Contributed by Jonny Collins
Fuck Your Borders
Okay we’re back! I’ve been pretty lazy with these lately ngl. I needed to give myself a break, which is a shame because I’ve had a lot of good ideas for playlists since then, and now Sunak’s only gone and called the election, so we all know what July is going to be.
But before that, and tying into that, there’s been a lot of focus around the small boats and the government’s expensive, inhumane and ultimately purposeless Rwanda plan – to deport some of the most desperate people in the world to a location with questionable human rights records, after they’ve risked their own lives to get here.
It’s a dog whistle, plain and simple. Flying people to Rwanda costs far more money than it would cost to just let these people live and work here as citizens. But the Tories need to get the Reform vote somehow I guess.
It’s a tactic as old as the Tories themselves – scapegoating, divide and rule, convince the disillusioned masses that the reason their lives are bad is because of a group of people who have next to no power and make obscene policies to supposedly deal with them, all the while redistributing all of their tax moneys into the pockets of themselves and their mates and gutting all the services that make it possible for poor people to live.
I don’t need to tell you that this is egregious misdirection. Even from an anti-immigration point of view, we’d have far fewer people coming to us specifically if we were still in the EU and had an actual way to process asylum claims outside of the country. So even if you take the attitude that humans escaping hardship are a burden on us somehow, the Tories have objectively made the scale worse.
Beyond that, I truthfully couldn’t care less how many people come to this island seeking respite. I mean, I care to the extent that I wish they weren’t in such a terrible position that they had to do that. But let me tell you, no one is going to risk that journey in a small boat if they aren’t desperate.
We aren’t over full, we don’t have a population problem. We have a corporate capitalist greed and Tory problem. Don’t let them fool you into thinking these people are the problem. You have far more in common with them than the rich Tory class do with you. Don’t let the person punching you in the face repeatedly tell you that the guy being kicked in the face is the reason why he won’t stop punching you.
So this month’s playlist is about the plight of those seeking asylum to the point that the prospect of living in the UK is safer and more appealing than wherever they’re fleeing from (a truly terrifying thought). Or even just general expats who have moved here for whatever reason. It’s none of my business. Even from a cynical economical point of view – people coming to this country grow the economy far more than they take out of it. (Personally, I wouldn’t give a fuck even if that wasn’t the case, but y’know, in case that argument comes up.)
Hear the voices of those who have needed asylum before, people who are or come from refugee backgrounds, and activists singing about the cause and showing support and solidarity to those people.
Listen to the playlist here:
- Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/VCABowAWfxC4kBt59
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xCZ6wdM9KXhGRN92xa1Uw?si=2b8720723a324c21
- Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/32a2d555-274a-4f29-bc98-aefaaee5f410?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1Go8bWVbyhuGbyasfmbb8UARUYlxy7j338toxdgWqldymjxtJ-R1-t_gQ_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGv_OFvoeqQvftiQdSyXdUSTn5n8O2bFE
1: We Are All Illegals – Outernational ft. Chad Smith, Residente & Tom Morello
Todos Somos Ilegales – 2011 – Rock
https://outernational.bandcamp.com/album/todos-somos-ilegales
“See, that border ain’t sacred or chosen
The land we stand on, every inch of it stolen
How obscene that there’s people illegal
Vilified survival, the journey is lethal”
Opening this playlist with a completely new track to me. Todos Somos Ilegales by Outernational is an album I’ve not been able to find a great deal of information on, but the concept is fairly clear from the get-go. The whole album is applicable to this theme, but “We Are All Illegals” is the one that stuck with me as the mission statement of the project.
Featuring an incredible arrangement of Southern American folk horn and guitar instrumentation and melodies and an almost musical-esque lyrical progression, We Are All Illegals is a masterclass in songwriting to tell a story.
The themes of borders being societal constructs and tools of oppression is strong throughout, as well as capitalist colonisation devastating communities and necessitating the need for migration in the first place. There is this dichotomy that the most pro-empire people seem to be the most anti-immigration, not remotely realising the hypocrisies within that perception. Hearing from the voice of people who have been forced or at least pressured into moving countries to survive both embracing those identities and expressing bitterness at the decimation of their own culture in favour of U.S. Capitalism creates a powerful statement delivered by incredible musicianship.
This is also another example of Tom Morello just collaborating with anyone based. One day I feel like I’m going to need to do a playlist of just Tom Morello projects and features, and I’ll still have a hard time shortlisting that. Man’s everywhere and enhances every project he’s a part of without stealing the thunder of the primary artists. What a musician.
2: System…Meltdown – Enter Shikari
A Flash Flood of Colour – 2012 – Electronicore
“Fear begins to vanish when we realize
That countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick”
I’m on a bit of a Shikari kick at the moment after their phenomenal 2024 UK tour show – which they opened with this absolute banger of a track.
System……Meltdown might be the greatest 1-2 punch of an opener in rock history. Shikari were already fairly unsubtle about their politics within their music, but this opener from Flash Flood of Colour goes even harder with that, monologuing with much more specificity, and breaking down into dubstep adjacent post-hardcore riffs and gripping choral hooks of “Countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick”.
Shikari know what they’re about, and this message just gets more and more relevant with each passing year. The musical trends have shifted somewhat, but Shikari have a distinct enough take on the sound that this remains timeless. Ravers and hardcore punks unite with this intricate wall-of-noise and pressing lyrical themes and reminders.
I will never shup up about how under appreciated this band and in particular this album is. Musical pioneers and lyrical visionaries, yet dismissed as one-hit-wonder clap-clap-clap song guys. Seriously, whoever you are, I guarantee you’re not listening to Shikari enough, and this is a great place to start.
3: Border Ctrl – 47SOUL ft. Shadia Mansour & Fedzilla
Semitics – 2020 – Electronic
https://47soul.bandcamp.com/album/semitics
“This border control
Congesting our soul
Taking its toll on us all”
Palestinian and Jordanian electronic outfit 47SOUL’s “Border Ctrl” links the US/Mexico Border with the Israeli/Palestine and the violent and oppressive methods used to displace a people. Released in 2020, it has become increasingly relevant in 2024 since the Israeli state have been continuously pushing the safe border back further and further, stealing more and more Palestinian land and committing genocidal atrocities to countless civilians.
These aren’t the only examples of the brutality of state border control, but they are some of the more prominent and extreme ones at the moment. This track really illustrates the despair and fear these systems instil in an oppressed people.
Chilling, raw, and incredible musical production unlike anything I’ve heard before. A truly unique group who definitely deserve your attention, now so more than ever.
4: Comin’ Over Here – Asian Dub Foundation ft. Stewart Lee
Access Denied – 2020 – Drum & Bass
https://asiandubfoundation.bandcamp.com/album/access-denied
“If you come over here Anglo-Saxons learn to speak the fucking language”
Little bit of respite here with this excellent remix of one of Stewart Lee’s more iconic routines. This is a match made in heaven. Heavy, bassy dub music with Stewart’s trademarked mockery of anti-immigration attitudes – extending that to every major group of people right back to the Anglo Saxons, satirizing the idea that anyone has a claim to this country given that throughout human civilization we have never remained static and are a vast mixture of cultures culminating over many hundreds of years.
This also just goes far harder than it needs to – and it is now inseparable from the routine. I can’t watch this Stewart Lee bit anymore without this backing track, it just doesn’t hit the same. Now I really want more electronic producers to remix famous stand-up routines. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be electronic, there’s a huge untapped market. Can’t wait ‘til someone remixes Suzy Izzard into Cake or Death Metal.
5: Know Your Enemy – Killdren
The Illuminaughty – 2023 – Drum & Bass
https://killdren.bandcamp.com/album/the-illuminaughty
“Your enemy is not sneaking across the borders
They’re the ones who create and police them
Your enemy doesn’t come to steal this land
It’s those who have long held the deeds”
Killdren are abrasive, unpleasant and difficult to listen to, and I love them so much.
Their music is deliberately discordant and intense, which really works with the gravity of the topics they cover. Know Your Enemy is one of their more overtly and explicitly angry tracks. Where you get tracks like “Kill Tory Scum” which are a little bit tongue and cheek, albeit motivated by very real challenges – this one is completely at face value.
Killdren give you a barrage of comparisons, comparing the people the powerful want you to hate against those who are actually making your life worse.
Central to this is the scapegoating of expats, when it’s actually the landlords, corporate capitalist class, and politicians who create the issues they are blaming others for. Their message is unambiguous, important and correct. If you’re reading this you probably don’t need reminding, but this track really does cement that idea if you ever do find yourself slipping and losing sight of the actual enemy in the horrific political state we’re currently struggling through.
6: Prayer of the Refugee – Rise Against
The Sufferer & The Witness – 2006 – Melodic Hardcore
“But we’ve been sweating while you slept so calm
In the safety of your home”
Going back a bit now to this old school Rise Against track. One of their more well-known tracks, melodic hardcore riffs and lyrical sensibilities and one of the most iconic hooks in all of 00s Punk.
This song is fairly self-explanatory in theming, the struggles from the point of view of an expat living in the US facing discrimination and hostility from a social and governmental level, and indeed the horrors they may have fled to even get to the US and getting through the border in the first place.
I generally prefer songs from authentic voices who have experienced this life, but Rise Against do this with a humility and care that feels very genuine and are one of few bands at this time to be this big and sing so loudly about these issues, so I feel like they get a pass here.
7: Tunnel Vision – Kae Tempest
Let Them Eat Chaos – 2016 – Spoken Word
“Now, it was our bombs that started this war
And now it rages far away
So we dismiss all its victims as strangers
But they’re parents and children made dogs by the danger”
One of my favourite songs of all time. Kind of trippy-spoken word beat poetry from Kae Tempest here, covering a whole host of disillusioning issues but particularly overseas violence that we are in some way complicit in.
It’s a call for more mutual love and understanding, but it’s also a wake-up call to the atrocities that are happening every day in parts of the world, and the inability to even imagine how that must be to live through or experience here. It’s so easy to want to just not think about it, and that’s all well and good, until our actions and policies are actively making this stuff happen.
We dropped half of these bombs, so it’s despicable for us to now act like “there’s no room” and deport those fleeing some of the most dangerous living conditions in modern day to Rwanda, and to demonise and treat these people like leeches, and our issue with small boats crossings being that people are coming here at all and not that they’re forced to brave incredibly dangerous conditions just for a chance and safety and security that they’re willing to risk the way we’re treating them and death in crossing.
We have no humanity if this is how we feel. Ultimately this song is a cry for more humanity and empathy, and mutual love and solidarity. It’s one of the most powerful pieces of art I’ve ever heard calling for that. Kae has an incredible way with words, and the trippy minimal hip-hop beat really compliments their poetry. Absolute masterpiece honestly.
8: PRECIOUS CARGO – HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF
LIFE ON EARTH – 2022 – Americana
“We made it to the border
I jumped and I was detained
They split me from my family
Now the light begins to fade”
The humanity angle continues with this melancholic track from Hurray for the Riff Raff. Precious Cargo takes a downtrodden minimal beat, not dissimilar to Tunnel Vision, but more understated and atmospheric. Vocally it’s very percussive and rhythmic, again feeling more like poetry than strictly music, but with a persistent melody ingrained in the struggles of the narrator.
Some people do either forget or deliberately ignore the humanity of refugees, immigrants or migrants. Our media and political class do try very hard to erase the concept of these people as people so they can push their own hostile rhetoric. With the way we, as a state, do treat those who wish to come here, either out of desperation or otherwise, it is easier to process that if you try to forget that these people are people. Once you acknowledge their humanity, the weight of the horror of their situation and how we’re treating them becomes unbearable.
And it should be, it is inhuman what these people have to go for even before we actively make it worse. Precious Cargo presents immigrants with an unignorable humanity, with a visceral yet understated tale of struggle, desperation and last-ditch hope. If this song doesn’t move you, then you must be trying not to acknowledge it. This is powerful stuff.
9: Somewhere Better – Ad Infinitum
Chapter III – Downfall – 2023 – Symphonic Metal
https://adinfinitummusic.bandcamp.com/album/chapter-iii-downfall
“We ignite
Still dreaming wide awake
On the hunt for Somewhen brighter
Pull me back now
I’ll dream until my dying day
Create a new Somewhere better”
This one is a tad more abstracted. I’ve used the refrain of “Somewhere Better” to be more about the idea of creating a better world rather than finding a better place, but the sentiment rings true regardless.
Tonally this song absolutely fits the pained determination to fight and search for a better tomorrow even at the cost of your own life. The slow symphonic metal riffs provide a motivating power tinged with fear and doubt. And is a sentiment relevant to a lot of different people in different demographics, and this is definitely one of them.
And whatever the context, striving to create somewhere better is something we should all desire. This is just one of the things we need to consider when doing this. No human is illegal, and no society can be fair if it treats any humans that way.
10: Running (Refugee Song) – Keyon Harrold ft. Andrea Pizziconi, Jasson Harrold, Common & Gregory Porter
Running (Refugee Song) ft. Common & Gregory Porter – 2016 – Jazz
“I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running
So much time wasted in tents, 17 years inside a fence
I ran from the war, homeless, no school
No future, I’m a ghost but not finished I will rise”
I promise these tracks do get a little bit more upbeat eventually – but for now we have this soulful Jazz-Rap ballad beautifully composed and performed by Keyon Harrold et al.
Written for World Refugee day in 2016, this song is a reflection on the life and struggles of a refugee. I don’t think anyone can even begin to imagine what being a refugee must feel like if you’ve never been in that situation. I certainly cannot fathom. But when you listen to those voices talk about it, and really pay attention to the headlines from the point of view of the people they are about and affect, the gravity is immense.
Being displaced from your home, only to escape, brave storms and horrific weather and transport conditions just to try and start a new life somewhere safer, only to be scrutinised and abused by border security, and more often than not have your claim denied and sent either right back to the place you tried to escape from or a hostile detention camp, even once fleeing and finding safety from a conflict, you’re never not in danger. We deliberately ensure that no one ever feels safe.
That’s why these stories are so important. Again, if you’re reading this, I suspect you have a certain level of humanity and empathy already, but there are so many people who don’t know or don’t want to know what these people have gone through just to survive.
It’s not just about awareness, but that awareness is important and needs to be unignorable. There cannot be room for legislators to act in ignorance. They are acting in malice, and we should vote them out on that basis. (Not that who we’re voting in are much better, but that’s next month’s playlist, hold that thought.)
11: Why We Build The Wall – Anais Mitchell
Hadestown – 2010 – Folk
“The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free”
This is a catchy musical satire about the contradiction of any society who creates walls and borders to keep out “the enemy”, not acknowledging that actually the purpose is often to keep the people in.
I’ve never seen the production of Hadestown – but this song has endured far outside of that context. While it was written for that project, it has relevance far beyond that, not least Donald Trump’s infamous border wall he campaigned on in 2016, and indeed our own Brexit vote the same year.
The sly folk musings of the singer, inviting a chorus to sing along in favour of their own oppression is frankly harrowing and far too reminiscent of real-life politicians to be comfortable given the ancient Greek setting of Hadestown. We’re still telling the same stories, the same warnings, the same fables, and yet we still never seem to learn long term.
Borders hurt us as much as they hurt everyone else. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we realize what a non-issue this whole thing is, at least not from the point of view it is often presented.
12: Fuck The Border – Propagandhi
Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes – 2001 – Punk
https://propagandhi.bandcamp.com/album/todays-empires-tomorrows-ashes-reissue
“You’ve got a problem with her living here
But what did you do to help her before she fucking came?”
Propagandhi don’t fuck about with this rhetoric. “Fuck the border” is correct. This is a pure punk track calling out bigots and xenophobic politicians for doing nothing, for being complicit in the displacement and oppression of others then being mad when they seek refuge in “your” country.
I honestly don’t know why this needs to be said, but people running away from conflict and devastation we are actively making worse do not owe us shit. We owe them a life and safety and security. If you don’t want to do that, don’t contribute to their destruction and displacement. Should be simple really.
But also fuck borders more generally, and let people live where they want or need to. It doesn’t affect you, and if you think it does, maybe have a think about who it benefits to have you believe that. Just saying.
13: No Borders – Russkaja
Turbo Polka Party – 2023 – Ska Punk
https://russkaja.bandcamp.com/album/turbo-polka-party
“We’re puppets of dictators
Again and again
I see the more things change
The more they stay the same”
There we are, back into the upbeat and camp now, you happy?
“No Borders” by Russkaja is once again exactly what it stands for. It is interesting that this band received criticism and then split up due to their satirical usage of soviet iconography in their music due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Like sure, I get it, but also Russia hasn’t been Soviet for decades, and this bands message is so clearly anti-war and anti-colonisation and anti-maniacal dictators, that, I don’t know, I feel like it’s nitpicking to be mad at the Soviet aesthetic of the band.
But I digress. This is a fun bouncy track all about the elimination of borders, promoting mutual love and equity, and is ultimately a peace anthem, celebrating the similarities of people not fighting the differences.
It’s very sweet, very fun, and something we need more of honestly. This is a great listen.
14: Ahi Ka – Alien Weaponry
Tangaroa – 2021 – Thrash Metal
https://alienweaponry.bandcamp.com/album/tangaroa
“(Visiting guests)
Tāmaki manuhiri
(The queen of England)
Te kuini o Engarani
(Shame on the governor)
Whakamā kāwana
(Land Theft)
Tāhae Whenua”
Māori Thrash Metal is not a thing I knew I needed until I heard it. Now that I have, I can’t get enough of it. Alien Weaponry are certainly the biggest Māori metal band in the world. As such, their music covers a lot of the atrocities the English colonisers of New Zealand committed on the native people, and the continued segregation and oppression of them.
This song is full of metallic grooves, lyrically is all in te reo Māori, but features a breakdown sample of a speech given by the late Liz II talking about New Zealand feeling like her home. Which, for the native population of the country, has to absolutely sting.
Translating the lyrics, it is all about this theft of land and colonization, full of rage and hatred for the Queen and the nation’s empire, and honestly can’t blame them.
I thought this was an appropriate track to include as it once again exposes our own hypocrisies. When people come to our countries to live, work, support our economy, or even just survive from the terror of their home, they are illegals, and we try to deport them. When we go to other countries, and actively invade and murder and take over governance and land of native people – that’s “Empire” and a thing we should be proud of.
It’s a real kick in the teeth for the native populations we’ve decimated and displaced and destroyed their culture. Nobody is doing that to us when they come here, but even if they were, we have very little right to be mad about it.
Anyway, this song rocks, and I need to check out more of this band. Those riffs are something else. Very bassy, very groovy, slightly scary, but in such an addictive and rhythmic way.
15: Civilised – Tripsun
Kill The Dream – 2023 – Emo
https://tripsun.bandcamp.com/album/kill-the-dream
“THRU ALL MY HATRED FOR THE WEST
I HAVE TO SHOW THEM RESPECT
FOR IT COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN MAKING IT HOME
AND A KNIFE TO MY HEAD“
Our penultimate track is this 2023 favourite from Tripsun. Civilised is an emo/pop punk track all about the experience of living in the UK as an expat, particularly from non-European/North American/Australasian origins.
“Civility” is often used as a bit of a racist dog whistle. There are plenty of people who claim to not be racist but describe all non-white people as “brutes” or “rude” or similar. The concept of Civility appears to largely be “Whiteness”.
Living in the UK without being white enough will mean you have to tread extra carefully so as not to appear undesirable or threating to white people or the consequences are likely to be hostile, violent and possibly fatal.
This is a common experience for a lot of expats living in the UK, whether they came here as refugees or any other reason. But in the case of refugees especially it is a reminder that even those who do get accepted into the country aren’t out of the danger, and the experience continued to be a life threatening one, albeit still better than what they were fleeing. Another reminder that the vast majority of people don’t want to come to this country, and if they do it’s usually because they have no other reachable choice. I think the least we could do is have empathy and not treat them like hostile invaders, especially when often we are the hostile invaders in their own home countries that have led to them being here.
16: Refugee Song – Kultur Shock
Drama EP – 2018 – Folk Punk
https://kulturshock.bandcamp.com/album/drama-ep
I don’t have a great deal to say about this last track, mostly as I can’t find the lyrics anywhere nor any concrete discussion from the artist on the song’s meaning, and don’t want to guess. But what I can say is that musically this is a really fun folk punk melody with themes of living as a refugee in a foreign country.
One part that always gets me is yes it talks about the right wing demonisation and hatred of them, but also does call out some on the left for paying lip service to their plight yet still having very visible biases against them in practice. It’s all well and good calling for rights and fair treatment of refugees, but we absolutely need to work on actually treating them like the humans that they are and not be all NIMBY about it. It’s an interesting callout that I’ve not encountered before and is one of the reasons I love discovering music from a variety of voices I don’t get to hear as often as I’d like.
Being on the right side of history and social issues is great and all – but it’s absolutely not the end point. We will all have some unconscious biases we need to reckon with and fight within us as well as the wider societal issues, and I think that’s a stark reminder that it is incredibly obvious when we have them.
No one is perfect, but we should be working on ourselves all the time to stamp these things out. Committing to that is an important part of any progressive social or political movement, otherwise you end up like a George Galloway bitching about queer people existing on national radio.
There we go!
This is so late and rushed, but I hope it gives a little insight into my mindset when compiling this playlist and is an interesting read and listen. I really like this playlist, although appreciate I may not be qualified to talk about it in depth – so if you see this on social media, please leave links in comments with more artists talking about these issues either within music or just interviews/discussions/video essays etc, ‘cause I’d love to listen more.
If you enjoyed reading this, why not check out our upcoming shows in Manchester here: https://www.outsavvy.com/organiser/blizzard-comedy
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See you next time!
