The song is certainly our most open and honest work. We headed to The Chairworks Studio at the beginning of June, filled with anger, distress and confusion after the brutal murder of George Floyd surfaced on social media. As six white men, we felt it was important to recognise our privilege and began to educate ourselves on subject matters surrounding racial injustice. I personally found it difficult to collect my thoughts, however reading Laurence Ralph’s ‘The Torture Letters: Reckoning with police violence’ allowed me to do so. I reference the book towards the end of the songs second verse, which is an interesting story in itself.

When heading to the studio, I had a clear idea of what I wanted ‘How Can Some Experience What Pride Is Without Liberation For All?’ To be about. The first verse existed for a while and insinuates my frustration towards this country’s desperation to be patriotic. Why should I be? The only saving grace this country has is the numerous immigrants who offer more culture, integrity and courage than a vast amount of Brits ever could, particularly those who voted that twat Johnson in and still glorify Winston Churchill - the fucking pig. Oh and the NHS - that’s also a beautiful thing. But everything else is a disaster.

Anyway about the second verse, I spent two days in the vocal room of The Chairworks Studio, I’d only exit the room to use the toilet. I had a second verse completed, but I felt it didn’t communicate a clear message, it was open to interpretation. That’s not what I wanted, I wanted to be clear, concise. I used Marsha P. Johnson as a stimulus, an African-American, gay liberation activist. She inspired me so much. The song became about the need for equality, equity and most importantly justice. As a white, heterosexual man - I feel it’s important to state that I of course have never personally experienced social injustice and therefore wanted to make it clear within the second verse that I will never be a voice for the communities referred to. However, I will always be a voice that supports the voices for these communities. “Discrimination based on migration, I’ll never understand, but I’ll join the cry to protest and with you I stand.” Really helped me encapsulate this viewpoint.

Whilst I was working on the lyrics, the rest of band worked tirelessly on perfecting the musical elements and structure of the song. I remember heading to the toilet and hearing this reoccurring glitchy type sound. They were messing around with a pedal named The Meris Ottobit JR. - which says it all really. The pedal created an unpredictable, stuttering guitar part, jumping up and down an octave whenever it wanted to. This was something they experimented with on a whim, yet it ended up opening and closing the song. There’s something about the use of that pedal that invites reflection, particularly towards the end of the track.

After 6 days in the studio, we finally got to listen to a rough mix of the song, it was a special moment. We were truly proud of what we’d created.