A powerful song inspired by the documentary about the January 1981 New Cross Fire in south London that claimed 13 Black young lives, with the title from a chant of anti-racism protests that followed. The fire was at a house birthday party in an area known for racist attacks, and the song is filled with samples from the documentary, driving bassline and that chanting vocal refrain by London-based, Vienna-born singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist who is also known for fronting the band The Invisible. The song is taken from an four-track EP, You Survived So I Might Live, which is in fact the first chapter from Dave Okumu's upcoming album I Came From Love, themed around Black history. “The music stands in loving defiance of any forces that would seek to disconnect us from our collective history. As I consciously stand before my ancestors through the medium of this sound world.”
Of this particular track, Dave says: “Living in an area as culturally rich and diverse as southeast London, I feel touched by an atmosphere of transcendence forged through a particular type of adversity. When you walk the streets and so many cultures are represented within a community, it’s difficult not to ask the questions ‘how did these people get here and what have their ancestors passed through so that I can have the life I am experiencing now?’ The story of the New Cross Fire and the subsequent response from different factions of society is one such trial, embodying a process which came to shape a significant element of the discourse around race relations in this country. Living in this part of London, I want to remember and honour those who lost their lives in that fire as their sacrifice, along with many others, feeds directly into my experience of this world.”
To hear the other tracks and more by Dave Okumu, as well as the documentary see the other embedded links below. Out on Transgressive Records.
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