Curated by Lisa Victoria of Lisa/Liza and released by Pretty Purgatory and Dear Life Records, Songs of Hope for Gaza is a benefit compilation which offers just what is promised by its title. A collection of thirty-three tracks from the likes of Thanya Iyer, Matt Bachmann, Will Stratton, Ava Mirzadegan, Jason Calhoun, Tashi Dorji, Little Mazarn, Adeline Hotel, Good Good Blood, Tremolo Fields and many more which intends to remind the artistic community of their agency and purpose in the face of a horror which can seem immobilising, no matter how modest that intention might prove. “Songs of Hope For Gaza is a compilation organized as an effort to join together as a music community to write music in solidarity for Palestine,” Victoria explains:
The cover painting and title, is a nod to Bottles of Hope For Gaza, where in Egypt, bottles containing rice, flour, and beans were thrown into sea in hopes that they would reach the shores of Gaza. In organizing this project, I hope to offer encouragement to anyone in the music community, to speak up in song and to utilize our collective power. I believe it is vital to our own hearts, and our lives as artists, to empathize and show empathy to this cause.
All proceeds of the release will be donated to ANERA, a charity which offers a whole suite of humanitarian aid and emergency relief in Gaza, as well as across the wider Middle East. The organisation’s motto is “Where hope finds a way,” a sentiment more relevant than ever. Because for all of the hand-wringing and well-intentioned prayers, what the people need now is action. And the only way to achieve the required response is for wide swathes of those watching on to roll up their sleeves and do anything they can. Songs of Hope for Gaza is just one small effort to add to this collective action, and one which will hopefully inspire others to lend their energy to the drive. Victoria invokes a quote from Woody Guthrie’s Bound for Glory to encapsulate the spirit of the release:
All of this talking about what’s up in the sky, or down in hell, for that matter, isn’t half as important as what’s right here, right now, right in front of our eyes. Things are tough. Folks broke. Kids hungry. Sick. Everything. And people has just got to have more faith in one another, believe in each other. There’s a spirit of some kind we’ve all got. That’s got to draw us all together.
Songs of Hope for Gaza will be released on the 28th October via Pretty Purgatory and Dear Life Records and you can pre-order it now.