Schoolchildren feature in Mercury Prize nominee’s latest EP calling for climate action
A new EP featuring children from two South London schools will be released on Thursday to mark the anniversary of Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death.
Ella was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on their death certificate. She died on February 15, 2013, aged nine.
The EP- Air – is dedicated to Ella, with lyrics written by Mercury Prize nominee ESKA and young people’s poet laureate for London, Cecilia Knapp.
The song was recorded at art school Trinity Laban (TL), in Romney Road, Deptford, with choir members from TL and John Stainer Community Primary School, based in St Asaph Road, Brockley.
Lewisham-born ESKA – real name Eska Mtungwazi – said: “Through this project, I’ve got a profound sense of what this subject matter is doing to young people, what they’re grappling with.
“This is their life on the line. It’s an incredible opportunity to stand in solidarity with them. It’s potent, it’s powerful. It’s important.”
The EP also commemorates the Hope 4 Justice climate action project in 2022, which saw students from 27 South London schools take part in music, dance and spoken word performances at the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture celebrations.
Pictured top: John Stainer Community Primary School choir recording the EP at Trinity Laban (Picture: John Williams)
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