Sound System: the Political Power of Music is released this month by Pluto Press. Image: Pluto Press

Pluto Press will this month release a new book which explores the relationship between music and politics.

Sound-System: The Political Power of Music is written by Dave Randall – a musician best-known for his work as  guitarist with Faithless.

He is also an accomplished activist and author in his own right.

Randall joins the likes of Noam Chomsky and Frantz Fanon in publishing his work with labour and left-wing London imprint Pluto Press.

@davidrrandall‘s ‘Sound System’ is absolutely superb; it is the sort of book I’ve always wanted 👌Cheers, Dave and @LeftBookClub! 💪

— Josh Watts (@joshgwatts) March 11, 2017

Reading @davidrrandall‘s brilliant new book on @PlutoPress
SoundSystem: The Political Power Of Music
go get it here: https://t.co/mWlnyReYmS pic.twitter.com/25Sk7IvCpH

— barney (@spigelsound) March 12, 2017

Ask most people about ‘political music’ and they’ll think of Hendrix, Dylan, Joplin and the hippy movement of the 1960s.

This book goes much further, discussing the role of music both as a tool of oppression and of protest.

Dave Randall performing at Glastonbury. Image: Dave Randall

The website of Pluto Press describes it as:

…a book of raves, riots and revolution. From the Glastonbury Festival to the Arab Spring, Pop Idol to Trinidadian Carnival, Randall finds political inspiration across the musical spectrum and poses the question: how can we make music serve the interests of the many, rather than the few?

London Multimedia News talked to the author about his new book and its role in society today: