‘Nah, you can’t take my city from me,’ croons South London neo-soulstress Greentea Peng on new single, ‘Ghost Town’. Inspired by a Dub Judah dubplate and The Special’s track of the same name, Greentea (real name Aria Wells) fuses her spiritual mentality with a jazzy sultriness to create a song that reflects the gentrification of her city. It's the kind of song you’d hear blasted through speakers but muffled through apartment walls, or quietly in the distance of the hazy London backstreets.
There's a progressive melancholiness that shadows over the song, with monochrome visuals by Melody Maker’s The Mill that features the Aylesbury Estate, a housing development in South East London. Once home to over 7,500 people, it has been in the process of demolition since 2009, existing proof that communities are being torn apart by gentrification and a lack of humanity from the government. 'Ghost Town' stands as a peaceful protest with a powerful message, aimed at the vultures that stand in the way with their "rules and regulations" of gentrifying a city that continues to exist as a blooming haven of cultures from across the world. Londoners are hard-headed people but if there’s one thing they truly believe in, it’s their city.
Check out the video for 'Ghost Town' down below.
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