Polish and British rock bands unite in 1998 album released on vinyl for the first time

Bringing together 20 artists from Poland and the UK, anti-racism rock album One Race — Human Race. Music Against Racism: Part 2 has just been released on vinyl for the first time.

Originally distributed in 1998 by Polish independent label QQRYQ Productions, the compilation was initiated by Marcin Kornak (1968-2014): a human rights activist, poet, lyricist, and founder of the Never Again Association, Poland’s leading anti-racist organisation. Kornak, who was disabled from the age of 14 following an accident, is also known for starting an ongoing register of hate crimes in Poland in 1996, known as the Brown Book, an initiative that continues to this day.

The vinyl, released by the Never Again Association with Szczecin-based production company Jimmy Jazz Records, kicks off with punk rock from 90s Polish band Blade Loki before moving on to Chumbawamba’s English folk track “Nazi”. The album also features Liroy, a Polish rapper-cum-politician, with his hip hop track based on Bertold Brecht’s anti-fascist poetry.

With elements of reggae and punk, the track “Let’s Kick Racism Out of Stadiums”, interpreted by the Polish WRS Band, is based on lyrics written by Kornak himself. “The place for fascism is in the trash, let’s kick racism out of the stadiums,” the words say in Polish.

The record’s cover also features a political statement by Kornak: “Racism is fostered through ignorance. It is the type of ideology which always leads to atrocity, because its main component is hatred against diversity. Humans, on the other hand, although the same in their nature, differ in their culture, religion, convictions, the colour of their hair, eyes, skin… and that is wonderful, because it makes this world and this life so fascinating. This is also why racial categorisation is so dangerous — it threatens the most fundamental human right, the right to exist.”

If you want to support the Never Again Association, you can order the vinyl by emailing [email protected].