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*** 100% of the proceeds for this track will go to the Belgian Network for Black Lives Matter. #blacklivesmatter ***

Everyone who has worked on the writing, recording and promotion of this track has donated their time to this project.

Last year, like-minded friends Naomi Sijmons (Reena Riot), Mirabelle Van de Put (Nightwitches) and Laura Lee Schultz (Down The Lees) began a quest to liberate themselves from personal disharmony by belting out feverish songs. Holed up in a Ghent, Belgium rehearsal space and armed with big sparse drums, distorted guitars and a trio of voices, the veteran musicians stumbled upon an undeniable chemistry that is clearly heard and seen. Naomi makes her guitar sing and scream, Mirabelle sinks low and harsh with her bass while LL fiercely attacks her drums then turning on a dime to sit quietly in your pocket.

Spring 2020 was going to be the coming out party for ERIIS. Shows were booked, studio time was booked and boom, epidemic. Unsure how the world was going to unfold, everything stopped. An unprecedented change is upon us. How are we going to exist in this new world and operate in the “new normal”? Then, the world race revolution hit. It is a very scary, challenging and exciting time to be alive. For everyone to be alive. But more immediately, for POC to be alive. #Blacklivesmatter ignited the world once again. We can no longer sit on the sidelines with two viruses - Covid19 AND racism.

One song that was written last year was Tulsa, a song about the Tulsa Race Riots that occurred in 1921. It is told from the perspective of a resident who shelters a black family during the massacre. “They were cold and desolate, I saw them bathe in blood, bathe in blood blisters. Nowhere to go I gave them bread and sheets to rest. Praying on their beds.”

It became obvious that ERIIS had an opportunity to speak truths but also to help abolish systematic racism. The Tulsa riots happened in the USA, but racism exists around the world, including Belgium.

Tulsa was recorded in Kortrijk, Belgium, July, 2020. All social distancing measures were respected.

ERIIS is Naomi Sijmons (Reena Riot), Mirabelle Van de Put (Nightwitches) and Laura Lee Schultz (Down The Lees).

With big, sparse drums, distorted guitars and a trio of voices, these veteran musicians stumbled upon an undeniable chemistry that is clearly heard and seen.

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