There may be folky, western vibes at the heart of Refugee, but it revels in sonic ideas garnered from across the globe, with a particular love for the sounds of south-east Asia, the tabla drums and flitting flutes adding exotic balance to the more familiar instrumentation. And although I don’t really like the term World Music, a lazy way of labelling something with a more culturally specific name, this is indeed world music…no capital letters required, music of the world, music blended from culture, country and creed, no boundaries, no labels…everything more realistically conjured by such a term.
But Refugee not only sounds like something forged from unity it also speaks in such terms, a song of solidarity for all displaced peoples, all of those on the road between a troubled past and a brighter future. It’s a powerful song, the understatement of the music, the otherworldly musical embellishments and cries for help which echo from these the simple and emotive words all hard to ignore. A song of solidarity and one of the most moving things you will hear for a long time to come.
