after covering for various BBC Radio hosts including DJ Target and Charlie Sloth that she became a regular on 1Xtra. In 2016 she and Julie Adenuga (a lead DJ at Apple Music’s radio station, Beats 1) launched ‘One True Calling’. A programme designed to prepare young Brits with the skills they need to start careers in the media industry. Which is just one of the many youth projects Sian has worked on.

Floor SIXX

Over time, Sian realised that there was no clear stream for young people leaving university or school to work in the music industry. With the help of Jason Black, co-founder of Crep Protect, she started a project called Floor SIXX. At Floor SIXX lucky students are given a chance to be mentored by industry experts such as A Dot from 1Xtra and Rashid Kasiyre (Link Up TV) while undergoing a course in presenting, PR, songwriting and more. To fund the programme, an ep called ‘Stop Talking’ was put together. The money raised from the music allowed them to partner with Red Bull Studios to deliver the programme across 10 weeks with an emphasis on being able to pay for mentors and making that an industry standard.

Women in Music

Sian with the artists from Nexxt Step and Sadiq Kahn.

In 2018, Sian launched Nexxt Step with the government as part of the #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign. It was a 4-week programme for young female artists based in London that includes four weeks of mentored workshops, allocated studio time and writing camps. Sian said she wanted to make it educational but enjoyable with a critical focus on empowering women. At the end of the course, the group of artists had created an EP: Behind Every Great City which they performed at XOYO (a trendy club in London) and City Hall.

Apprentice Nation

On Sunday 8 December, Sian Anderson hosted our exclusive concert where Not3s & Jaykae performed a set of their hits. She also interviewed Not3s when he came down to our final Action Day and answered questions about his career and finding success.