Geezer Butler & Roger Taylor join musicians on Peace Tracks

Leading peacebuilding charity International Alert is delighted to announce the worldwide release of Peace Tracks, a global collaborative music project that brings together celebrated recording artists with musicians from around the world. The musicians will release an album as a free download on UN International Day of Peace (21 September).

Famous recording artists from different musical backgrounds, from rock and pop to classical, including multi-Grammy award winners, contributed audio elements for the initiative. Musicians from around the world, particularly conflict-affected regions, then collaborated to build upon these contributions, drawing on their own diverse styles and musical heritage to create unique songs.

Those participating include: Swedish pop group ABBA, singer Angélique Kidjo, sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar, Black Sabbath bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, film-score composer AR Rahman, Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor, former Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, and influential composer Philip Glass, together with musical contributions from artists hailing from Afghanistan, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, DRC Congo, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Nepal, the Philippines, Syria and Venezuela.

The project aims to bring together musicians across geographical, cultural and conflict divides, who might never otherwise have a chance to create music together, and give them a platform to express themselves, and their views on issues of conflict and peace.

Roger Taylor of Duran Duran said: "As a musician I've always been open to different musical influences and I liked the idea of a creative experiment with no set boundaries. I had no idea in which direction the music would go after using my drums as an initial starting point, and the track that emerged is the most beautiful surprise. It goes to show that music is universal and after many years of playing it continues to be a journey rather than a destination."

Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath said: "From the earliest Sabbath stuff, I've written lyrics about the grim reality of war. Peace Tracks can hopefully bring more people around the world to think about peace."

As part of the project, a group of international musicians came together to collaborate in Sheffield, UK on 25-26 August. The songs were facilitated by Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure and guitarist Ed Cosens.

Peace Tracks is part of International Alert's Talking Peace Festival, a series of events aimed to spark conversations about peace through creativity around International Peace Day. The finished Peace Tracks album, which features a selection of the songs created for the project, can be downloaded from 18 September at:

www.intalert.org/peacetracks

TRACK LISTINGS
1. CARIBE SON – Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) and musicians from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France and Venezuela

2. COLORS OF FREEDOM – Angélique Kidjo and Color It Red (The Philippines)

3. COUPÉ IN THE KEY OF C MINOR – Philip Glass, Melissa Auf der Maur, ABBA and musicians from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Ghana, India and UK

4. JUSOOR – Anoushka Shankar and Nahel Al Halabi (Syria)

5. LÁGRIMA, LÁSTIMA, VAMO LÁ – Roger Taylor (Duran Duran) and musicians from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France and Venezuela

6. MADRE DE LA VIDA – Anoushka Shankar and musicians from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela

7. OT – AR Rahman and Night (Nepal)

8. SOLDIERS 2015 – ABBA and musicians from Australia, Colombia, Cyprus, France, UK and Venezuela