Scottish protest singer-songwriter, Beldon Haigh, has returned with the release of his second single, ‘Land of Hope’, which tackles the distressing and increasingly pressing issue of the world’s current refugee crisis.

‘Land of Hope’ is the follow up single to Beldon’s solo debut, ‘Freedom’, a classic protest song that railed against the leadership of America’s 45th president, Donald Trump.

With a powerful political agenda at the heart of his music, Beldon is a musician combining quality song writing skills with contemporary issues that add a potent level of relevance to his songs. In terms of protest songs, Beldon notes that: ‘More artists need to sing about this kind of thing, it is far more important than for example, singing about getting wasted.’

Watch the video for ‘Land of Hope’ below

Beldon was inspired to write ‘Land of Hope’ after bearing witness to the many images of refugees making treacherous journeys from Syria, Libya and Tunisia into Italy, Greece and finally mainland Europe. Like many of us, Beldon still recalls the haunting image of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish background whose image made global headlines after he drowned and was washed up onto a beach in the Mediterranean in September 2015. Alan and his family were Syrian refugees trying to reach Europe.

‘Land of Hope’ is a moving and poignant song which seeks to inspire a more supportive and understanding approach towards the plight and suffering of refugees. The emotive new video for the track includes statistics and data from respected and authoritative sources (https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/) which highlight the varying levels of support which have been taken by European countries to help in providing asylum for refugees.

Haigh’s new single picks up where he left off with ‘Freedom’, employing the expert piano work of Ted Sweeney and a spine-tingling string quartet score by Smith Street Strings. Along with his beautifully crafted song writing talents, Beldon’s inimitable voice adds an element of compassion to ‘Land of Hope’, resulting in particularly touching combination of music and visuals.

In support of refugees everywhere, Beldon is donating all proceeds from downloads of ‘Land of Hope’ to the IndiGO volunteers charity who provide a range of support and coordination services to assist the work of aid agencies dealing with the humanitarian crisis. Beldon is not just hoping that the single will raise money, but that it will raise awareness of the crisis, influence public opinion ad improve support for refugees all over the world.

Links:

https://twitter.com/beldonhaigh

https://www.facebook.com/Beldon-Haigh-Freedom-An-Anti-Trump-Protest-Song-1270990246327550/?fref=ts

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/freedom/id1195525999?i=1195526008