The London/Dublin Éire wave duo are back and firing from the hip with their fifth single Gentrification
Nixer have picked up the pace from an already heady start to 2021 and, if possible, raised their game. They have delivered a 3-minute banger which also addresses an issue all too familiar in recent times. And we're talking a Heaven 17-level mix of dance and politics. The fifth single from the Éire Wave duo is titled Gentrification.
What started lyrically as a poem, written in a one-bed studio apartment in a relatively untouched area of London, turned into a song that is textbook Nixer. The sentiment behind the track is drawn from surroundings and urban development in London and Dublin, where the issue of gentrification is impossible to avoid. An issue that is damaging music, youth and arts culture across the board; forcing the closure of iconic music venues, driving unaffordable rental prices and forcing young people to fly the nest to pursue their passion elsewhere. The message in the fifth single offering from the dance duo is one of distaste and restlessness in places they love dearly. Gentrification holds its heart on its sleeve; it yearns for cities full of life and culture which are held dear, and able to grow and flourish in hospitable surroundings.
As Gearóid Peggs of Nixer explains:
“When I first heard what Seán had done with the lyrics, vocals & guitar on top of the bass and drums I sent over, I couldn’t believe it. He managed to capture a feeling I’ve been trying to capture in my music for so long. The feeling I was on the 65 bus driving towards the city centre, but everything is sped up and I’m just looking out the window at everything that’s destroying Dublin, and what it has become. It’s very fitting because I think Seán pretty much captured exactly how I feel, without us ever discussing this idea I had for a song. It’s sad living in a beautiful city that’s being destroyed by money grabbing developers...”
Gentrification
By Seán Keenan
Rip down the local,
Throw up a hotel,
Clean these streets of culture
Give the corporations full control.
Rip out the heart of the city,
Stop the beating of the streets,
Have the same old boring conversation
With every acquaintance you meet.
I want to be inspired
I want to be free,
Don’t want to grow tired of a city once admired;
I want to be inspired
I want to be free,
Don’t want to grow tired of a city on its knees.
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