A New Music Video
London youths jump through a cityscape of high rises looking menacing on BMXs and free running across rooftops. Shrouded in hooded jackets, they break into people's apartments and put bricks into toilet cisterns, turn TVs off and change light bulbs to energy efficient ones…to the sound of Pink Floyds' We Don't Need No Education .
The climax of this onscreen environmental crusade is the kids standing back to watch their handy work, as the sun sets and the lights flicker on across an apartment block spelling out the maxim SWITCH OFF.
Fusing Music With Enviromental Awareness
"There was a lot of anticipation around this video and I was really keen to do something a bit different," Eric Prydz explains. "Pink Floyd would always use their videos to get a message across and I really wanted to carry on this spirit. I'd been reading so much in the press about climate change and global warming recently and felt it would be great to try and empower people to do something about it. It's not making a grand statement. It's just simply saying everyone can do a little and it will make a difference."
There have been a lot of charity songs and concerts to raise awareness about climate change, most obviously Live Earth last year, but if you dig a little deeper you find some interesting underground music initiatives and a few like this one which will sabotage the mainstream - fusing great music and environmental awareness.
For the 'Proper Education' video Prydz consulted with climate change charity Global Cool (http://www.global-cool.com/). Rise up, stand up… Global Cool empowers the individual showing us how we can make personal lifestyle changes and be part of the solution.
Global Cool spokesman, Dan Morrell said, "The message is clear, climate change is happening but collectively, given the tools and the knowledge to actively reduce CO2 emissions, and to encourage others to do the same, we can collectively push the climatic tipping point long into the future."
While many found the idea of Live Earth laughable - flying in stars from around the globe to rock out for one night and leave a very large carbon footprint, Global Cool not only advised on the video's enviro-educational content but are also working with Eric and Ministry of Sound to make the release of 'Proper Education' carbon neutral.
The emissions created through the production and distribution of the CD release will be offset through the Te Apiti Wind Farm project in New Zealand. If you produce and distribute 40,000 CDs you will amass a total of 54.8 tonnes of CO2, that's a lot to offset. The wind farm's 55 megawatt-class turbines generate enough emission free electricity to power up to 45,000 average sized homes.
Singing For Water
At the other end of the musical spectrum away from Swedish beats and 1979 rock anthems, we find the Holiwater project - an international collective of highly acclaimed music and visual artists who have gathered together to celebrate and stimulate attention around water.
Fusing together classical, folk and electronic music with the Baul singers of Bengal and visionary video artists, the Holiwater project has put on eclectic visual and audio installations across the globe at festivals, museums, cathedrals, in a desert fort in Jaipur and on the banks of the Ganges itself, where the seeds of the project were first watered.
Back in 2000 photographer and film-maker Andrei Jewell was recording Baul singer Deb Das on the banks of the Ganges, but was shocked by the pollution and degradation of this holiest of rivers.
Jump forward to 2007 and the Holiwater Project team are doing an installation in Jaipur and filming stories about the droughts in the local area. Water is the source of life… and in some places the issues are pollution or damming and in a neighbouring state they might be that of drought or of water rights.
This year, the project will release the culmination of seven years of work with an album, film documentary and book. Director Andrei Jewell says, "As the Earth faces climate change, uncontrollable pollution, the depletion of resources - we have to ask - Can we use the very tool of our destruction - technology - to turn things around in time? What can ancient wisdom tell us about the nature of reality and our relationship to the planet? Can Western advances be used in harmony with Eastern beliefs and systems? What happens if you combine technology with tradition?"
"Water, previously an object of worship, is now, in many cases, a commodity for sale," continues Jewell. "The importance of water has never diminished - from the time when temples were dedicated to Poseidon to this age when dams and desalination plants stand as testaments to our unquenchable thirst for water. By 2025, we are told that 40 percent of the world's people, more than three billion, may be living in countries experiencing water stress and chronic water scarcity."
Floods dominated Europe last summer, but from China to Iran and Indonesia to Pakistan, rivers are running dry under the impact of increased exploitation. And the Ganges, the aorta of India, is septic at some points - this means there is no oxygen inside it, therefore it cannot sustain any life.
The Holiwater Project is a meeting place for humanity to be entertained,inspired and informed through the experience of Art and Intention. "What began as a simple journey to witness an ancient holy place, developed into a movement that would forever change our perceptions of people and water," says Jewell. "As an artist, I'm trained to react to my surroundings. As a human, I'm encouraged to look away. But when a river flows through so many lives and in so many directions, you realize the connections… Water is Life - and it's time to connect."
One Giant Leap for Mankind
If you haven't seen or heard the eclectic and phenomenal 1 Giant Leap CD and DVD - hunt it down now…. with Maxi Jazz, Michael Stipe, Ashe Bhosle, Michael Franti, Baaba Maal and a host of world music players from the global stage creating a melodic soundscape to a movie which highlights the issues of the day from how money makes the world go round, to environmental concerns, human rights, the masks we wear and the possibility of unity and personal empowerment through community.
"Gather round the modern world's campfire; the movie screen, television set, or laptop DVD player, and let this film's message wash over you in these troubled times. 1 Giant Leap is nothing short of an electronic drum circle, drawing the citizens of Earth together for a planet-wide cautionary pep talk." (Filmtreat.com)
Part of the Solution, Not Part Of The Pollution
World Renowned musician Michael Franti holds a regular Power to the Peaceful Festival every year in San Francisco and now in Sao Paulo too. Franti is not just a star showing up to perform, but the last person at the festival collecting rubbish. This festival highlights human rights, environmental issues and promotes a global community - traditionally held around the key date of September 11th. Michael Franti's lyrics and songs are a treasure trove for spiritual empowerment, political awareness and global unity. This year Clean Vibes worked at the Power to the Peaceful event to create as small a footprint as possible.
Find out more….
Check out http://www.global-cool.com/ to find daily tips to reduce your imprint, your CO2 workout and why you should be recycling your mobile phone.
For music and thought-provoking ideas check out http://www.spearheadvibrations.com/, http://www.1giantleap.tv/ and http://holiwater.com/