Anna Schmidt pictured live sound mixing for the Oakland Rain production.
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Laili Shahrestani, Features Editor
On March 4, Norwegian folk duo Oakland Rain made their way to the Manhattan University TV studio to film an episode of Higher Education Today, hosted by educational consultant Steven Roy Goodman. The duo is composed of twin sisters, Charlotte and Maren Wallevik, who not only have a passion for singing and songwriting, but stress the importance of mental health and hope to make a positive change through their music.
The main focus of the episode was to highlight the work of Oakland Rain, and their approach to creating music that is associated with themes of personal growth, mental stability and self-discovery. A number of Jaspers, including members of faculty, got the chance to bring the production to life by working behind the scenes in the TV studio.
Michael Grabowski, P.hD., is a professor in the communication, sound and media arts department at MU and also served as the director of the recent production of Higher Education Today starring Oakland Rain. When speaking to The Quadrangle, Grabowski expressed how he was emotionally moved by the message of the singing duo all throughout directing the episode. He emphasized that their live singing performance at the end of the production conveyed a message that was extremely important and current to today’s world.
“When they were there, singing live, even though I was directing, the song hit me in my heart,” Grabowski said. “I had tears in my eyes at the end of the song because of the emotion that they carried through. They had these very soothing folk melodies, but the lyrics are really about issues in our time, such as, ‘How do young people deal with such a crazy world that we live in? How do you stay sane in such a crazy world? How do you reach out and ask for help when you’re having issues?’ And so, their songs do get very deep into their lyrics about that.”
Oakland Rain emphasized how they hope their music can impact their audience in a positive way, or even act as a catalyst for people to start thinking more about their mental health and overall state of well-being. The duo emphasized that they aspire for their music to be interpreted in a way that will cater toward whoever is listening, and affect them beneficially.
In their interview with Goodman, Oakland Rain said, “It’s really cool how we as humans can relate to songs, movies and different kinds of art through our own lens, and it’s really wonderful to share our own experiences and have someone else interpret it their own way, and maybe take it into their own lives.”
Anna Schmidt, a junior and a double-major in communication and sound studies at MU worked as the sound mixer for the production. Schmidt has a background of working with sound, and spoke about her thoughts regarding how music and mental health are greatly correlated.
“As a musician myself, music has been my solution to mental health issues that I have faced,” Schmidt said. “Music is a wonderful, creative outlet in the sense of being able to put your stories out there, and then also sometimes when you write, having other people be able to listen to it and feel the exact same way.”
In addition to spreading awareness through their lyrics and creating relatable music, Oakland Rain’s appearance at the MU TV studio opened up multiple opportunities for students to get hands-on experience working in a professional production environment. The filming of this episode was special for Jaspers who have never had the opportunity to work on a professional segment before, as it will air on cable television with their names in the closing credits.
Sam Wofford, a junior communication major at MU, worked as a camera operator on set of the production. He shared his gratitude for the experience, and how it allowed him to grow as somebody who is aiming to excel in media production.
“This was the first time I was ever credited with anything on live air. It’s really cool,” Wofford said. “It’s airing in Washington DC, on the Educational Access channel. I feel very privileged to be able to participate in something like this. I just feel very happy that I was able to actually have my name accredited to something, especially something that I aligned so closely with, being mental health and music.”
Wofford also spoke about how he is minoring in music, and that he resonates with Oakland Rain’s approach to bridging the gap between mental health and the music industry. Wofford expressed how sharing messages through singing and songwriting is an effective way to impact people on a deeper level.
“Their content was really powerful to me. I minor in music, and songwriting is a huge deal,” Wofford said. “They really know how to incorporate mental health in their songwriting. Especially as Norwegians, their approach to mental health is very open. So I was listening in, and I just thought that what they were spreading was a fantastic message. And I was really happy to be a part of it. Songwriting is such a good medium for mental health. Spreading how you’re feeling through music can be hard to do, but it’s also very rewarding.”
Billy Walker, a junior and the president and co-founder of the Manhattan University Media Network, served as a producer on the production with Oakland Rain. Walker emphasized how the development of this segment was a huge milestone, because it showcased the growth of the MU Media Network in such a short period of time since their creation last semester.
“At the beginning of the school year, MC-TV was just MC-TV and not yet the MU Media Network it is now, and there was barely anyone involved,” Walker said. “There were no active members, but not even a year later, we have every position filled and everyone is amazing. It’s just really great to watch and really reassuring.”
The segment of Higher Education Today featuring Oakland Rain will air on UDC-TV in the near future. In the meantime, you can watch the final production of the segment on YouTube.