Internalised is the EP’s first track and behind acoustic guitars, Naz and Ella beautifully cover the topic of queerphobia. From there we hear the duo sing about sexual harassment, the exotification of women of color, speciesism as well as the ups and downs of long-distance relationships.
Their music is something that transcends me to a dim place, with candlelights. I imagine a setting like the Alice In Chains MTV Unplugged concert. Naz and Ella have a lot to say, about a lot of things, but they do so without alienating others in their lyrics. The beautiful part about their music is that their anger can be heard at the same time as their empathy can be felt.
In true DIY fashion, the duo also released a zine on their Bandcamp page which explains more about their personal essays and their music. Check it out!
Some musicians make a song or two, consciously in protest, and the rest of their catalog is often something else. Others perhaps get into using their voice responsibly at some point during their career. As soon as young Jamie Holmes was in primary school, he learned about Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” which inspired him to dive further into protest music. Later his learning path led to other legendary protest musicians such as Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. The latter he was fortunate enough to meet when he was in high school.
“…in high school, my guitar teacher was Jim Kirkpatrick. He managed to go on tour around America I think with Thea Gilmore, who was supporting Baez! Well, Jim knew how much I adored Joan Baez – I’d listen to her music for hours – so he contacted her manager and asked if I could go backstage! The show was great. Her voice is incredible, and it is the same today (if not better) than when she was still in her 20s. When I went backstage I was super nervous and star-struck, but we had a chat about my own music and what I wanted to do – it was great, and she inspired my guitar playing to become more finger-picked rather than with a plectrum – something you can hear on ‘Green Revolution'”.
The self-declared “proud socialist” told me he wants to make a difference in the world. His debut album focuses on the future, climate change, the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality, and the strange year of 2020. The first single off the album has already gotten airplay on BBC radio and it will drop on all streaming services on the 22nd of January. The music video, which features a time-lapse recording of Jamie himself painting, can be viewed exclusively below.
EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE Green Revolution by Jamie Holmes
Check out Jamie’s webpage for all updates on the upcoming debut album and his social media for more info: Instagram – YouTube
After having won an award for her documentary at the London Film Festival director of White Riot, Rubika Shah, explains in a video interview that all her previous films have been about youth culture, music and how the power of arts can change people’s lives.
White Riot focuses on the Rock Against Racism movement that began as a response to an increase in racist attacks in England and the surge of popularity towards the far-right National Front. As seen in the clip below, the founders of Rock Against Racism had been following the rise of hatred in their country and eventually they got fed up when Eric Clapton voiced his support, on stage, for said hatred and ignorance.
