"In 1995, as violence and ethnic strife tore apart the former Yugoslavia, the urgency of the crisis gave a group of peace activists an idea: record a benefit compilation in one day, mix it the next, and have it on shelves before the end of the week. Masterminded by nonprofit organization War Child and produced by Brian Eno, the album brought together a motley group of big-ticket artists- Radiohead, the Chemical Brothers, the Stone Roses, Paul McCartney-and raised over a million pounds for children caught in the Bosnian war."
"For HELP(2), Clarke approached British producer James Ford, whose clientele mainly consists of acts from the upper stratosphere of British alternative rock: Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Foals. Where Help was steeped in Britpop, HELP(2) expands to virtually everyone who's ever come near the BBC Radio 6 A-list, including Ford's aforementioned associates and even some Americans: Olivia Rodrigo, Big Thief, and Cameron Winter all make appearances."
"Last November, those musicians and dozens more gathered for a week at Abbey Road Studios. As if the stakes weren't high enough, Ford, diagnosed with leukemia in 2024, fell ill and directed sessions through his laptop post-blood transfusion. By some miracle, the 24-track behemoth works on its own. It's frequently beautiful and shockingly consistent, given the range of artists involved, and almost every artist brings their best efforts."
War Child, a nonprofit organization, created HELP(2), a new charity compilation album following the success of its 1995 predecessor that raised over a million pounds for Bosnian war relief. Produced by James Ford despite his leukemia diagnosis, the album was recorded over a week at Abbey Road Studios with contributions from Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Foals, Olivia Rodrigo, Big Thief, and numerous other artists spanning British alternative rock and American acts. The 24-track compilation maintains remarkable consistency and quality across its diverse roster, with nearly every artist delivering strong performances. The project was initiated to address mounting humanitarian crises in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, continuing War Child's mission of supporting children affected by conflict.
#charity-compilation-album #war-child-humanitarian-relief #abbey-road-studios #british-alternative-rock #benefit-music-project
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