Manchester band Caulbearers release the brand new video for their current single Next World, an intense breakbeat-driven ode to the importance of direct action and protest to create social change.
A collaboration between visual artist Latent Variables and songwriter, vocalist & producer Damien Mahoney, the film features a powerful range of images including animation, original & archive photography and artistic responses to injustice.
The video joins the dots between historical civil rights movements, environmental, anti-war & social justice campaigns through to contemporary actions & protests against the genocide in Gaza.
It attempts to highlight common themes that flow through these movements, actions and gatherings; a belief in shared humanity, equality and an outrage at abuses of power, an unwillingness to accept the greed and arrogance of the few who aim to control the lives and liberties of the many.
The lyrics were written by Mahoney many years ago, based on his experiences of resistance during the UK/US ‘War On Terror’ and as part of other grass-roots actions in response to climate change, the arms trade, and the effects of Neoliberalism.
Creative responses to these issues; a place where art, music and activism can meet, were central to Caulbearers’ initial emergence in Hulme, Manchester, as part of the Single Cell Collective. Some founding band members met via shared action on the streets before they had played a note of music together.
In Next World, Mahoney reflects that in aspiring for social change, the actions people take can come with great cost, yet many choose this path even in the face of overwhelming odds and repression.
“All the king’s forces cut you down so naturally, seems to win over our polite diplomacy”
The song and video feel extremely timely right now with increased authoritarianism and surveillance, threats to freedom of speech and the right to protest, plus draconian measures in response to civil disobedience.
