The 1975 have teamed up with teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg for a track on their upcoming album.
All three of the British group’s studio albums so far have opened with a reimagined version of a track named The 1975, and they’ve now unveiled the version for their forthcoming fourth effort Notes On A Conditional Form.
This time around, the song features ambient music while 16-year-old Greta recites a specially-penned essay about the importance of fighting climate change.
“We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis, and we need to call it what it is—an emergency,” Greta says in the five-minute track.
“We must admit that we are losing this battle. We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed, but homo sapiens have not yet failed.
“Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands, but unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance.”
She concludes: “We can no longer save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed—everything needs to change, and it has to start today. So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel.”
The 1975 have already stated that proceeds from this track, which was released on Wednesday night, will go towards activist group Extinction Rebellion, who have made headlines in 2019 with their high-profile protests aiming to raise awareness of climate change.
In response, the group said: “Greta you are an outstanding human. You were there when Extinction Rebellion launched back on Parliament Square in London just nine months ago.
“Again and again you show your support in meaningful ways - from small kind acts to things like this. We salute you sister.”
Extinction Rebellion previously won the support of Radiohead, managing to have the last laugh after 18 hours’ worth of their unreleased material was held ransom by hackers by putting it on sale, with money raised going to the environmentalists.
Notes On A Conditional Form is the second half of a two-part album cycle from The 1975, which they have dubbed Music For Cars.
The first part, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, picked up Best British Album at this year’s Brit Awards, where the group also closed the show with a performance of Sincerity Is Scary.