Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra addresses refugee rights, black lives and racial injustice in new single, Welcome To The Neighbourhood — a collaboration with diverse artists of First Nations, refugee, immigrant and gender diverse backgrounds.
Once again playing nearly all instruments heard in his music, Matt’s soul-inspired piece provides a lush backdrop for five diverse artists of colour to excavate their personal experiences, set against the real-time developments of the Bla(c)k Lives Matter movement and the Kangaroo Point blockade in solidarity with refugees.
Welcome To The Neighbourhood is a response to the very real, ongoing Australian issues of unethical detention of people seeking political refuge, black deaths in custody and systemic racism. It is a message of welcome and acknowledgement to those denied safe harbour and fair treatment, and a celebration of people in our community speaking, blockading and standing in solidarity against these injustices.
This song features some of Meanjin’s best loved artist and activists, with vocals by Solchld (aka Aurora Liddle-Christie, a Jamaican/Indigenous-Australian activist-artist), spoken word
by Anisa Nandaula (Ugandan-Australian award-winning poet and author) and Naavikaran (Indian-born LGBTIQ+ activist and body-movement artist), rap by Nima Doostkhah (Iranian-Australian hip-hop artist), vocals and instruments by Cieavash Arean (Iranian-Australian refugee and multi-instrumentalist), and baby sounds by Mira and her father Amer Thabet (Syrian actor).
Alongside Matt, each of these featured artists appeared in La Boite Theatre Company’s The Neighbourhood, with which this track shares unofficial DNA. Mixed and mastered by Matt Hsu and Peet Gardner of So Soap Studios (Laneous & The Family Yah, MKO). This single is accompanied by a music video directed by Matt Hsu with the support of La Boite Theatre Company and Aleea Monsour.
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