Last week, journalist Pete Paphides described how – with a little help from Crowded House’s Neil Finn, Benedict Cumberbatch and a number of music industry insiders – he launched the charity single Help Is Coming, of which all proceeds go to Save the Children’s refugee relief efforts (visit helpiscoming.org for more information). In addition to this track, there are a number of musical campaigns currently hoping to raise money and awareness surrounding the current crisis – take a listen to them below.
In Germany, a social media campaign succeeded in lifting a 22-year-old punk song, Cry for Love by Berlin band Die Ärzte, which mocks neo-Nazis, back to the top of Germany’s single charts, in response to some 250 far-right attacks on refugee shelters this year. The band have said they will donate all proceeds to Pro-Asyl, a German human rights NGO working with refugees.
There is also Careless in Rome by the Fax, a project by Finn Vine and Tom Vek.
This, their first song, was written as a response to the closure of the Mare Nostrum rescue missions, and, as their statement reads, in “the hope that they would be reinstated in the wake of more Mediterranean tragedies. Though it was warned by various aid structures and charities that it would result in the deaths of thousands, the Italian authorities, who until then had done sterling work that eclipsed all European efforts, bowed down to pressure from Europe to withdraw funding from the project and replace it with the token surveillance scheme Triton.”
All proceeds from the single will be split between the Migrant Offshore Aid Station and The Refugee Council. To purchase the track visit thefax.bandcamp.com/releases
Meanwhile, Welsh musicians including Super Furry Animals, Charlotte Church, Stereophonics and Cerys Matthews have united for 30-track album to raise funds for Refugee Action. Reach Out is a download-only album of new tracks, covers and unreleased material. “In the space of a week the Welsh music community has stood together as one,” said journalist David Owens, who founded the project. “It’s been a labour of love and this album would never have come together if it wasn’t for those who went out of their way to ensure this collection of songs became a reality in less than seven days.”
To purchase Reach Out visit welshrockforrefugees.bandcamp.com.
