The Rebel Riot - solidarity LPs "To... Dear Comrade" & "One Day"
Solidarity vinyls "To... Dear Comrade" (2024) & "One Day" (2021) to raise money for the Rebel Riot community and their social activities
The profit from the sold records will be given to The Rebel Riot and their social and cultural activities. You can donate as much as you want. Special donation will be honored with special goodies.
The Rebel Riot is more than a political punk band, it's an active community from Yangon (Myanmar), a loud political statement against social and governmental injustice.
They also got involved in volunteer organizations across Myanmar, Food Not Bombs, Book Not Bombs, free medical clinic, support the children impacted by poverty and the junta.
What's happening in Myanmar?
Who is the Rebel Riot?
How I can support the Rebel Riot community?
What's happening in Myanmar?
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has a long and complex history. Myanmar has suffered decades of repressive military rule, widespread poverty, and civil war with ethnic minority groups. A military coup in February 2021 dashed hopes for democratic reforms in this country.
Since the coup, junta authorities have arbitrarily arrested more than 16,000 pro-democracy supporters. Many former detainees alleged torture or other ill-treatment, such as sexual violence, during their detention. The junta security forces have carried out mass killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, and other abuses that amount to crimes against humanity. Freedom of speech and assembly face severe restrictions.
Since the coup on February 1, 2021, the country has been living under a military dictatorship. Because of alleged election fraud, the military led by General Min Aung Hlaing suspended the popularly democratically elected government and declared a state of emergency.
The military faces widespread, fierce opposition from ethnic armed organizations and ordinary citizens who organized militias. Vowing to resist the military junta, former lawmakers and activists formed a shadow government and mobilized fighting forces across the country. The military has responded with a brutal crackdown on opposition forces and protesters. Since then people that express their opinion against the fascist military coup are getting kidnapped or even killed. We want to express our solidarity with the freedom fighters in Myanmar and the close environment.
The military’s brutal crackdown on dissent and widespread abuses in the conflict have drawn condemnation from the United Nations, foreign governments, and rights organizations. In the initial aftermath of the coup, military forces shot live ammunition at civilian protesters and into people’s homes. By late 2021, the military was destroying entire villages believed to support the opposition, massacring both civilians and opposition fighters.
The violent military coup has destroyed the country's economic performance, wiping out modest gains in poverty reduction made over the past decade; the healthcare system has collapsed. Millions of people are facing not only widespread violence, but also hunger, and tens of thousands have fled to other parts of Myanmar or across the borders.
Sources:
Human Rights Watch - World Report 2023: Myanmar
The Council on Foreign Relations - Myanmar’s Troubled History: Coups, Military Rule, and Ethnic Conflict)
Al Jazeera - the first independent news channel in the Arab world
Who is the Rebel Riot?
The Rebel Riot is a punk band and socially active collective from Yangon that formed in 2017 after the onset of the Saffron Revolution. During this time across Myanmar tens of thousands monks and civilians were protesting against the oppression and corruption of the military system. Forged in tumult and unrest, The Rebel Riot’s message has always been one of rebellion, compassion, and, above all, solidarity. The guys use music as a way to speak about freedom, human rights and point out the fails of the current political system.
The Rebel Riot were the ones who began the movement Food Not Bombs across Myanmar to feed the homeless. One of their casual activity was spending time with poor street children whom no one cares about. Later the guys formed an educational program Books Not Bombs to bring basic supplies, money donation and to play music for school children. With the initiation of the Rebel Riot community was opened free medical clinic in Rakhine State in the midst of the heavy political and COVID crisis (May, 2021). This clinic was created as a part of Food Not Bombs movement and was aimed to give people, especially those who are suffering from poverty, access to medical care. The list of social activism of the Rebel Riot could be expanded easily, as they got involved in many volunteer organizations across Myanmar and don’t stop helping people.
So, as was said at the beginning, the Rebel Riot is more than a punk band, it’s a powerful crew that makes changes for the society and give people hope for the better world. The current military dictatorship in Myanmar forced the Rebel Riot to take a break from making music. Some members are now in exile in Thailand and the rest are heavily involved in the underground resistance against the government.
More sources:
Blunt Magazine - The Rebel Riot: Fighting oppressive darkness with revolutionary fire
Peek-a-boo Magazine - The Rebel Riot (conversation with singer Kyaw Kyaw)
Kerrang! Magazine - Anarchy In The UK: How Myanmar punks The Rebel Riot made history
How I can support the Rebel Riot community?
The Rebel Riot works to expose the harsh living conditions and human rights violations of people in Myanmar. Part of the community makes an active resistance against military dictatorship and helps people (Food Not Bombs, free medical services, etc.).
We believe that punk is a force capable of making changes in society. DIY punk labels from Germany (Abbruch Records), the United Kingdom (TNSrecords), and Switzerland (United Punk Solidarity) united to release the newest album “To… Dear Comrade” by the Rebel Riot on vinyl. The planned release date is November, 1st, 2024. These vinyls, the same as the previous album “One Day" (2021), are a solidarity project. The income from vinyl sales will be given to The Rebel Riot and their social and cultural activities.
In 2023, Tanztee Soundsysteme from Hamburg produced a few hundred copies of vinyl records of the album “One Day” by the Rebel Riot on their own expense in order to raise money from sales and support the members of the Rebel Riot financially. Wanting to help the Rebel Riot community, Abbruch records undertook to help distribute this powerful punk record with charitable and solidarity intent.
Each of you, who want to support the Rebel Riot and the people's resistance force in Myanmar, can do it by purchasing vinyls of the band “ To… Dear Comrade” and “ One Day” and donating as much as you want. Every purchase and contribution makes a difference.
Together with LPs, limited edition solidarity merch is available from September 2024 on:
- T-shirt To… Dear Comrade (organic cotton, fair trade)
- T-shirt One Day (organic cotton, fair trade)
- Pinback Button the Rebel Riot (Ø 31 mm)
- Bag (organic cotton canvas)
- CD punk compilation “Myanmar, don’t give up the fight” (2021)
No matter how trite it may sound, every cent is meaningful. It grows into new opportunities and outcomes for people in Myanmar, who fight for peaceful life.
We've managed to raise a fantastic €802,40 through our sales of soli merch in December 2023 - August 2024.
Yes, we ship all over the world!
Support the Artists of the Spring Revolution
Resistance Art is an online platform based in the United States supporting artists in the Spring Revolution in Myanmar for democracy and human rights. Every order supports an artist fighting for inclusivity, accountability, and constitutional democracy. Proceeds go directly towards the artists, which benefits not only them and their families, but their community.
The Rebel Riot - To... Dear Comrade (2024)
The Myanmar people’s struggle against fascistic dictatorship has undergone a long journey since February 2021 military coup in the country. The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) is one of the key pillars of the Spring Revolution, and the force behind the military’s failed coup. CDM could be called a strong antifascist resistance. The emergent power of fascistic politics within Myanmar and across the planet became an impetus for THE REBEL RIOT to create the album “To… Dear Comrade” with a tangible resonant antifascist theme.
Messages to smash fascism and oppression, to show solidarity instead of closing eyes to what’s happening around, and stand up for peace and freedom permeate the whole album.
The album "To... Dear Comrade" opens with an instrumental composition “Spring Nightmare” (best to listen with headphones on). This track involves the voices of people’s revolution against the military dictatorship, banging pots and pans, battle cries, gunshots, cries… It’s all the sounds and voices of the resistant movement against military rule in the past that became memories that can never be forgotten. During these three years since the coup in Myanmar, people have been killed, detained, and arrested, families have been separated, businesses have been failing and the whole country has being in trouble.
The album contains 10 songs, including a Burmese cover of "A Las Barricadas," a song sung by the Spanish anarchists during the Spanish Civil War, and sung by the currently incarcerated Myanmar folk singer Zin Linn.
The Rebel Riot - One Day (2021)
The recording of 'One Day' was made under the radar of the authorities, and although it was rejected by many printers in Myanmar due to its politically charged look and lyrics, it was the result of the support of many friends around the country and across the border. The fourth album 'One Day' by the Rebel Riot was released in August 2021 in the conditions of martial law.
The sound of this 12-track album by the Rebel Riot presents a collision of hardcore punk and metal combined with rough, angry vocals. The album "One Day" touches upon painful topics that are relevant outside of Myanmar as well. Among them are war, exploitative capitalism, poverty, corrupt cops, religious hypocrisy, sexism, environmental destruction.
A title track 'One Day' was produced before the military coup, but fitted with it's release perfectly as an image of people's uprising and for what they are fighting for. One Day is a dreamy future without any tyranny, discrimination, oppression, military... when the wars end and a new dawn comes.
Myanmar don't give up the fight
is a solidarity sampler to support civil resistance against military coup in Myanmar. Mass protests have been taking place across the whole country since the military seized control on 1st February.
Funds raised will be used to support the Rebel Riot community in Myanmar.
5 befriended Bands (Absolut Lächerlich, Rotten Future, Atittude Chaos, Sabat Noir and [sic!] ) wrote and recorded a song in solidarity for the people in myanmar. With this song and many other song from the various bands we want to collect money to support the civil resistance in Myanmar.
In solidarity we sing : „People in Myanmar don’t give up the fight! Against the military coup - for the human right!
The police and soldiers are killing hand in hand. Slaughter peoples dignity - no sence for humanity!“
For each sold CD we donate minimum 4,- € to Myanmar. The more money you spend for the CD the higher the donation will be.
