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Arctic Monkeys have launched a brand new single, “Opening Night time,” marking their first new music since 2022’s The Automotive and launching Conflict Baby’s newly introduced charity compilation HELP(2). The monitor arrives because the opening assertion of a undertaking that brings collectively among the most influential names in British and international music, all in assist of youngsters affected by battle.
“Opening Night time” was recorded at Abbey Highway Studios and produced by James Ford, a longtime Arctic Monkeys collaborator. The music feels measured and reflective, leaning into the band’s current fascination with cinematic restraint fairly than loud revivalism. It units a considerate tone for HELP(2), which goals to steadiness inventive integrity with pressing goal.
HELP(2) follows the legacy of Conflict Baby’s 1995 compilation HELP, a landmark launch that captured a defining second in British music tradition whereas elevating funds for humanitarian assist. This new version updates that concept for a fractured current. The album options new materials from artists spanning generations and kinds, together with Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Depeche Mode, Fontaines D.C., The Final Dinner Celebration, Beth Gibbons, Large Thief, Moist Leg, Sampha, Foals and Younger Fathers. A number of tracks additionally pair surprising collaborators, reminiscent of Damon Albarn with Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest, and Beck alongside Arooj Aftab.
The album took form over one intensive week at Abbey Highway in November 2025. Jonathan Glazer oversaw the visible facet of the undertaking, working with youngsters contained in the studio and in battle zones together with Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen and Sudan. These photographs type a part of a broader “By Kids, For Kids” idea that runs by the discharge.
For Arctic Monkeys, “Opening Night time” reads much less like a comeback assertion and extra like a quiet contribution to one thing bigger. Throughout the context of HELP(2), that restraint feels deliberate. The compilation positions music not as spectacle, however as a shared cultural response to ongoing humanitarian crises, echoing how artists as soon as rallied round causes with out diluting their inventive voice.
HELP(2) is ready for launch on March 6 by way of Conflict Baby Information. Pre-order right here, and hearken to “Opening Night time” under.
Tracklist: HELP(2)
You possibly can try the HELP(2) tracklist in full under:
- Arctic Monkeys – ‘Opening Night time’
- Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest – ‘Flags’
- Black Nation, New Highway – ‘Strangers’
- The Final Dinner Celebration – ‘Let’s do it once more!’
- Beth Gibbons – ‘Sunday Morning’
- Arooj Aftab and Beck – ‘Lilac Wine’
- King Krule – ‘The 343 Loop’
- Depeche Mode – ‘Common Soldier’
- Ezra Collective ans Greentea Peng – ‘Helicopters’
- Arlo Parks – ‘Nothing I Might Disguise’
- English Trainer and Graham Coxon – ‘Parasite’
- Beabadoobee – ‘Say Sure’
- Large Thief – ‘Relive, Redie’
- Fontaines D.C. – ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’
- Cameron Winter – ‘Warning’
- Younger Fathers – ‘Don’t Combat the Younger’
- Pulp – ‘Begging for Change’
- Sampha – ‘Naboo’
- Moist Leg – ‘Apparent’
- Foals – ‘When the Conflict is Lastly Finished’
- Bat For Lashes – ‘Carried my woman’
- Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya and Dove Ellis – ‘Sunday Mild’
- Olivia Rodrigo – ‘The E-book of Love’
What do you make of Arctic Monkeys’ return and the HELP(2) line-up? Be part of the dialog on X/Twitter, and discover extra music and tradition tales at CelebMix.
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