This is the second installment in “Music Mondays,” a new weekly music column from WHRC, the Bi-Co’s student-run community radio. Featuring music news, album and concert reviews, playlists, recommendations, and more.
In 1995, War Child, a charity organization dedicated to the belief that “no child should be part of war,” released their first compilation album, HELP, under their offshoot indie label War Child Records. The album, produced by Brian Eno, brought together some of the largest contemporary voices in rock: Oasis, Radiohead, Blur, The Stone Roses, Sinead O’Connor… the list goes on. The songs ranged from covers to rare recordings to early versions of soon-to-be famous tracks. The lineup also included a version of The Beatles’ “Come Together” under the seemingly unassuming and rather silly artist name, The Smokin’ Mojo Filters. However, the quirky moniker was indeed a lesser-known and short-lived supergroup involving Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, and Paul McCartney himself. The group formed for the singular goal of recording their version of the famous Abbey Road track, from which the name of the group is derived (“He got muddy water, he one mojo filter”). HELP went on to generate over £1.25 million in aid of children affected by the Bosnian War — a pocket of music history becoming history itself.
Earlier this month, War Child Records returned with a second HELP album, appropriately titled HELP(2). While the label has released a few other compilation albums in the interim, this return marks the official “sequel” to the original project. The record boasts the same purpose as its older sibling: to support the work of the War Child organization in bringing immediate aid to children around the world. While the press release for the album on their website simply mentions violence in the Middle East, the organization specifically works with Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, DR Congo, Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, South Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.
The similarities between the two projects, however, continue. HELP(2) is truly the sibling of HELP in every respect, once again compiling massive names in our current rock scene: Fontaines DC, Cameron Winter, Arctic Monkeys, Big Thief, Wet Leg, and Black Country, New Road for example. Alongside these relative youngsters, there are artists themselves who have made returns to the project; Damon Albarn and Beth Gibbons — of Blur and Portishead respectively — have rejoined the HELP lineup as solo acts. Others return in spirit, such as Sinead O’Connor through Fontaines D.C’s cover of “Black Boys on Mopeds.” HELP(2) might be an even more collaborative effort, as this is far from the only cover featured on the album. Arooj Aftab, a Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist and musician with Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Jazz Album, delivers a haunting but subtly hopeful cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Lilac Wine” in collaboration with the absolute icon Beck. Beabadoobee also contributes a cover to the album, singing the classic “Say Yes” by Elliott Smith in her distinctively stripped down, twee style.
There are simply too many nuggets of utterly brilliant musical collaboration to spotlight every individual detail. The only solution to this predicament is to listen for yourself. As you listen, pay close attention to the people working on each contribution and to how music builds bridges across genre and time. The combination of artists is truly a testament to what the modern music scene and online streaming has accomplished in terms of reviving the relevancy of older acts amongst younger audiences. Despite the variety of voices and styles encompassed in this project, the tone is undeniably one with an edge of melancholy. Music should both uplift and speak out, however, a balance well-struck within the walls of HELP(2). The multi-dimensional relationship built by these sibling projects highlights both the cyclical nature of violence in our world but also the consistency of artists’ communities and the purpose of art to aid. I can guarantee in your listening experience beauty, energy, fun — but ultimately, a deep sense of reflection.
