Ebony Bones releases the commanding, gut punch manifesto entitled “No Black in the Union Jack” from her forthcoming LPNephilim(7/20, 1984 Records). The British genre-bending avant-garde artist stares down racism and xenophobia in her home country on the song and samples an audio clip of British Member of Parliament Enoch Powell’s notorious River of Blood speech attacking immigration in 1968. In response, the UK has banned “No Black in the Union Jack” but Bones seeks to highlight the ugly past and draw connections to the present to avoid maintaining these attitudes in the future. The accompanying video was shot in London and directed by Bones.
Of “No Black in the Union Jack,” Bones says:
„Powell’s hate speech was so vile, it had never been broadcast in full until recently. It is one of the most incendiary racist speeches of modern Britain and this year marks it’s 50th anniversary. Sadly all these years later this nationalist bile and scapegoating is still globally relevant. What iscurrently happening with immigration in the US is also happening across the pond in the UK.It was emotional directing the video in parts of London including Brixton where I grew up as well as Grenfell, which has become an international symbol of systemic, institutional and structural inequality.”
Nephilim is a frenetic exploration of the emergence of nationalism post-Brexit and post-Trump and of censorship: the conspicuous kind in China vs. the more insidious type in the west. Its otherworldly sound is built on elements of experimental jazz, Afrofuturist overtones and punk inflections. The previously released soaring title track was called “stunning” by V Magazine. The album was recorded in London, New York City and Beijing. Several songs feature Bones in tight collaboration with the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra, who perform her compositions.
Bones is known for her high-watt stage presence that has earned praise as “better than the Beatles” by The New Yorker and a “riotous jungle-punk stage act” by New York Times T Magazine. Details on tour dates to be announced.
Text: Pressemitteilung
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