Antillectual

With a new album come new streams! On August 23 we will release our new album “Perspectives & Objectives”. Until that date we will stream new songs from the album every Monday.

No, it’s not a cover, not completely. The second song is a faster, more “classic” Antillectual song, if we may say so. And even though this song is one of the first songs we finished for this album, the topic is still hot. And looking at worldwide developments it will only become even hotter. The issue of immigration, refugees and the unequal spreading of wealth will only become more apparent with increasing worldwide communication and mobility of people.
Lyrics and liners notes below the video. Jelle and Marcel from the Dutch Council for Refugees (Vluchtelingenwerk) wrote an introduction:

“At least put on some work gloves” I told Mohammed, while he was mounting pieces of rock wool against a wooden wall bare-chested. The isolation of a newly created room in a squat progressed steadily, but every second I saw him working with that material unprotected, which gave me an itchy feeling just by looking at it, was a second too many. He threw the rock wool at me laughing “Did I ever tell you how I got to the Netherlands?” Ducking for rock wool I shook my head.

 “A friend of mine who worked at the port, could help me aboard a ship that would sail to Europe. In the middle of the night he brought me on board. The only thing that I took were two boxes of biscuits and plenty of bottled water to keep me alive during those two weeks”. The first few seconds Mohammed thought it would be an easy trip, the entire room was filled with nice soft material. However, after a few minutes the heat came and his body started to itch like it had never done before. “I never found out whether the ship simply carried rock wool, or that I was just unlucky staying in an overly insulated space.” Ten days later the ship docks and during the night Mohammed takes the chance to get ashore. By that time his complete body is covered by an irritating rash. “I was sick for a good few days” he laughs, “but the overdose rock wool made me immune to it eventually”.

After his arrival in what appeared to be the Netherlands, he unsuccessfully underwent some immigration procedures. The IND didn’t believe his story and therefore did not even consider his asylum request. Without a receipt for the boat trip your story goes in the trash.

The other day I heard he’s still here, still undocumented. And perhaps that is the most effective form of protest: you refuse to accept a system of exclusion and deportation and simply stay here. You don’t go away but try to build up a life of your own, despite all obstacles weighing you down. Because it shouldn’t be up to the IND to determine if people should or should not be allowed to stay, it should be up to those people themselves. Migration is not the problem, but the very solution to the real problem that is wealth inequality.

Pre-order “Perspectives & Objectives”, or a package including it and receive a stream right after.

WELCOME TO LE JUNGLE

Welcome to le jungle, we got fun ‘n’ games
We got everything you want, you only have your dreams
Welcome to paradise, you’re here to keep it clean
We only tolerate you, working our machines as slaves

“They only care about their own share”
Where do you think they got their inspiration?
We only care about our own share
How dare you blame them pursuing a better life

Some doors, once opened, will never shut again
The golden cage is cracked, come in, a chance for all to win
Les sans-papiers, les sans-culottes, laissez faire
Everyone is a fortune hunter, now deal with it

Liner notes:

There are some misunderstandings I can’t get around. A number of people think that the process of globalization is a process that can be “undone”. They think it is possible to return to a world where the focus lies on our own lives, without the need for a broader perspective. I’m sorry to break the news to them: the genie is out of the bottle.

And why is it normal for western people to try to get the most out of their lives but why are people that don’t live in a western country being called fortune hunters or economic refugees for doing exactly the same? What is the difference between personal ambitions and opportunism in this case?

In the Netherlands a refugee committed suicide in a Dutch detention centre in January 2013. This tragic occasion has finally lead to discussion about the huge flaws in the Dutch immigration system and whether or not being an “illegal immigrant” should be criminalized. The degrading situation in Dutch detention centres has resulted in hunger striking immigrants and public dissent.

Le Jungle is the name of a refugee hideout close to Calais, France. A lot of refugees wait there for the ferries going to the UK hoping to hop on one of them, hunting for a better life.

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With a new album come new streams! On August 23 we will release our new album “Perspectives & Objectives”. Until that date we will stream new songs from the album every Monday.

Ivo van Aart shot a music video for the first song: “Soundtrack”. Lyrics and liners notes below the video. Bart from our Dutch label Suburban Records wrote an introduction:

I’ve been following Antillectual for quite some time now. Always with deep respect on how much a Dutch Punkrock band can achieve on its own. Working hard to get the next tour in line, to release the new album worldwide, to keep on pushing the limits of what you can do with music. That is the work ethic which resonates in what we love at Suburban and what we aspire to achieve with all that we do. Everything that Antillectual has done so far had meaning, had content. You don’t see that much anymore in music. I take pride that I’m part of this new chapter in the bands career.

It also helps that it is a killer punkrock album! Work hard & love music.

– Bart Wismans, Suburban Records

Pre-order “Perspectives & Objectives”, or a package including it and receive a stream right after.

Soundtrack

How do you sleep at night? Wake up and smell the apathy
Why don’t we hit the streets? Live life a little less carefree
Less “no”, more “YEAH!”, it seems we’re stuck at “maybe”
Not just a piece of the pie, we want the whole fucking bakery
Fuck fact-free politics ‘mockracy, I can’t believe the state we’re in
Our state ruled by hypocracy, we’re preaching water, drinking wine

Less “no”, more “YEAH!”

Let this be the soundtrack of how you change your life, no-one will do it for you
Let this be the soundtrack of how we change our world, there’s only “us”
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
We’ll only regret things we didn’t do

How can you care so little about the world we live in?
Just because you don’t care doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter
I love these songs and books edging our minds like pencil sharpeners
There are no pros and cons to giving a shit when you’re in it for the message

From Russian Pussy Riot, re-educated Indo-punks, to stoned emos in Irak
We got freedom of speech but nothing to say while spring is spreading everywhere
What kind of message do we send the opposition of the willing if we don’t even seem to care
Tough shit, everything is political, there’s no escape, a-political is just impossible
Too bad, songs won’t change a thing at all, needless to say, revolts need to be audible

Liner Notes:

“Music with a message, what has it ever done to change the world?”

Always a great argument when talking about socially engaged music. Maybe music never directly started a revolution or accomplished change on its own, it sure has played an important role as soundtrack to social (r)evolutions. The spirit of the slaves in the 19th century wouldn’t have been as strong without its “black music”. Without Bob Dylan’s songs the civil rights movement in the 1960s wouldn’t have been as widespread. The recession in the 1980s wouldn’t have been as dark and heartfelt without the sound of punk.

In today’s day and age it is impossible to exclude yourself from what is going on around you. We are more informed about the world around us than ever before, and it is consequently harder to look away and not care about it. Today’s music is a part of that world, accompanying us and current events.

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Last weekend we had some crazy days recording the music video for the first song from our new album, “Soundtrack”. The video will be released June 21st. Until then we present you a little report we made during the recordings of our new album. Enjoy, there’s some new music in there too …

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In December 2012, we went on a short tour of Italy with our Roman friends Bedtime For Charlie. This video documents that trip between Bologna, Rome, L’Aquila and Bari. Join us as we put Glen to the ultimate test, grab a midnight snack, drop some names of crucial punk bands and test our knowledge of Italian geography. And some live footage from Stage Diving Fest in Bari. Enjoy!

Check out Bedtime For Charlie on Facebook!

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