Pete Yorn 4/16 at 12pm

Declan McKenna Releases Music Video for Brazil


Eighteen-year-old English musician Declan McKenna already has a self-released single “Brazil” under his belt that has reached #16 on Billboard Alternative Songs chart. BBC News praised the track, writing “Brazil has a distinctly global outlook and a maturity which is extraordinary given that he is just 16 years old.” Finally, McKenna has dropped a music video for the hit.

“Brazil” is a catchy indie-Britpop song with political, and even religious, undertones. its lyrics critcize FIFA for awarding the 2014 World Cup to Brazil while ignoring the poverty and inequality in the country. A humble McKenna explains to BBC where the inspiration behind heavier topics comes from:

I think, primarily, just not having much to write about! I was in school, I didn’t have a girlfriend, I didn’t have anything going on, really, except exams. So that’s what pushed me to write about stuff that doesn’t necessarily impact me directly, but which I think needs to be talked about.

A lot of the stuff I’m talking about is politically engaged, but I’m not by any means the most articulate or intelligent young person I know. There’s nothing exceptional in talking about these things. I just do it and I put it in pop songs.

(“Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home” is) about wanting to be part of a powerful and intelligent young generation – who stand up against these negative things we’re shown incessantly on our phones. There’s a lot of confusing information out there – but I’d like to be hopeful in a world that’s often thought to be in despair.

McKenna rose to fame after winning the 2015 Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition. He has appeared as a musical guest on Conan and even stopped by for a KFOG Private Concert in July. This year, McKenna will play Coachella, Lollapalooza, and back at Glastonbury Festival. His debut album What Do You Think About the Car?, produced by James Ford (Music producer for Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, also Florence and the Machine), will be released on July 21. You can pre-order his songs “Bethlehem“, “Paracetamol“, and “Isombard” this month.

Advertise with KFOG

Advertise with KFOG

There is no custom code to display.