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At the upcoming Cop31 summit in Turkey, the music collective Flow will showcase a full-length album uniting female artists from around the world. The project aims to bring art and emotional connection to the center of international climate negotiations.
From Zoom Meetings to a Global Album
The initiative began last year when a small group of musicians connected over Zoom, inspired by an emotional response from a UN official to a water-themed performance at Cop in Brazil. Project manager Nikita Llerena stated that the conference is starting to recognize the importance of culture, noting that art reaches levels of human subjectivity that data cannot achieve.
Co-produced by Grammy winner Jennifer Decilveo, the album centers on water and features artists with roots in the UK, Canada, Bangladesh, India, Brazil, and Zimbabwe. Shingai, vocalist and bassist for the Noisettes, performs in Shona to highlight the necessity of environmental conservation.
Connecting Emotionally with the Climate Crisis
With escalating global temperatures causing severe weather events worldwide, artists involved in the project believe music is vital for addressing climate grief. Charlotte Church contributed a track titled My Mother, the Ocean, which transitions from a hypnotic sound-healing piece into an angry electropop expression of mourning and rage. Church explained that modernity often pushes people away from feeling, despite the deep existentialism and grief tied to ecological loss.
The album also serves as the soundtrack for a documentary following women on the frontlines of the crisis. Márcia Mura, an Indigenous teacher from the Brazilian Amazon, highlighted the severe damage from floods and droughts exacerbated by dams and pollution. Mura emphasized the importance of Indigenous representation, stating that Amazonian women act as defenders of local waters.
Inspiring Action Against Climate Doomerism
The project concludes with a spoken-word piece written and performed by Maxine Peake, depicting a woman who uses her ancestral connection to water to successfully protect her local riverbank from corporate development.
Peake expressed hope that the collective effort will help audiences overcome feelings of helplessness regarding climate doomerism. She noted that even small actions contribute to a larger movement, comparing it to people throwing pebbles into the sea to create a tidal wave.
