Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler has contributed to a collaborative project that aims to promote world peace.
The bassist and lyricist is working with International Alert on Peace Tracks – described as “a global collaborative music project that brings together internationally celebrated recording artists with musicians from conflict zones.”
The results will be released next month, in the run up to UN International Day of Peace on September 21.
Butler says: “From the earliest Sabbath stuff, I’ve written lyrics about the grim reality of war. Peace Tracks can hopefully bring more people around to world to think about peace.”
Other artists who have contributed include Philip Glass, Angelique Kidjo, Anoushka Shankar and Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor.
Ilaria Bianchi, head of communications at International Alert, says: “Collaboration is key to music making, but it’s also integral to peacebuilding. Through this project, we hope to demonstrate the opportunities that music and technology open up for building new relationships across borders and cultures, and sparking conversations about important global issues.”
Peace Tracks sees musicians from conflict-affected regions around the world building on the contributions to create songs using the online platform Ohm Studio.
The best-recorded songs will be released online on September 8, when the public will have the chance to download them from Ohm Studio to remix them.
This week, Black Sabbath guitarist and cancer survivor Tony Iommi took part in Macmillan Cancer Support’s Not Alone campaign, which aims to offer people an idea of how isolated victims can feel after diagnosis.
