Derbyshire music lecturer diagnosed with brain tumour releases album to aid vital charity

Matt Toole, who was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumour in May last year, has brought together friends and colleagues from across the music industry to create an eclectic album in the hope of raising further awareness about the cancer.

MORE: Woman dies in Derbyshire crash

Proceeds from the album – called Survival is Instinct – will go to the Brain Tumour Charity, which has been there for Matt along his journey so far.

The 39-year-old, who is releasing the album through his record label Fight or Flight Recordings, said: “I’m really excited about the release and the projects we have coming up.

“I hope we can raise lots of money for the battle against cancer.”

Matt said producing the album was a ‘challenge’ as he was going through gruelling treatment at the time – but it was well worth all the effort in the end.

“Luckily I’ve been well supported by friends and family, which has made it a lot easier, because occasionally I thought about giving up,” he said.

“It’s been very hard trying to coordinate the numerous different producers who have donated tracks for the album – but I feel the music we are releasing is of a fantastic quality."

The album promises a unique range of different music styles, including vocal drum and bass, instrumental hip hop and deep dubstep.

Matt said: “It’s basically a celebration of UK underground electronic music, where the tracks support one another well.

“The mood of the album shifts, track by track, creating an engaging and evolving listen from start to finish.”

Matt’s brain tumour can only be controlled through treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

When he was diagnosed, he was told the average life expectancy for people in his situation was 15 months.

Matt said: “Despite the prognosis, I’ve returned to work and am looking forward to the future.”

Survival is Instinct will be released on Friday and can be preordered now at fightorflightrecordings.bandcamp.com/releases.

If people don’t want to buy the album, they can still donate money to the Brain Tumour Charity via www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fightorflightrecordings.

MORE: Man arrested after cyclist seriously injured in suspected hit-and-run at Chesterfield roundabout

A message from the editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor