Climate: Activism (Blythe Pepino, Rocky Dawuni, Emily Hall) | Ep.11

Composers Blythe Pepino, Rocky Dawuni and Emily Hall share their music and thoughts exploring activism in the climate crisis. What is the place of music in climate activism, and how do composers take action in their music?

From protest songs to upbeat afroroots music inspiring hope and action, we listen to the origins of Extinction Rebellion’s “Emergency” anthem, what is the vision of a future Zion, and how music can help make sense of climate anxiety. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Anthony R. Green for a unique insight into composing – and if you like this episode, check out Ep.4: Portals which features Anthony R. Green and his fantastic music.

Our recommendation at the end is an invitation to join Music Declares Emergency and Earth Percent, and inspire your colleagues, employers, and collaborators to take one further step in this journey of addressing the largest challenge our species have ever faced.

In this episode, you listened to the following music and sounds:

Blythe Pepino

• Emergency (2018), written for Extinction Rebellion
• Crisis for Women (2020), written for a protest organised by Extinction Rebellion on International Women’s Day 2020
• Now Is The Time (unreleased), by Mesadorm, inspired by Naomi Klein’s book On Fire

Rocky Dawuni

• Modern Man and Beats of Zion (2019), from the album Beats of Zion by Rocky Dawuni

Emily Hall

• Feed (unreleased), written/produced by Emily Hall, sung by Jodie Landau
• So Far (2019), performed by Lady Maisery on their album Cycle. Originally part of Rest, a secular requiem by Emily Hall

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with the theme tune composed by Rob Bentall.

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast.