The Snuts are hoping to raise awareness and money for the Scottish Refugee Council.
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You are in a rock band and your label gives you a budget to shoot a sparkly new music video, what would you do? You might start by splashing out on a director, production assistant, and maybe even in a choregrapher.
Not The Snuts. The indie-rock outfit from Whitburn, West Lothian, decided to take a different approach.
When the band’s label asked what they would do if given a full £5,000 video budget for their new single, they said they would use it all to champion a cause close to their hearts.
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The charity assists those in need of refugee protection who have fled “horrific situations”, offering practical support as they rebuild their lives. And every penny of the budget is going to their work.
“The work that they do is phenomenal and the lives that they change and the way they empower people as a charity is something that is so worth getting behind,” Jack Cochrane, the band’s lead singer, told the Big Issue.
We hope this song and video will provide you with as much joy as it has given us. No matter how tough things get, always remember that somebody loves you, and that Scottish Refugee Council are here fighting for you and with you. https://t.co/BK1dkRXDYE
The stripped-back video, which was released this week, is shot in Glasgow and follows the lives of people who are supported by the charity.
Cochrane said he recently moved to the city and was amazed by the sense of community, something which inspired the song and project.
“Coming from a small town and moving into a community that’s so much wider, so much more diverse, with so much more going on, I think I kind of gravitated towards that charity,” he added.
Musician Aref Ghorbani came to Scotland from Iran as a refugee and now works with the Council as a destitution adviser. He stars in the video playing the sitar and told the Big Issue he hoped The Snuts’ video would drive donations and raise awareness of the situation faced by asylum seekers.
“It’s a matter of bringing the communities together, the local community and refugee communities,” he said.
“It’s really valuable, especially during this difficult time, it’s been a deep year for all of us and especially refugees who are new into this country and who might not have people they are in touch with.
“It was a great collaboration between this amazing band and the Scottish Refugee Council, I was amazed.”
As well as the band donating the video budget to the charity, label Parlophone Records will give the Council all the proceeds from downloads.
“We have truly loved working with The Snuts on their new music video for Somebody Loves You,” representatives from the charity said.
“After a tough year full of traumatic events in our community in Glasgow and across the UK and the world, it was a breath of fresh air to be approached by The Snuts to work on this project.
“This project couldn’t have come at a better time and we are so grateful to have been part of it.”
The Snuts have already amassed a cult following with tens of thousands of followers on social media but they haven’t let their musical popularity stop them from doing good in their community, from helping out in local food banks and collecting for homelessness charities at their shows.
Cochrane added: “This is not just a one-off project, we are going to try and take it through through the rest of the year and keep that message strong and keep putting the refugee council’s name out there and using our platform for that.
“We’re so caught up in our own worlds and on the go twenty-four-seven, having a chance to speak to some of these people and finding out the things they’ve been through and just how positive they come across was something that really blew me away.”
The Snuts’ Debut Album ‘W.L.’ is out on Parlophone Records on March 19
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