All net proceeds from Aoki’s remix will go towards Refuge.
Steve Aoki pays homage to punk pioneers Crass on a scathing rework of their renowned 1978 single "Banned From The Roxy." By layering a surging sub bass and quick-paced drum n' bass licks beneath Crass' Steve Ignorant's unmistakable vocals, Aoki amplifies the fervor behind the original song while adding his own electronic angle on "Banned From The Roxy (Steve Aoki's Basement Tapes Remix)." All net proceeds from Aoki's remix will go towards Refuge, a U.K.-based organization that aids women and children facing domestic violence.
"Remixing the legendary band Crass the first time around was a big honor for me. And I just couldn't say no to the chance to put a second spin on things especially with the money raised going to such a worthy cause. My Basement Tapes remix is not only another take on the track, which I'm excited to share with you all, but another chance to help women & children in need," said Steve Aoki. First released in 1978, Crass's The Feeding of the Five Thousand album pre-empted rap and grime in its hard-on-the-beat, fast fire, and uncompromising lyrics. Over the next few years, the group would brazenly define political punk, through a compelling mix of anarcho-driven punk songs and avant-garde art. Advocating for feminism, animal rights and rejecting facism were central to Crass's ideology, as was maintaining a true DIY spirit. This way of thinking and looking at the world would ultimately influence Steve Aoki as he became involved in the early-aughts SoCal punk and hardcore underground.Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, advocating direct action, animal rights, feminism, anti-fascism, and environmentalism. The band used and advocated a DIY ethic approach to its albums, sound collages, leaflets, and films. Crass spray-painted stencilled graffiti messages in the London Underground system and on advertising billboards, coordinated squats and organised political action. The band expressed its ideals by dressing in black, military-surplus-style clothing and using a stage backdrop amalgamating icons of perceived authority such as the Christian cross, the swastika, the Union Jack and the ouroboros. The band was critical of the punk subculture and youth culture in general. Nevertheless, the anarchist ideas that they promoted have maintained a presence in punk. Due to their free experimentation and use of tape collages, graphics, spoken word releases, poetry and improvisation, they have been associated with avant-punk and art punk.
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