Critically-acclaimed Melbourne musician Rich Webb has unveiled his masterful new track “Love Someone”, a single inspired by the poor treatment of asylum seekers in Australia.
A staple of the Australian music scene for decades, Webb’s command of music and lyrics has seen him attract global attention throughout his storied career, with 2019 even bringing with awards for Alt-Country Album Of The Year and Alt-Country Single Of The Year at the Independent Music Awards in New York.
Now, we’ve received another example of why it is that Webb’s music is so revered and beloved, with new single “Love Someone” serving as a rallying cry for empathy and respect.
Evocative of singer-songwriter legends such as Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, “Love Someone” is a beautifully spacious track which utilises soft electric guitar and a warm trumpet solo to deliver one simple message: all humans deserve to live peacefully, whoever they are, and wherever they’re from.
“As much as I love Australia, we are really crap at managing asylum seekers and refugees, and have been for many years,” Webb explained of the song’s inspiration. “It’s totally wrong and should have been addressed years ago.
“We’re all human and in many ways, we are the same. We love the same, we feel the same, we hurt the same. We all deserve to be treated the same, with empathy, love and respect. I wanted to write a really simple song that addressed that basic feeling…to get to the core of the issue, which is simply about having love and empathy for someone else.”
The impactful song also comes paired with a music video, animated by Matthew Lawes-Wickwar of Other Brother Studios, and uses a minimalist approach to allow the viewer to focus deeply on the images and stories portrayed throughout the clip.
“Matthew and I put the video’s storyline together around war, which leads to refugees, who are scared and running away, forced to leave their homes and live in camps, leave by boats, who endure shockingly tough conditions to get somewhere to safety,” explains Webb, “Who are ultimately picked up by Australian border security and placed in detention where ultimately, the ‘big hand’ of Australia says, ‘no, you can’t come in, we can’t help you.'”
It can be a difficult watch at times, but given the importance of the topic at hand, it’s one that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. The question may remain as to whether music can cause change in the world, but even if only one person is able to connect with Rich Webb and the message behind “Love Someone”, then it’s a true success.
Rich Webb’s “Love Someone” is officially released on February 25th.
