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Some favourite protest music albums of 2024

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2024 is behind us. Like the years before it, horrible things happened in this world, and just like all the years before, empathetic artists were moved to pen down some lyrics and write songs to help fuel the revolution, to share important messages, and in many instances do so in the face of imprisonment, harrassment and even death.

Despite what some people think, this happens every year. Protest music never died and musicians have never stopped recording activist music. This website, and the work of the writers, radio-show hosts and artists who contributed to this article is proof of that.

So many songs, as single releases, were released in support of Palestine this year. See our growing Spotify playlist featuring songs released in solidarity with Palestine, and also check out our recently published article about Top 40 Protest Songs of 2024.

For this end-of-the-year list, we will focus on full albums. These are some of our favourites. There were many, many more.

Contributing to this list were Kevin Gosztola, Santiago Campodónico, DJ General Strike, Mat Ward, and Riley Rowe.

Humble As The Sun by Bob Vylan

Bob Vylan’s music is fiery, unshackled, and loaded with tremendous rap-rock riffs. Their third album is a bit more focused on radical hope than rage, yet these are still songs for an underclass that must fight to survive every day.

Words by Kevin Gosztola, journalist, writer, and curator of The Protest Music Project

An Encyclopedia of Patriarchy (incomplete) by B of Briz

One of three debut albums on the list, and one that is quite different from the rest. UK hip-hop artist B of Briz, lays down fiery, feminist lyrics on top of, well, off-beat beats, and subtle synths who are as mysterious as the masked artist herself.

Words by Halldór Kristínarson, founder, writer and managing editor of Shouts – Music from the Rooftops!

“NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

The new Godspeed You! Black Emperor album takes a direct approach to the ongoing conflict in Palestine and begs us to not shy away from the atrocities being committed. There are so many dead civilians – men, women and children mercilessly buried under grey rubble. It’s a tragedy, and you should be outraged about it. And maybe, says the album, with enough people shouting, we may be able to help the spark of hope of those that are enduring this injustice.

Words by Santiago Campodónico, contributing writer for Shouts – Music from the Rooftops! Read his full review of the album here.

Self-Truth Samba by Umbilichaos

In her Portuguese tongue, Anna spews “I don’t want to be a puppet or another actress… I would die happy, but I won’t bow to you” on the opening track “Between Prisoners and Slaves.” Such esoteric, yet rebellious poetry reflects the trans-frontwoman’s ambiguous qualms. In our conversations, Anna admits that her lyrics are purposefully vague and open to interpretation; nonetheless it’s impossible to deny her political anger through the Swans or Godflesh-like industrial-sludge and sour lyrics.

Overall, Umbilichaos’ new Self-Truth Samba album is a vent of alienation, pointed at the status quo, capitalism, and society’s pressures. Adhering to her philosophy that everything is political, Anna Claudia Cunha’s gritty Brazilian atmospheric metal is undoubtedly a protest of the current state of affairs.

Words by Riley Rowe, founder of Metal Has No Borders

Evil, Hate-Filled Female by Delilah Bon

I listen to more than 30 new political albums a month to write my monthly protest music column at greenleft.org.au. The quality of all them is surprisingly high, so it’s quite an achievement for one to really stand out. I have no doubt about which one that was for me this year. Delilah Bon is an incredibly talented English rapper, singer, musician, producer, film-maker and visual artist who even makes a different outfit for her performances each night. On her new album “Evil, Hate-Filled Female”, released this year, she displays all the vocal dexterity of misogynistic rapper Eminem, but then goes one better by hitting the kind of high notes only Christina Aguilera could reach, as she belts out punchlines like: “My feminist agenda, to put all your cocks in a blender.” Her usually sold-out live shows, in which she gets the audience to chant “dead men don’t rape”, are an empowering spectacle to behold.

Words by Mat Ward, musician and author

Hells Welles by Jesse Welles

Jesse Welles, AKA Welles, is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Arkansas, US. Welles was also the frontman of the bands Dead Indian, formed in 2012, and Cosmic-American, formed in 2015. In 2024, Welles garnered attention on social media for authoring and performing folk protest songs, like the viral “War Isn’t Murder”. He released an album of these protest songs called Hells Welles, in July.

Words by DJ General Strike, host of Protest Tunes on 91.3 KBCS in the US

Dzikkuh by Arka’n Asrafokor

Hailing from the tropical territory of Togo, a folk rock-rap-metal fusion band arises with of-the-Earth retribution. The energy on Arka’n Asrafokor’s new record Dzikkuh aligns with the indigenous likes of Sepultura, Alien Weaponry, or The Hu, yet stylistically is unmatched, based in the rhythms and chants of their home – western Africa.

With potent tracks such as “Walk With Us,” “Not Getting in Line,” or “Angry God of Earth,” themes of empowerment, unity, truth, and nature will echo out in the streets of listeners’ minds, as if, this isn’t a protest with a clear political target, but rather a positive rally supporting representation of one’s self and African heavy music.

Words by Riley Rowe, founder of Metal Has No Borders

Birds Rap Too by Kardinal Bloo

Hailing from Texas, US, Kardinal Bloo is a young, versatile artist who brings a lot of colour to the current world of hip-hop, especially the colour blue. The album shines with a love for life as well as an understanding of the current state of affairs. As Bloo so eloquently puts it, his new album, Birds Rap Too, is “an eclectic collection of black expression that merges revolutionary pragmatism, scintillating lyricism, and earnest joie de vivre to create what I call class-conscious rap nonsense from a bird’s eye view.”

This hip-hop album stays interesting throughout, and it’s not only because it’s heavily, and uniquely, centered on birds. In the style of some of the greats out there, like Kendrick and Childish Gambino, Bloo is not afraid to up switch the flow in his songs, keeping the listener on his toes at all times. Add some dope beats and exhilarating lyricism and you’ve got an extremely vibrant rap album whose existence is greatly magnified by Bloo’s live shows.

Taken from Halldór Kristínarson’s interview Kardinal Bloo, which can be read here.

Bullets In The Chamber by Arrested Development

Arrested Development was formed in Atlanta in 1988 by rapper and producer Speech and turntablist Headliner. They were the first hip hop band to win a Grammy for Best New Artist, in 1993. Bullets in the Chamber features a selection of legendary musicians including, Chuck D, Canibus, Diana King, Sa-Roc, Ras Kass, Montsho Eshe, Rasa Don, Sky Zoo, Grandmaster Caz, Sol Messiah, MRK SX, Twan Mack & O’hene Savant. The inscription at the back cover reads: “Life music, the weapon against death. Each song, a bullet in the chamber. As soon as you press play, the trigger is pulled. The target is hearts, minds, and ears of the audience.”

Words by DJ General Strike, host of Protest Tunes on 91.3 KBCS in the US

Bloodmouth Genocide by Times of Desperation

When it comes to vegan, straight edge hardcore music, Times of Desperation’s debut album, Bloodmouth Genocide is hardly inventing the wheel. But sometimes there is no need for that. For all the animals in this world, no matter how much we progress as human species, they still don’t have representation and they are still tortured, born into generational rape and slavery, and babies are still taken from their mothers. What animals need is this album. They need a few young Swedes to bring all the rage they can conjure from within their empathetic bodies and then bring that into as many mosh pits as possible. Eating tortured bodies is normalised. However, there is nothing normal about the fury this album contains. You can feel the suffering animals go through by listening to this music. This is the role of the artist. To make us feel, to help us empathize. To be a voice for the voiceless. Bloodmouth Genocide does exactly that, and in a simply flawless, very brutal way.

Words by Halldór Kristínarson, founder, writer and managing editor of Shouts – Music from the Rooftops!

Over The Earth, Under by Gailla

Over The Earth, Under could simply be described as a protest EP, one centered around the current climate crisis, but Gailla and her band decided to take the concept even further. The first track of the project, midden, is a quick thirty-second invitation to the universe she is setting up, with nature sounds that eventually get overshadowed by  protesters chanting: “We will not stop, we will not rest.” This mirrors the final track of the EP, pippi, another interlude where nature sounds seem to be the focus, as the vague presence of people can hardly be heard. These two tracks alone already give the EP a conceptual feel, as the longer and lyrically focused songs are contextualized within them. In a way, with this structure, it almost seems as if Gailla is attempting to capture the essence of a real protest, with a clear focus, a striking beginning, and a somewhat fleeting conclusion.

Taken from Santiago Campodónico‘s review with Gailla, which can be read here.

Unfuckinbelievable by The Sexy Wild East

Super mellow electro-punk out of Budapest, Hungary and another unique sounding album to add to a great year in music. The Sexy Wild East starts right off the bat, stating their manifesto, if you will, on the first track, and these words seem like a pretty good way to end this article.

It’s not radical to want to feed starving children
It’s not radical to want to fund public services
It’s not radical to oppose government corruption
It’s not radical to want to live in a world without war
It’s not radical to believe in equality
It’s not radical to want a fair distribution of wealth
It’s not radical to treat asylum seekers respectfully
It’s not radical to think about your mental health
It’s not radical to want to save the planet
It’s not radical to respect other cultures
It’s not radical to give everyone free broadband
It’s not radical to want peace in the middle east
It’s not radical to stop anyone and everyone owning a gun
It’s not radical to spare a thought and some cash for the homeless ones

Words by Halldór Kristínarson, founder, writer and managing editor of Shouts – Music from the Rooftops!

News

Review: 25 Years Of Music Activism

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This article was originally published by Inside Indonesia and written by Julia Winterflood. You can view the original here.

The history of music, though constantly being rewritten, is inseparable from that of social movements. From revolutionary symphonies to punk rock, folk to political hip-hop, most genres feature artists who’ve created works to condemn injustice and inspire change. In Indonesia, the Bali-based rock band Navicula has spent the past 25 years tackling some of the country’s biggest social and environmental ills — corruption, human rights abuses, religious extremism, pollution, deforestation — through powerful, gritty, anthemic tracks.

It was this quarter-century milestone that inspired development expert and long-term fan of the band Ewa Wojkowska to produce and host A Soundtrack of Resistance, a podcast series exploring 12 Navicula songs and the stories of why and how they were made. Along with the band, she collaborated with other music industry members, researchers, writers, and colleagues on the project. The first episode was released in mid-2021, and a few months later A Soundtrack of Resistance reached number one on the Apple Podcast charts for music interviews in Singapore and Indonesia.

As the series’ tagline goes, it’s ‘a social history of Indonesia through the songs of Navicula, the best band you’ve probably never heard of.’ If you are among those who haven’t yet heard of Navicula, comparisons could be drawn with America’s Rage Against the Machine, or in terms of lyrical content, Australia’s Midnight Oil. Navicula’s style is influenced by alternative ‘90s rock, particularly seminal groups such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains, while also incorporating indigenous influences and psychedelic rock. Many Navicula songs feature the elements of an anthem: a simple yet potent chorus, steady beat, and lyrics that unite those singing along at the top of their lungs — an integral part of the band’s live performances.

Navicula follows in the footsteps of Iwan Fals, a singer-songwriter who, as Rebekah Moore writes, was instrumental in defining the rock musician’s role as social activist in Indonesia. Vocalist and guitarist Gede Robi says in Episode 1, ‘As artists, I feel we have the ability to challenge the status quo. For me and my band Navicula, we love music and we care about social and environmental issues. We believe every generation has their own revolution — I think social and environmental issues are the crucial issue of our generation.’

Ewa speaks with Robi and his fellow band members — guitarist Dadang Pranoto, bassist Krishnanda Adipurba, and drummer Palel Atmoko — about their activism on and off the stage, along with the people behind the movements they support: prominent activists, academics, and development leaders. This is what makes the podcast a first in Indonesia: socially conscious musicians sharing a microphone with those who have also dedicated a large part of their lives to improving Indonesia, albeit using different methods.

Each podcast episode focuses on a particular Navicula song. Episode 4 explores Aku Bukan Mesin (I Am Not a Machine), which the band recorded in response to the terrorist bombings that shook Bali and Jakarta in the early 2000s. It’s an angry, frustrated track, with a propulsive guitar hook and erratic instrumental sections. Robi tells Ewa the lyrics were ‘just the pure reaction as a human being, as a Balinese.’ He was ‘thinking about the people who have losing (sic) their heart, losing (sic) their entity as a human to do such a cruel, unimaginable action. It just destroys everything. The effect of the destruction is affecting everybody.’ Ewa is also joined by Sidney Jones, Director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, who many consider as a ‘rock star’ of her field. She examines the role religion played in the bombings, what makes people turn to violent extremism, and whether it continues to be a threat in Indonesia.

Navicula at Soundrenaline Festival promoting the campaign to ban single use plastics in Bali / Kopernik

Episode 6 features Mafia Hukum (The Legal Mafia), one of the band’s most popular songs, which became the anthem of Indonesia’s anti-corruption movement. The episode includes a cast of heavy hitters in the civil society and development space: international development expert and former World Bank lead social scientist for East Asia and the Pacific, Scott Guggenheim; award-winning documentary filmmaker Dandhy Laksono; former deputy commissioner of Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission, Saut Situmorang; and Indonesia Corruption Watch’s Sely Martini.

Reaching new audiences

Many of the topics at the heart of Navicula’s songs are also addressed by the Indonesia-based non-profit Kopernik, which Ewa co-founded in 2010. A research and development organisation, Kopernik works with diverse partners — including musicians and artists — to find solutions to social and environmental challenges across the archipelago and beyond. Recognising that music is a means to reach wider audiences and a key component of social movements, for the past six years Kopernik has collaborated with Navicula on various initiatives, the biggest of which is a campaign to reduce single-use plastic consumption. This collaboration culminated in the feature-length documentary Pulau Plastik (Plastic Island), which was picked up by Netflix in June this year. Alongside Tiza Mafira and Prigi Arisandi, the film follows Robi as he investigates Indonesia’s plastic pollution crisis and what can be done to fight it.

The Pulau Plastik campaign features in Episode 7 of the podcast, which delves into the song Saat Semua Semakin Cepat, Bali Berani Berhenti (As Everything Gets Faster and Faster, Bali Dares to Stop). Released in 2016, the gentle acoustic folk ballad is the band’s love letter to Nyepi, the Balinese Hindu annual ‘day of silence’, and an ode to the island’s bravery to continue celebrating its customs in the face of globalisation. During the episode, Ewa and Robi point out that Nyepi isn’t the only example of Bali’s bravery to buck the trend. In 2019, the province became the first in Indonesia to pass a regulation banning the use of certain single-use items including plastic bags, styrofoam, and plastic straws in restaurants, cafes, shops and markets, and inspired other locations in Indonesia to follow Bali’s example.

People power. As depicted in the documentary Pulau Plastik, thousands joined Navicula lead singer Gede Robi in a protest march in Jakarta / Kopernik

Navicula may not yet be that well known outside Indonesia, but the band’s music does connect with foreign listeners, even though most of their lyrics being in Indonesian. The band’s first major international exposure was with the song Metropolutan (Episode 2), which decries overdevelopment and pollution in Jakarta. The song took out the RØDE Rocks! International Band Competition in 2012. Their prize was a session at the legendary Record Plant Recording Studios in Los Angeles with the band’s ‘dream producer’, Alain Johannes to record its Love Bomb album. A viewer of the Metropolutan video, which Navicula submitted for the competition, commented, ‘I do not understand what you are singing, but I feel this song. I love it. Awesome voice, awesome grunge sound’.

Just as a foreign listener who could not understand a word of Indonesian was able to connect with Metropolutan, those who’ve never heard the band’s music will find much to engage with in the podcast. For those with little knowledge of the world’s fourth most populous nation, each episode is an accessible introduction to a particular period in contemporary Indonesian history, soundtracked by the band that has been at the vanguard of Indonesian music activism for much of its career. As Robi says in Episode 4, ‘As an artist, it’s really important to capture a moment. I see Navicula as a journalist using music as the medium, so it’s really important to capture the original feeling of what we feel at the time, like a historian writing a journal through music.’

Ewa Wojkowska and Gede Robi, A Soundtrack of Resistance, Podcast Series

Julia Winterflood (julia.winterflood@gmail.com) is a freelance writer, editor, and translator who has called Indonesia home since 2014. She contributed to the writing and production of several episodes of A Soundtrack of Resistance.

News

Feeling Powerless As A Musician In The Face Of The Climate Crisis? 6 Ways To Take Positive Action

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Musicians are in a unique position to make a difference in the face of climate and ecological breakdown, writes cellist Sophie Gledhill

Sophie Gledhill (photo courtesy of the artist)

This article, by Sophie Gledhill, was originally published by The Strad on 22nd of April 2022 and is republished here with the author’s permission.

It’s easy to look at the news of climate and ecological breakdown, feel overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis and then resign ourselves to helplessness in our capacities as musicians. But there are always things we can do and, as musicians, we can choose to recognise our unique position to make a difference. 

Be yourself and play to your strengths 

If you’re open and vocal about your interests and the causes you care most about, the ‘right’ projects often have a way of finding you. As a cellist who is passionate about the environment and working in theatre, it perhaps wasn’t a coincidence that I found myself in the cast of a new production in 2016 called Opera for the Unknown Woman, an eco-feminist multimedia piece of theatre which explored the importance of international and inclusive collaboration in tackling the environmental crisis. Engaging with these issues in this way has also had a lasting effect on me long after the final show of the tour.

Last summer I was invited to be a coach at Festival of Chapels, a chamber music course in the Swiss Alps – near the shrinking Aletsch glacier – with a focus on appreciating and protecting the natural environment.

During lockdown I launched my own project, CelloTrek: my ongoing mission to record a piece of music from every country in the world in order to shine a light on a sustainability issue in each place. The more research I do, the more I realise that environmental and cultural sustainability are inextricably linked and, if we destroy our natural surroundings, we also destroy the places where unique cultures are born, grow and thrive.

Why am I reeling off my work diary and pandemic activities? A quote from Howard Thurman neatly summarises my thoughts: ’Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’ We can make the most positive impact when we are inspired, driven and putting our individual skillsets to use.

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive

– Howard Thurman

Look after the little things

As musicians on the go, there are choices we can make on a daily basis which can minimise our impact on the planet, such as taking the train over flying and opting for a plant-based diet. While it can feel like our individual actions can’t possibly count for much, and while we know that governments and corporations have a staggering amount of urgent work to do, I always try to imagine my actions being multiplied by the number of people on our planet; 7 billion people eating sustainably grown plants over methane-producing cows suddenly feels significant.

There are also one-off or less regular individual actions we can all take as consumers, such as switching to an ethical bank (such as Triodos) and rejecting fast fashion – either by buying secondhand clothes or choosing sustainable brands. I often check the Ethical Consumer website to find out which brands and services are most environmentally sound.

On an artistic front, it can sometimes feel selfish or pointless to focus all our energy on one rehearsal or concert when news of impending environmental (and other) doom is unfolding around us. But something I heard during the COP26 conference, spoken by young Indonesian delegate Mustika Indah Khairina, has stuck with me: ’You can’t tell youth to have hope. For hope, they need inspiration. And for inspiration, they need culture.’ Your concert may well provide the impetus that someone needs to take their own brand of action.

You can’t tell youth to have hope. For hope, they need inspiration. And for inspiration, they need culture

– Mustika Indah Khairina

Build your network

In 2018 I was a cohort member of the Global Leaders Program, a masters-level certificate for musicians looking to explore impact-focused arts entrepreneurship. While I learnt a great deal about the potential of music as a catalyst for social change and the practical tools needed to launch a socially motivated music initiative, one of the major takeaways from this chapter of my life was the network of people I met along the way.

Fast forward to the first Covid lockdown of 2020 and I found myself organising the Toki Rapa Nui Global Support Campaign, a crowdfunder to support the environmentally sustainable music school on Easter Island where I spent two weeks for my Global Leaders Program fieldwork. I was overwhelmed by the solidarity shown by fellow GLP alumni – from New Zealand to Peru – who came together to perform in the campaign video, lend other expertise and help to spread the word. Surrounding yourself with likeminded people can inspire and propel your next earth-conscious actions.

Remember that you’re not just a musician

You’re a human that plays music. Not everything you do has to be tied to your identity as a musician, however important that facet of your life may be.

In November 2021, just before joining the Les Misérables UK tour in Glasgow, I was fortunate to be able to take three days to volunteer at COP26, the annual climate change conference hosted by the UN. It was refreshing and empowering to leave my cello in its case, throw on a ‘DEMAND CLIMATE JUSTICE’ T-shirt courtesy of the COP26 Coalition and unite behind a common cause without having to remember where I’d left my rosin. We know music can be a powerful tool for change, but it doesn’t have to be the only tool in our box.

Jump on bandwagons

While there can be great value in taking control and crafting your own projects in line with your skills and interests, it’s always worth looking around to see what already exists and could be strengthened by your contributions. I’d recommend reading Tamsin Omond’s recent book Do Earth: Healing Strategies for Humankind, which shares a decade’s worth of wisdom about collective action and community engagement.

A great place to start is Music Declares Emergency, a group of music industry individuals and organisations calling for immediate governmental action to protect our planet. Check out their website and social media to see how you can get involved.

Also head to Harmonic Progression, a place for classical musicians looking for ways to do good for people and planet. You can join one of their campaigns or take on a task, including donating any unwanted strings through their Strings4All initiative.

Embrace the power of conversation

When work and life take over, especially as the performing arts industry returns to some kind of ‘normal’ following a string of lockdowns, it can feel like we have limited time, space or resources for meaningful engagement with environmental issues. But I am coming to realise that good old-fashioned conversation, as well as the example of our actions, can have a ripple effect beyond what we might initially assume; there’s certainly been an increase in vegan food experimentation within the Les Mis touring orchestra, in any case!

In short, if there’s anything I’ve learnt from my engagement with environmental issues and activism over the past few years, it’s that doing something is always better than nothing, no matter how small. (If nothing else, I plant a tree once a day through an app appropriately called treeapp.) And, as musicians, it pays to remember that we have have readymade audiences and platforms at our disposal; let’s make them count.

Sophie Gledhill is a London-based freelance cellist and currently holds the cello chair on the Les here.