Amnesty international in collaboration with Spanish dj duo Buffetlibre bring you PEACE, a compilation featuring over 100 artists from all over the world. PEACE will be released on March 1, 2010, “given for free to all those who, through the official PEACE website, make a minimum donation of € 2 in favor of the NGO Amnesty International. All benefits will go to Amnesty International to stand up for humanity and human rights. Their purpose is to protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.”

Representing India on PEACE is Motherjane. Cochin/Bangalore based Motherjane’s new single ‘The tribes of Babel’ will be featured on this compilation which will  feature some of the renowned musicians from 50 countries.

Here’s MOTHERJANE’s account of their song “The tribes of Babel”  in the words of maverick lead singer Suraj Mani.

Why music for peace?

How do people view their differences? After all, aren’t most of our wars and disagreements about the fact that He,She or They, worship a different God, speak a different language , wear different clothes etc etc ? The list is endless and for a very brief moment one wonders, would peace be easier to find in a world with one view, language or culture and why aren’t things made that way?

Well, according to legend, man lived like that a long time ago. This song finds its birthplace in the city of Babel, a land where all men spoke the same language until they decided to build a tower to reach the heavens. As the tower rose, God realized that if mankind were to go on like this, there would be nothing that they couldn’t do and sent his angels to confuse the tongues of the people. Without a common language to bind them the people abandoned Babel to be scattered all over the world.

Now if you (like me), believe in a benevolent God wouldn’t you wonder, why were we scattered?

Could it be that God/the universe/life (depending on your ‘belief system’) was just ensuring that man spends life enjoying the earth? Heaven (if we deserve it), will come in its due time.

I’m tempted to believe God sent down with his angels, the real stairs to heaven-the 1st and 5th note in every song. Something to bind all tribes, a beauty forever highlighted by our differences of language, culture, creed etc.

After all a world with only 1 song, raga, mode or scale, no matter how great is was, is one we would all reject.

Maybe it is time for humankind to learn that the real path to peace is in cherishing our similarities and perhaps more importantly, in celebrating our differences.

Come to think of it, maybe that’s what we do every time we sing together.

So sing, my brothers and sisters. Sing!

Also featured on this compilation from India are Delhi Alt rock band Menwhopause, and Mumbai based electronica powerhouse Shaair+func.