To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
Arooj Aftab + Alabaster DePlume
Chalk, Brighton
“I WAS gonna fight fascism, I was gonna … I was just a bit tired,” sings spoken word poet, activist and saxophonist Alabaster DePlume during his performance as part of Brighton’s Mutations festival. “I was gonna fight fascism … but honestly I just had so much on.”
The hard-hitting tune calling out political apathy in the face of a rising far-right finishes with the cautionary line: “I was gonna fight fascism … but it was too late.”
DePlume, wrapped in a keffiyeh, is not lacking pro-Palestinian sentiment either, reworking his lyrics to People: What’s the Difference? to sing: “People from the river to the sea” amid screeching blows on his sax.
BEN COWLES samples the many sonic and social therapies of Manchester Punk Festival 2026, and is ready again to smash capitalism
New releases from The Dreaming Spires, Bruce Springsteen, and Chet Baker
April 9 1928 – July 26 2025
WILL STONE relishes the chance to hear the Isle of Wight indie sensation in an intimate setting


