Karen and the Sorrows joins Kym Register on their compilation album in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent. As usual, the Sorrows create beauty out of grief with spare arrangements and the shining moral clarity that imbues Pittelman’s lyrics. “Ceasefire” is heavily influenced by Jewish teachings.
“The Jewish values that I hold close teach me to fight against Zionism and colonialism and to dem”and an immediate end to the Israeli government’s genocidal war against Palestinians,” Pittelman explains. The lyrics to my song are taken from teachings in the Talmud and the Book of Amos that call for justice and cry out that the loss of even a single life destroys the whole world.”
in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent is a compilation of music and poetry by North Carolina-based artists for a free Palestine. The work arises from an urgent need to express solidarity with Palestinians who are facing genocide in Gaza after decades of occupation and to help generate resources for an international organization fighting for Palestinian liberation.
All proceeds from the compilation will go to Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM.) PYM is a transnational, independent, grassroots movement made up of both young Palestinians who live in Palestine and those who live in exile worldwide as a result of the ongoing Zionist colonization and occupation of their homeland.
“The struggle for freedom and against apartheid and imperialism goes far beyond fake borders and walls,” explains Kym Register, who compiled the album. “No one is free until we are all free. Palestinians have been fighting for their freedom since Israel began its occupation and this moment is and has been critical. We think there are a million roles for artists and one is speaking out against the US funded genocide in Palestine right now through music and vulnerability and collaboration. No thought has to be perfectly constructed. We just need be loud and listen and gather our people and resources and help fuel a movement that’s been fighting for more than a century. Every voice that’s with Palestine deserves to be heard. Free fucking Palestine now and forever.”
Register, who is part of the project Meltdown Rodeo, is cohosting this weekend’s Country Soul Songbook conference, a pay-what-you-can online weekend of performance and discussion to promote marginalized voices within country and roots music.
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