Having lived in Brighton for some years, one thing that can not be overlooked is the problems this city has with housing, especially affordable housing, especially affordable housing for young people. I’ve seen and experienced several evictions without any proper grounds, and watched many young friends struggle to find somewhere to live, a lot of them being without any permanent residence for long periods of time before finding somewhere new to call home. But the precarious nature of the vast majority of living arrangements for young people in this city, and in many cities and towns across the country, means that practically all young people in this city are living in constant fear and uncertainty of the stability of their ‘home’.

We wanted to do what we could, with our limited powers, to continue this conversation and raise awareness of this incredibly affecting issue. So we reached out to Clocktower Sanctuary. The Clock Tower Sanctuary is the only drop-in day centre in Brighton & Hove for young people aged 16-25 experiencing homelessness. They were founded in 1998 by a group of concerned people who wanted to help the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness in the city. Ever since then, it's been their mission to work with young people experiencing homelessness to help them to move from crisis to stability.

Everything they do is guided by their values:
• They look for the best in everyone
• They challenge inequality and prejudice
• They collaborate whenever they can

Clocktower Sanctuary have worked on many collaborations with various artists and organisations throughout the Brighton music scene, including Bella Union Records, Offie Mag, and many others. We wanted this project to be a part of the wider Brighton culture of support, awareness, morality and justice and knew that Clocktower Sanctuary would be the perfect partners in this endeavour. But because of that ethos within our city, there are many Brighton residents also doing incredible work to help our communities. We wondered who else we could get on board, though it didn’t take us long to think of someone. So we reached out to Helen Ganya. Brighton-based, Scottish-Thai musician Helen Ganya (previously releasing music under the moniker Dog In The Snow) experiments with existentially-driven lyrics and off-kilter sounds to create a layered musical landscape. On her latest album "polish the machine" (Bella Union), she stretches away from the suburban nightmare, seeking a cathartic reprieve that looks beyond the ordinary. She has also toured as a session musician with post-punk band Fear of Men and alternative collective Lost Horizons, founded by Cocteau Twins’ member and Bella Union boss Simon Raymonde.

Helen also holds a MSc in climate change and works for the climate and cultural organisation Julie’s Bicycle. She is on the music committee of Brian Eno’s climate change charity EarthPercent, and a member of ESEA Music which aims to create better representation of artists and professionals with East and South-East Asian heritage in the UK. She also produces and presents a regular radio show on Brighton’s Slack City, entitled Mixed Tapes, which highlights the work of musicians of colour. The song itself has existed for a little while now, it appeared on my fourth album, "Hot Garbage". It seemed like a fitting song thematically to repurpose as a song to raise awareness about homelessness in Brighton. Helen’s beautifully haunting vocal feature adds a new layer of depth and meaning to the track, and has given it a whole new life.

All income from this track (all royalties and streaming royalties) will go to Clocktower Sanctuary. There is also a just giving page so people can donate as they wish directly to the charity. We thank everyone who has helped us along the way to releasing this track, and we thank everyone for their support.

Milo Korbenski