Toast to Freedom
"Toast to Freedom" is a song dedicated to Amnesty International . It was written by Carl Carlton and Larry Campbell , recorded with the participation of around 50 musicians from around the world, and published worldwide by Amnesty International on May 3, 2012.
history
Amnesty International officially closed its 50th anniversary celebrations on May 3, 2012 with the release of Toast to Freedom, a song composed and recorded exclusively for Amnesty International. Music and lyrics were written by the two guitarists and producers Carl Carlton ( Robert Palmer , Eric Burdon , Keb 'Mo' and others) and Larry Campbell ( Levon Helm Band, Bob Dylan , Elvis Costello and others). The idea for “Toast to Freedom” came from Carlton and the entrepreneur Jochen Wilms, who set up this project in collaboration with Bill Shipsey, the founder of Art for Amnesty . Art for Amnesty is a global organization that brings together musicians, actors and artists from all over the world to support Amnesty International in a variety of ways.
"We got the idea for this song while sitting outside in my garden outside of Dublin one day in November 2010," Shipsey told the British Observer. "Carl Carlton came to visit me and said he would like to do something to celebrate Amnesty International's fiftieth birthday."
The title “Toast to Freedom” goes back to a toast to freedom that two students uttered in a pub in Lisbon in 1961 and were thrown in prison for seven years. When the English lawyer Peter Benenson found out about it, he wrote the “Appeal for Amnesty 1961” in the British daily newspaper The Observer in May 1961, which was printed in newspapers all over the world, thus laying the foundation for a worldwide movement with more than three million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories.
The recordings
In the spring of 2011, Carl Carlton and Larry Campbell wrote “Toast to Freedom” in a New York hotel in five days. The basic soundtracks were created by Carl Carlton's band The Songdogs and by internationally known musicians such as Recorded, for example, by Steely Dan keyboardist Donald Fagen and Levon Helm and others at Helm's studio The Barn in Woodstock, NY. Wilms was also able to win Bob Clearmountain , who has already worked as a producer for The Who , Paul McCartney , Rolling Stones , Bruce Springsteen and many others, as a producer for this project.
When the basic recordings were ready, Wilms, Carlton and Campbell recruited almost 50 different singers from different continents, countries and genres - from Taj Mahal to Marianne Faithfull , from Carly Simon to Kris Kristofferson or actor Ewan McGregor and many others.
The host at The Barn, Levon Helm, did not live to see the release of the song. He died on April 19, 2012 after a long and serious illness. As Jochen Wilms put it in a press release from Amnesty International on May 2, 2012, Levon Helm was probably the greatest inspiration for the musicians and the entire team: “The song 'Toast to Freedom' is of course dedicated to Amnesty International, but it could just as well be called 'Toast to Levon' to honor this man whose name stands for truth, passion and soul, as well as Amnesty International and our 'Toast-To-Freedom' project. We miss him very much and will never forget him. "
Art for Amnesty's Bill Shipsey also commented on Levon Helm and his role in the project: “For the millions of Amnesty Internation members around the world, I would like to say that we are infinitely grateful to Levon Helm for his artistic contributions and generous support . They will change our important, often life-saving work around the world forever and we owe him a deep debt. The best way to repay this debt will be by continuing our work. Levon Helm and the almost 50 internationally selected musicians have created a piece of magical music - for Amnesty. This is what happens when kindness and love are combined with kindness and art. Then beauty and power arise and lead to a truth without weapons - still the most powerful phenomenon in this universe ”.
publication
Toast to Freedom was released on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 - World Press Freedom Day - and disseminated through an innovative global campaign that focused on the message of protecting human rights. A separate “Toast to Freedom” website and links to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTUbe were created - with links to the websites of Amnesty International and all participating artists. The song "Toast to Freedom" is available through the usual online sources worldwide, the profit goes to Amnesty International.
In addition, “Toast to Freedom” is available in a large selection of different audio mixes for both the uncut and the shorter radio version. Further mix versions are also planned for various regions of the world - e.g. B. for South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and USA.
Every segment of this international production was captured by filmmaker Natalie Johns , best known for her work with Jay-Z , Peter Gabriel and The Rolling Stones , and her team at Dig For Fire. Her video clip "Toast to Freedom" and a "Make-Of" documentary appeared parallel to the release of the song.
Contributors
- Artist
Amy Helm , Angélique Kidjo , Arno , Axelle Red , Bertha Blades , Blind Boys of Alabama , Carl Carlton , Carly Simon , Christine & The Queens , Christophe Willem , David D'Or , Donald Fagen , Emmanuel Jal , Eric Burdon , Essie Jain , Ewan McGregor , Florent Pagny , Gentleman , Jane Birkin , Jerry “Wyzard” Seay , Jimmy Barnes , John Leventhal , JP Nataf , Keb Mo , Kris Kristofferson , Larry Campbell , Levon Helm , Mahalia Barnes , Marianne Faithfull , Matthew Houck , Max Buskohl , Moses Mo , Nacho Campillo , Pascal Kravetz , Rosanne Cash , Shawn Mullins , Sir Samuel , Sonny Landreth , Sussan Deyhim , Taj Mahal , Teresa Williams , Vida Simon , Warren Haynes , Wayne P. Sheehy , Zackary Alford
- production
Production Management: Bill Shipsey, Jochen Wilms
Producer: Bob Clearmountain
Co-Producers: Carl Carlton, Larry Campbell
Sound Engineer: Justin Guip
distribution
“Toast to Freedom” was also presented live on the same day of its release (May 3, 2012) in the USA and Russia. While in Russia in the late night show "Evening Urgant" Pavel Artemiev and Jenia Lubich performed their version called "Svoboda" (Russian for freedom) together with the a cappella / beatbox group The Jukebox Trio , the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno ”an all-star“ Art for Amnesty ”band. Led by the song's composers, Larry Campbell and Carl Carlton, the cast featured artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Shawn Mullins, Theresa Williams, Essie Jain and Jonny Lang .
"Toast to Freedom" has since received very good reviews worldwide, including the New York Times praising the song as a "heart-warming single" and the British The Sun nominated it as "Single of the Week". "Toast to Freedom" is also mentioned positively on the websites of well-known musicians, especially those artists who have long been with Amnesty International, such as U2 , Peter Gabriel , Sting and REM
“Toast to Freedom” was also performed as part of the musical evening program of the “ Electric Burma ” event in Dublin, where the Ambassador of Conscience Award was presented to Burmese freedom fighter and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi on June 18, 2012 in the Bord Gáis Energy Theater . With this award Amnesty International honors people who have achieved extraordinary things in the fight for human rights. Aung San Suu Kyi was only released from her 15-year house arrest in 2010. Famous artists from the fields of music, film, art and dance participated in the performance around the award ceremony, including Bob Geldof , Bono , Damien Rice , Angelique Kidjo, Lupe Fiasco , Vanessa Redgrave , Jack Gleeson (from HBO's Game of Thrones) , Singer / songwriter Yungchen Lhamo from Tibet, violinist Sarah Nemtanu , cellist Vyvienne Long , pianist Romain Descharmes , Riverdance from Ireland and others. Carl Carlton, who was musical director of the event alongside Bono, is quoted as saying: “It is a very great honor for me to play 'Toast to Freedom' for Aung Saan Su Kyi. It stands for everything I believe in and what I fight and write for. Not only is she a figure of light to herself, but she gives every soul in this universe her voice in the name of human rights. She in particular embodies the spirit of 'Toast To Freedom' like no other person. "
Cover versions
Cover versions of "Toast to Freedom" have been made in several countries around the world. Jochen Wilms is quoted in the press release published by Amnesty International on May 22nd as saying: “I am surprised how many musicians have contacted me to be part of this initiative with their own version of“ Toast to Freedom ” . “Among them was the Russian hip-hop musician Vasily Vakulenko , currently one of the most successful musicians in Russia and known for his socially critical lyrics. As his alter ego Basta , he published “ Svoboda ” (Russian for freedom) in May 2012, merging his own texts with samples from the original “Toast to Freedom”. In addition to Basta, prominent young Russian musicians took part in the sound and video recordings for “Svoboda”, including Tati , Billy Novik and the rappers Smoky Mo and Slovetsky . Renowned Russian music journalist Boris Barabanov and Bill Shipsey from Art for Amnesty co-produced “Svoboda”, the latter being quoted by Amnesty International with the statement that “the hunger for freedom and human rights in Russia is more tangible than we can imagine from afar . "
Also in May, students from the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences recorded another version of “Toast to Freedom”. Encouraged by the musician / journalist Heinz Rebellius and organized by the head of the Institute for Music, Martin Behrens, there were not only the music students but also well-known Osnabrück musicians such as Heaven (the schoolchildren ) and Toscho Todorovic ( Blues Company ), but also the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra and professional musicians such as Thorsten HazE Haas and Wolf Simon were involved in the recordings. In addition, several thousand Osnabrück visitors to the “Maiwoche” street festival were recorded as they joined the chorus for this song. The Osnabrück version “ Toast to Freedom - The Freedom City Mix ” was published in December 2012, together with a video also created by the students.
At the same time as the publication of “Toast to Freedom”, Amnesty International held a competition in May 2012 to call on musicians around the world to submit their own interpretations of the human rights anthem. From the many submissions, the jury unanimously selected “ Toast to Freedom - the Berlin Mix ” by the young Berlin artist Luca as the winning entry, in which the singer accompanied only by her sister Maria on the cello and rudimentary acoustic guitar and bass fragments becomes. "The message of the original, which is about the freedom of every individual and respect for human rights worldwide, is conveyed in a very personal way in Lucas' version of 'Toast to Freedom'," said composer Carl Carlton in a press release from Amnesty International the verdict of the jury and continues: “We made the original of this song powerful and colorful with the help of many musicians in order to do justice to the multicultural demand for freedom and human rights. In contrast, Lucas Version seems vulnerable and sensitive, but its message is still very concrete. There is a young woman who alone wants to tell the big world that the fight for freedom and human rights is taking place right on our doorstep, day after day. ”And Jochen Wilms is also quoted in the press release from Amnesty International:“ Lucas' Toast to Freedom 'adds a new dimension to the' Toast-To-Freedom 'artist initiative. The musician recorded her version on her own in Berlin and also produced her own video together with the young Berlin cameraman Daniel Devecioglu and co-director Tom Richter. A production that is both professional and touching! "
The punk bands Anti-Flag , Donots , Bernd von den Beatsteaks and Ian von Billy Talent released another cover version of Toast To Freedom in February 2013.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fifty stars form 'supergroup' to mark 50 years of Amnesty
- ↑ Richard Reoch (amnestyusa.org, February 26, 2005): Peter Benenson Remembered: The man who DECIDED it what time for a change
- ↑ Scott Bernstein (Glidemagazine.com, April 24, 2012): Love For Levon: Reactions to the Death of Levon Helm
- ↑ toasttofreedom.org
- ↑ Dig For Fire: About us ( Memento of May 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ (Artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com, May 2, 2012): New Song to benefit Amnesty International
- ↑ (U2.com, May 3, 2012): U2 News
- ↑ (noz.de, May 17, 2012): May week: Osnabrück sings for Amnesty International
- ↑ Video: Toast to Freedom - the Freedom City Mix
- ↑ Luca
- ↑ Video: Toast to Freedom - the Berlin Mix