A supergroup of 17 Canadian artists released a cover of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” on Friday as a means to raise awareness around the current crisis in Sudan.
One of the producers, Darcy Ataman, is the founder and CEO of Make Music Matter, an organization that aims to help trauma survivors cope by writing, singing, and recording songs.
“‘Sunday Bloody Sunday,’ reimagined by some of our greatest Canadian artists, is a protest song for the people in a country that cannot protest for themselves to the wider world,” Ataman said in a press release. “Our hope is that as a tool of advocacy it helps to finish bending the arc of history of Sudan towards the light.”
Following months of protests and violence that began in December 2018, former Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was unseated this past April thanks to the military and pro-democracy movement.
When the military took power in April, protests continued as demonstrators demanded that the military transfer authority to a civilian government, the BBC reported.
Although the military and protesters have come to some agreements, violence against protestors has continued.
A recent attack was particularly violent. On June 3, Sudan’s security forces attacked a protest camp in Khartoum. The government claimed there were 61 deaths, but a group of doctors tallied over 100 deaths over a number of days.
There have also been reports of rapes, executions, and robberies by the paramilitary, as well as more attacks on protesters.
Internet and cellphone networks have been shut down, which limits the reach the Sudanese people have — which further drove these artists to want to speak out.
“If my position as an artist can help in any way to raise awareness spotlighting Sudan’s current plight for democracy and human rights, I believe I will have utilized my musical voice to a higher good,” Corey Hart, who is best known for his song “Sunglasses at Night,” said in a press release.
Women have played a large role in the demonstrations in Sudan. A video of a young woman standing on the roof of a car has spread across social media. She is referred to as Kandaka, which means Nubian queen, and she was the inspiration behind the artwork for this single.
“I was honoured to be asked to participate in a project to raise funds to help in anyway the heartbreaking atrocities that occurred in Sudan,” Amy Millan from Stars said in a press release. “Women are so directly affected by extreme sexual violence, if it brings any awareness and money to what’s happening, then at least a small something has been done.”
The full list of artists, collectively known as the Artists for Sudan, includes Ian D’Sa and Ben Kowalewicz from Billy Talent, Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo, Cone McCaslin from Sum 41, Neil Sanderson and Matt Walst from Three Days Grace, Damhnait Doyle, Emmanuel Jal, Serena Ryder, Corey Hart, Ron Hawkins from The Lowest of The Low, Scott Anderson from Finger 11, Simon Ward from The Strumbellas, Amy Millan from Stars, Colin MacDonald and John Angus from The Trews, and Ewan Currie from The Sheepdogs.
All proceeds raised by the song, which was produced by David Bottrill and Ataman, will be donated to Human Rights Watch.
You can download this rendition of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" here: https://lnk.to/artistsforsudan