‘WE are the people and this is our time, stand up for Palestine.”
Those are the lyrics of guitarist and Faithless member Dave Randall’s song to raise awareness of the political situation in that country. The song, which features Durban’s Gospel Choir, was recorded on Monday at the KZN Music House.
“I have visited the occupied Palestine territories a few times and seen how horrific things are. This is my way of spreading awareness on what is going on there. I want people to know that this is not a Faithless song, but it does feature Maxi Jazz and the great choir, of course.
“We are also going to be recording UK-based Palestinian musician Reem Kelani, who is currently caught up in Egypt, so it’s a collaboration,” Randall said.
Stand Up for Palestine, along with its music video, will be released in July. Proceeds from the song will be donated to the charity War On Want, which gives aid to the Palestinian territories.
During the recording, the 18 members of the Gospel Choir were encouraged to give the song an African feel as they ululated and Randall could not contain his excitement in the studio. He also took suggestions and advised the choir when he felt their pitch was wrong. The manager of the choir, Clive Gumede, said they were humbled to work with Randall and hoped the collaboration would open more doors for them.
“We are so happy we have been granted such a huge opportunity to work with Dave. Considering the choir is only six months old, it is a big achievement.
“The great thing about doing this is that it’s not only recording a song. It’s about getting into politics and using music to spark debate and letting Palestinians know they are not alone,” he said.