Further distinguishing himself as one of the most thoughtful and difficult to categorise artists on Elefant Traks‘ considerable roster, Sydney emcee Urthboy has turned his flip of the Jaytee remix of Elefant Traks peer Sietta‘s Don’t Let It Go into a call to arms aimed at his fellow musicians.
“I’d been writing a song about the extreme mismatch of our navy facing off against asylum seekers in ramshackle boats. The official silence and militaristic language. The paranoid obsession Australia has with asylum seekers. The billions we spend so we can turn our back,” said Urthboy.
“Then Manus Island happened and it clarified the purpose of the song, giving us a tragic consequence to a hopeless situation. Somewhere along the way we mangled our perception of success to be measured by how many boats have landed. This is hysteria. So many miles from the myth of the ‘fair go’. It’s a call out to musicians and artists to put humanity back into focus.”
Listen: Urthboy – Don’t Let It Go
