Tag Archives: vegan

activism, Spotlight

3 Animal Rights Albums & 3 Animal Shelters We Recommend

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Dogs. They are incredible creatures. All animals are fascinating but personally I have a deep connection with dogs. I have two dogs in my life. One has been my best friend for almost 13 years. His name is Prestur and he used to be a tour guide in an Icelandic lava cave and a welcome host at an artist residency in the highlands of Iceland. He has lived a full life and made tons of friends, from around the world, both human and canine.

The other one is Atlas, a Border Collie and Boxer mix, who came into my life 6 years ago. My partner and I found him in Iceland when a woman with three ‘accident’ puppies was about to give them away or take them to be euthanized.

These two creatures are now nomad dogs. In April 2018 we set off in our jeep with all our most important things and set course for Europe. During our travels we always contact dog shelters and spend a good time of every week volunteering and helping out.

It’s been a year and a half now and we have all seen unbelievable nature, stunning structures and met wonderful people. We have also seen the lack of care and empathy for domestic animals and in many places it is a grave problem. I recommend to anyone who feels love for animals to help out at animal shelters. The connection felt and the unconditional love received is beyond words.

I figured it seemed only right on World Animal Day to share some of the animal rights albums I have found as well as three dog shelters in Europe that I have worked with.

Please consider helping them out in any way possible.

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3 ANIMAL RIGHTS ALBUMS

Let’s Talk ABOUT IT by IFEEL

IFEEL could possibly be the most empathetic rapper coming out of Croatia these days. In an interview with Shouts he explained his mission:

“I tell stories about animals’ lives. A lot of songs are from animals’ point of view, because they cannot talk and tell us how they feel. We have all been cleverly and systematically lied to and desensitized to ignore violence around us. My mission is to bring this to light and inspire people to have a better life and help animals have better lives. I do this with music and activism.”

WE.ANIMALS. by ANIIML

This concept album is a rare gem in the animal rights music genre. More commonly one finds punk and hardcore bands protesting through their music. ANIIML’s electro pop is an extremely fresh breath of air. Although not as literal as some other protest music ANIIML makes it clear from the start that this album is all about the earth, its creatures and her plea for a better harmony between us all.

FIGHT/RESIST by Wake of Humanity

The heaviest band on this short list comes out of Seattle, USA. This young band states that they exist “For the animals. For the environment. For human justice.” and from there the blast begins. This is proper, straight edge, vegan hardcore.

3 DOG SHELTERS WE RECOMMEND

Crete, Greece

The Souda Shelter Project is a very well maintained and organized animal shelter on the Island of Crete. The knowledge and ideas some of the residents of this stunning island have of animal welfare is extremely old school and broken and tossed puppies and poison on the street is a regular thing.

I worked at this shelter and I recommend them.

HOW TO HELP

Burgas, Bulgaria

This shelter in Bulgaria exists under tremendously difficult situations. The country is the poorest within the EU, in last place regarding press freedom and absolutely full of stray dogs and misinformed people.

I worked at this shelter and I recommend them.

HOW TO HELP

Granada, Spain

Spain might be more well known for its ignorant torture of bulls but there are quite a few strays on its streets as well. This shelter is one of many shelters working to fight that ignorance and help both dogs and cats.

I worked at this shelter and I recommend them.

HOW TO HELP

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Interview

Formidable Vegetable Sound System (interview)

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From Western Australia comes the fantastic Formidable Vegetable Sound System. This collective uses ukuleles, horns and the idea of permaculture to funk some awareness into all of our lives. Halldór threw a few questions at Charlie Mgee, one member of the collective and we at Shouts thank Charlie kindly for participating in this project.

 

First off, for those not familiar with your project, who is Formidable Vegetable Sound System, and what is your mission?

Formidable Vegetable Sound System is an experiment in eco-swing-funk with mashups of ukulele, horns, violin and electro-beets solely aimed at pounding simple solutions for sustainability deep into your consciousness! Our mission is to make the world realise that ‘Permaculture’ has nothing to do with curling your hair.

 

In this world filled with apathy and senselessness do you feel alone making the music you make? Or is there a scene out there of like minded artists?

I think there are a lot of artists who are expressing ecological ideas through their music. Maybe we are just more blatantly obvious about it and don’t use as many metaphors. I often feel alone in this crazy world, but I think that’s just a natural byproduct of being a fringe-dweller at heart and not necessarily a reflection of reality!

 

How important is it for artists of all disciplines to use their voices to raise awareness? Do you think it makes an impact, especially coming from underground groups (as it so often does)?

Artists (especially famous ones) have some of the most powerful voices in the world, which ought to be used more for raising awareness about important issues and educating people. It’s a shame that there’s such a corporate industry surrounding music, as it is mostly geared toward making as much money as possible, instead of what I believe is the real purpose of music, which is creating change.

 

Do you have other projects or work relating to bettering the world besides the music?

After 5 years of galavanting around the world, I’m finally back in my yard growing a garden again, which makes me very happy. I’m also currently trying to build a tiny home out of recycled materials on an old fire truck that runs on vegetable oil, which ticks a lot of my boxes!

 

What’s on the horizon for Formidable Vegetable Sound System?

I’ve become more and more excited about writing songs for children and have even taken 2 years off to study education with the aim of doing more of it. Hopefully this gives me inspiration to write more educational music that can be used as a teaching tool for young people to learn about sustainable living in an uncertain future.