Young Fathers - Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and G. Hastings stream exclusive three track live video filmed in partnership with Amnesty International to raise awareness for Refugee Week. The session, directed by Tom Hingston, features performances of the tracks ‘I Saw’, ‘Rice’, and ‘Geronimo’ and perfectly captures the trio’s electrifying and frenzied energy they pour into every live show.
The full video is available on Wednesday 21st June to mark Refugee Week (19-25th June 2023) an annual arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
Fans are able to watch the frenetic rendition of ‘Rice’ individually as a preview of the intimate performance, with the full session available to watch on Bandcamp when donating to Amnesty International.
The launch of the video and Refugee Week comes as the UK government prepares to permanently disqualify people’s asylum claims en masse regardless of the strength of their case. Amnesty International says the current immigration bill speeding through parliament will create significant obstacles, penalties and harms to people seeking asylum in the UK.
Alloysious Massaquoi who arrived in the UK with his family as a 4-year-old child refugee, said:
“I know full well the hardships of fleeing a warzone. That’s why it’s important for us to collectively speak up for refugee rights and show comradery.
Most of all we need to show compassion - it brings hope and understanding. It’s transformative. It gave my family and I the chance at a new life.“
Alongside the news of the live session, the band releases two limited edition t-shirt designs in conjunction with Everpress to further raise money and highlight the cause. All proceeds from the sale of the t-shirt will be donated to Amnesty International.
Buy the exclusive T-Shirt : everpress.com/young-fathers
All three tracks from the session are taken from the band’s fourth album ‘Heavy Heavy’ released to wide-spread critical acclaim on February 3rd via Ninja Tune. Since its release the trio have played a host of sell-out shows across the UK and Europe and are now set for a summer of festival performances followed by a full tour of North America - including a televised performance at 20:30 on Friday 23rd June at Glastonbury Festival’s West Holts Stage. Known for their electrifying performances, their shows are a blur of ritualistic frenzy, marking them as one of the most must-see acts operating today.