Listen: Brian Eno’s despairing new single, We Let It In, reflects upon climate emergency
The music video features backing vocals by Eno’s daughter, Darla, and granddaughter Anya’s handwriting
Dave J Hogan
Brian Eno has released the second single, We let It In, from his upcoming album, FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE.
The song addresses the global climate emergency, against which the ambient music pioneer has been an activist throughout his career.
We Let It In, like most of the upcoming album, features vocals from Brian Eno and his daughter, Darla Eno.
On singing from a register, Brian says, “It’s become a different personality I can sing from. I don’t want to sing like a teenager, it can be melancholy, a bit regretful.”
While Darla repeats the words “sun” and “deep” throughout, Brian sings lyrics that address the climate crisis: “We open to the blinding sky… And let it in, and let it in”, “With open hearts through burning fields… The soul of it in gorgeous flame”, “The whole of it in gorgeous flame… we let it in, we let it in”.
The song has been accompanied by an animated music video, which was creatively directed by Brian and made by multidisciplinary artist Orfeo Tagiuri. It features lyrics handwritten by Brian’s granddaughter Anya over a depiction of a corn field, mentioned in the song underneath a clear blue sky. It also, although it has not been confirmed by Eno, visually represents Ukraine’s national flag. Watch the video below.
The single is the second to be revealed so far from the upcoming album, FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE, which will be released on 14 October. The first, There Were Bells, was released in July along with a live performance video of the track being performed by Brian and his brother, Roger, in Athens, as, poignantly, wildfires raged just outside of the city.
On the album, Brian has said: “These aren’t propaganda songs to tell you what to believe and how to act. Instead they’re my own exploration of my own feelings. The hope is that they will invite you, the listener, to share those experiences and explorations.
“I’m more and more convinced that our only hope of saving our planet is if we begin to have different feelings about it: perhaps if we became re-enchanted by the amazing improbability of life; perhaps if we suffered regret and even shame at what we’ve already lost; perhaps if we felt exhilarated by the challenges we face and what might yet become possible.”
FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE will be released on 14 October 2022. Listen to the first two singles on Brian Eno’s Spotify.
