When I see Trump planning on building resorts over the ruins of Gaza and bullying smaller nations, and big tech companies censoring uncontroversial words and perspectives, and billionaires on the rise when there’s so much poverty, I struggle to see how things are going to end well. I know a lot of ppl have a kneejerk cynicism about protesting, but when even democratic societies erode freedoms, its a matter of time until it affects you. It may be Palestine or it may be Deaths in Custody now, but soon it’ll be miners whose industries die or office workers being replaced by AI and automation who are out on the streets.
Our situations are connected and I think I have a responsibility with my music to make sense of it. I don’t have the answers, but I can offer a soundtrack for those who are finding them, those who put their precious time aside to stand up for our communities A soundtrack for the hard yards. A statement against rising fascism. Don’t die wondering.
FTF was directed, shot and edited by Joél de Carteret, who runs Stories in Motion, a video production company that runs out of Clyde St Arts in Newcastle. I connected with him as he was working downstairs from my studio here. He’s a dope dancer that used to choreograph for shows like So You Think You Can Dance but he’s a multi-talented guy.
Since moving here I’ve seen a ton of young bands performing and one of them is Bardvarkk, a raucous punk band fronted by Niamh Cush. I tapped her to see if she could bring some friends down for the shoot. They’re all here in the video, a collection of artists and activists, some are captains of their school, others are already organising gigs and leading protests. Unreal crew who volunteered to be in the video. Both Joél and all these youngsters are a dope example of local community coming together and creating something - it only works if you give, not just take. As the saying goes, everyone wants a village, no one wants to be a villager.
We’ve just played to over 2000 ppl in Sydney, Brisbane and Thirroul. This week we find ourselves in Perth at Magnet House Fri and then the mighty Gov in Adelaide on Saturday.
