"Band Politics": On music and engagement

BBC 6 covered one of my favourite topics: music becoming political.

Listen here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09w14np

The Art of Now

Band Politics

The Art of Now

BBC 6 Music's Chris Hawkins listens to new music every day - and he's noticing a trend.

More and more of the bands he plays on the station are writing about politics. Acts like Nadine Shah, Cabbage, Idles and Life are covering topics as diverse as The NHS, the refugee crisis of 2016, austerity and rail privatisation.

Chris visits the performers to ask them what is fuelling their music, considering whether supposedly radical bands are operating in a form of musical filter bubble - singing radical songs to an audience who already agree with their point of view.

From the blues to grime, music and politics have always been intertwined, but Chris Hawkins provides a snapshot of the topics which are driving a generation of rock bands right now.

Presented by Chris Hawkins
Producer Kevin Core

Music featured:
Nadine Shah: Out the Way. Holiday Destination. Mother Fighter. Jolly Sailor.
Idles: Mother. Divide and Conquer.
Life: In Your Hands. Euromillions.
Cabbage: Tell Me Lies About Manchester. Preach to the Converted.

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Nadine Shah writes about immigration and Idles overtly

IDLES - 'MOTHER'

'Mother'' from the debut album 'Brutalism', available now. Purchase/Stream 'Brutalism': https://idles.lnk.to/brutalism Follow IDLES: Spotify: https://goo.gl/zTLs99 Facebook: https://goo.gl/sJVKIQ Twitter: https://goo.gl/nn89V5 Instagram: https://goo.gl/Ra2h0c Official Website: https://goo.gl/HihgJG The video was shot at Dilston Grove, one of CGP London's 2 galleries in the heart of Southwark Park in south London. CGP is an artist-led gallery founded in 1984 by The Bermondsey Artists' Group. They commission major artworks by artists at all stages of their career. It's a vital part of London's art scene offering space and support that no-one else can across two stunning galleries. Its an amazing cavernous raw space that hosts a lot of performance, music and live art. They rent it out in between shows to get the crucial funding they need to keep supporting artists. There's nowhere quite like it! Dilston is one of the first poured concrete structures in the UK, built in 1909 by Cambridge University. It had been derelict since the 60s until the gallery took it on. There'd been a mission church on that site since 1896 after Bishop of Rochester, Edward Stuart TALBOT decided Cambridge should have a post in South London to support the poor.