XRadio’s Featured Artist of the Month for the month of October is The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara. XRadio first featured TCOMAS one year ago this month as the first-ever XRadio Featured Artists of the Month and here they are being featured again in October 2021. With an October 8th release of Count the Dead – the lead track for their 2022 album, Trust No Leaders, we felt it was time to bring them back.
Here is what the band has to say about Count the Dead:
The events of 2020-21 have exposed the fragility of our global systems and the flawed foundations on which modern societies and economies are built. ‘Count the Dead’ brings attention to complex issues concerning the value of human life. The song draws attention to the social and economic injustices that plague society, and the violent health inequalities that have been further exacerbated by the global pandemic, which has now claimed more than 4 million lives worldwide.
“We composed this song as an outrage towards the governments across the world who have failed to act and protect their communities. It advocates for protest against world leaders, whose negligence and recklessness have resulted in one of the largest ‘avoidable’ losses of lives in generations.” – The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara
Continuing the themes addressed in ‘Love in the Time of Pestilence’, ‘Count the Dead’ is the second instalment of songs addressing the ongoing pandemic and global crisis. At a time when the world appears to be more divided than ever before, discourse has never been more important, and urgent.
The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara
Hailed as “pioneers of a new form of expression” through the performance of poetry in music, The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara (TCOMAS) are a UK-based duo comprising Daphne Ang (Singapore) and Andrea Papi (Italy) who came together in London in early 2020. Their debut album Full Spectrum, (released on 26 February 2021, fills a gap in music by bringing literature, theatre, and history, fusing rock, metal and electronic music with poetry performance.
Their upcoming second album, Trust No Leaders, is a cathartic expression of outrage ignited by the global crisis. The new album’s politically charged and satirical themes lends a more aggressive and heavier sound than its predecessor. Recorded between April and August 2021 in the artists’ studio in Camden Town, London, United Kingdom, the album’s 11 tracks combine instruments and influences old and new, east and west. The lyrical content protests and petitions for the issues in urgent need of systemic change, opening our eyes to the grim realities of modern society and the darkness of human nature.
Despite its grim themes and often sinister undertones, Trust No Leaders offers a beacon of hope in making a future that prioritises people and the environment – a future where no one is left behind.
It is about the awakening of the collective human spirit. It is about what it means to be human.
Trust No Leaders, the second studio album of The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara is set to be released in 2022.
‘Count the Dead’ will be available worldwide on all streaming platforms on October 8, 2021.
The Official Music Video will be released on October 18, 2021.
You can follow The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara via their many social media networks: