New Tunes Tuesday – Week 9 – Kae Tempest – Peoples Faces

I shared a snippet of a Kae Tempest before track on my Instagram stories last week – purely because this song always crops up when I’m feeling a bit low about things – and it really does make me realise that I’m not alone with how I feel, so, for that reason, I’m sharing it with you all as my New Tunes Tuesday track this week.

Kae Tempest

Kae is an english spoken word artist, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright. Their work often touches on current political events, and the spoken word nature of it really sends shivers down my spine – I honestly could listen to Kaes work on repeat (and Ashleigh will confirm, I normally do!). This song in particular is so poignant in its relevance, for me. I often lose control in my mind and begin to really stress about things, the climate, the government, Covid, the world in general. Brexit? I mean, there’s just so much going on, and sometimes I do genuinely sit at my desk and worry about all these things I can’t seem to control – and I can’t understand how it’s happening. This song, for me, nails that feeling;

It’s coming to pass, my country’s coming apart
The whole thing’s becoming such a bumbling farce
Was that a pivotal historical moment we just went stumbling past?

Kae Tempest – Peoples Faces

Anyway, I can’t explain their work – and if I did, I certainly wouldn’t do it justice – so for this week, here’s Kae Tempests with “Peoples Faces”. I’ve opted for the Streatham version, because I prefer it, but the original is equally as incredible.

I saw it roaring
I felt it clawing at my clothes like a grieving friend
It said there are no new beginnings
Until everybody sees that the old ways need to end
But it’s hard to accept that we’re all one and the same flesh
Given the rampant divisions between oppressor and oppressed
But we are, though
More empathy, less greed, more respect
All I’ve got to say has already been said
I mean, you heard it from yourself
When you were lying in your bed and couldn’t sleep
Thinking, “Couldn’t we be doing this differently?”
I’m listening to every little whisper in the distance singing hymns
And I can, I can feel things changing

Kae Tempest – Peoples Faces

One line in the whole song that really makes me think, “There are no new beginnings until everybody sees that the old ways need to end”. Just, perfection. Kae is one of those people that I would absolutely love to sit down and share a beer or two with – inspirational, passionate, realist. Please, check our their music and enjoy it.

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In August 2020, Kae announced that they were to identify as non-binary, changing their name from Kate to Kae, and their pronouns to they and them.

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If you’re a fan of Kae Tempest, why not check out Scroobius Pip, Roots Manuva or Nadine Shah

You can also follow our New Tunes Tuesday playlist on Spotify, if you wanted a playlist of all the tracks we add over the coming weeks, or check out previous new tunes Tuesday posts.