For World Mental Health Day 2024, Lowswimmer has shared a moving cover of the Frightened Rabbit song ‘Head Rolls Off’ in support of the Tiny Changes charity.
Tiny Changes was set up in memory of Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison, who took his own life in May 2018 after battling depression. The charity was launched by the late musician’s family – his brother and Frightened Rabbit drummer Grant, brother Neil and his parents.
Its name was inspired by a lyric from Frightened Rabbit’s song ‘Heads Roll Off’ (“While I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to Earth”), and it aims to improve the mental health of children and young people. Around the time of its launch, Hutchison’s family explained that they hoped to continue “the positive impact that his art and music had on so many people”.
Now, in time for World Mental Health Day, Lowswimmer has shared a cover of the track that inspired the charity’s name. It comes as the indie electronic artist announced a special partnership with the organisation.
Available exclusively on Bandcamp today (October 10), all proceeds raised from the single will be donated to Tiny Changes. The song will go live across all major streaming platforms tomorrow (11).
“It’s a privilege to work with such a great cause whilst covering such a beautiful song, one that means a lot to me and so many others, from an incredible, hugely influential record,” Lowswimmer shared in a new statement. “Mental health is something all of us have struggled with – Tiny Changes do great work with young people to find solutions that work for them when they’re finding it hard to cope.”
The track was first shared by Frightened Rabbit as part of their second album, ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’. The song is one of resilience and rising up in times of turmoil – an important theme for both Lowswimmer and the work that Tiny Changes does.
You can find the cover of ‘Head Rolls Off’ here, and find out more about the Tiny Changes charity here.
By founding the charity, Hutchison’s family aimed to help support children and young people struggling with mental health. They also announced a national small grants programme in 2021, called the Make Tiny Changes Fund. Per the organisation’s official website, it “supports innovative ideas with up to £10,000”.
The year prior, Hutchison’s brother and Frightened Rabbit bandmate Grant spoke to NME about the work of Tiny Changes.
“Young people need a lot of help and attention, and it’s something that affects almost everybody. Not every young person will suffer from poor mental health, but our approach is a preventative one. We want to give them the tools and the skills to deal with it, even when they’re at a point when they don’t need them,” he said.
“The lack of understanding is the main thing I’ve been surprised by. I haven’t suffered in the same way that Scott did or in the way that a lot of the people that we will be helping have, and it’s an almost impossible thing to wrap your head around if you haven’t felt those emotions – but, it doesn’t take a lot to try and empathise, even if you can’t fully comprehend it.”
Last year, the family of the late singer announced the release of a book containing Hutchison’s artwork and illustrations. It came after they collected the late frontman’s lyrics and artwork together for the first time in a book titled The Work in 2021– described by the surviving members of Frightened Rabbit as “a tribute to Scott’s unbridled creativity”.
Titled Living In Colour: The Art Of Scott Hutchison – the project celebrated the idiosyncratic, darkly comic, acerbic and romantic imagination of the frontman by presenting his illustrations, Frightened Rabbit artwork, sketches for fans, work from his time at Glasgow School Of Art and “everything in between”.
- READ MORE: “We’ll always miss him” – Frightened Rabbit, their closest friends and collaborators celebrate the beauty of Scott Hutchison
“We always had it in mind, especially after the unexpected success of The Work, but it’s always something I felt should exist,” Scott’s brother and Frightened Rabbit drummer Grant Hutchison told NME last August.
More recently, memorabilia by members of The National, IDLES and more went to auction to raise funds for the mental health charity. This included personal lyric books donated by Matt Berninger, a Fender American Jazz bass from IDLES’ Adam Devonshire, and an ‘All Hell’ test-pressing by Los Campesinos! – this was the copy owned by frontman Gareth David, and marked the first time the band have ever made a test-pressing available.
