The 1975 have teamed up with Greta Thunberg on their new single.
The 16-year-old environmental activist has made her musical debut on a track called ‘The 1975’ – an eponymous title given to the instrumental song which opens each of the band’s albums – and it features her reading an essy over minimal orchestracl backing.
In one part, she says: "We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed. But homo sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around.
"We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.
"So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel."
The proceeds from the track will go to campaign group Extinction Rebellion at Greta’s request.
The song, which is the group’s first with a guest artist, was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, late last month, and wil be the first single from their upcoming third album, ‘Notes on a Conditional Form’.
The ‘Chocolate’ hitmakers are looking at ways to minimise their environmental impact.
Their manager, Jamie Oborne – who founded their record label, Dirty Hit – said his office have phased out all single-use plastic, will no longer produce plastic products including CD jewel cases and are working to minimise the impact of vinyl production.
He told The Guardian newspaper: "Rather than ignoring that it’s a pollutant, we’re minimising it by only doing lightweight vinyl from now on.
"That isn’t very trendy, but one heavyweight LP is the equivalent of making two or three [standard thickness LPs]."
The label’s CDs and vinyl are contained in paper packaging and not wrapped in non-degradable shrink wrap and they are planning to integrate a biodegradable shrink wrap in the future.
The 1975’s next merchandise line will also be environmentally friendly, and will see unsold previous collections repurposed into new pieces of memorabilia.
The 1975 team up with Greta Thunberg
