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Rondo Mo is the latest iteration of the imagination of London songwriter Robbie Redway, an artist perhaps best known for his association with AKASE.

Surging ahead as a solo artist, new track 'The Fear' matches lush, probing electronics to that soulful delivery, a velvet concoction that reaches out into fresh ground.

Lyrically, Rondo Mo draws on his experiences working with charities during the migrant crisis.

Travelling to Calais, he saw first hand the impact it was having on people's lives - and the sense of common humanity that remained.

Check out the new single below, then catch our Q&A with Rondo Mo after the jump...

What moved you to become involved with the migrant situation?

To claim to 'be involved' with the migrant situation would be a little misleading of me. I volunteered with Help Refugees down in Calais, for the same reason lots of other people have - because there are thousands of homeless refugees in Europe and beyond who are being shunned by society and are in desperate need of help. Xenophobia is a driving cause of this and it's hitting the most vulnerable people the worst, people who have escaped a savage war are being told they're not welcome anywhere. It's outrageous.

How did you become involved with this particular charity?

A friend of mine, Debbie (who also took the photo for my artwork), had worked with Help Refugees before so she put me in touch with them. It's an amazing charity run by a brilliant group of people, mainly volunteers, and they are fighting a cause which rubs authorities up the wrong way, so it's far from simple for them. The situation has been forgotten about a bit because news interest doesn't sustain on one topic for long and we all get distracted by other things, so it's important to keep digging in, which is why I wanted to try to raise a bit of money for the charity with this track.

How did the experiences fuel your new songs?

The same as any experience will fuel a song or an idea really, although this is more explicit in its subject matter than most of my writing, probably because it wasn't a retrospective - I wrote the lyrics while I was away volunteering. I tend to spend long periods on my own when I'm writing because it helps me think more easily and more deeply but this one was a very different process, which is why I'm releasing it as a stand-alone. It's got a slightly different vibe to the other stuff I'm working on at the moment.

Can you tell us more about this particular track?

I wanted it to be a very direct, simple message, so the structure and lyrics are pretty straightforward, although the time signature changes in the chorus which is a little unsettling (I hope!). I always try to keep the variety of instruments I use to a minimum on each track I make. This one is basically just one synth, a piano and some drum samples, and my voice.

Driving from the hostel to the warehouse in Calais in the morning you would see people, usually young men, huddled under bridges, hiding away from the police. It reminded me of those pleasant humans who hunt animals for fun, which is where I got the main line from - 'It's not big-game hunting'. That was the initial idea and it grew from there.

Many people want to help the migrant situation, what do you feel is the easiest way for someone reading this to get involved?

There's loads of ways to help. Follow Help Refugees on social media and they will tell you what they need in terms of donations - clothes, sleeping bags, food etc. There's a huge demand for donations but the needs are quite specific so don't just send all your old stuff that you don't need any more.

They also need money so if you can spare something then please do! Buy or stream this track (wink wink) and my share will go to the charity. Or if you have some spare time it's really easy, and fun, to volunteer, you can do it in the UK I think but it's only a couple of hours to get to Calais from London.This is their website https://helprefugees.org.uk/ Nice one!

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Rondo Mo's 'The Fear' Draws From His Experience With The Migrant Crisis - Clash Magazine

BBC News

Migrant crisis: Italy blocks German aid ship at Lampedusa BBC News The Italian Coast Guard is questioning the crew of a German rescue ship on the isle of Lampedusa, amid a dispute over Italy's code of conduct for handling migrants at sea. The Iuventa is operated by German NGO Jugend Rettet, which called the Italian ... Italy enforces NGO boat crackdown as migrant flux slowsYahoo Singapore News all 11 news articles »

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Migrant crisis: Italy blocks German aid ship at Lampedusa - BBC News

Italy is putting its hopes for managing the migrant crisis on a new, Libya-requested mission to support the North African nation's coast guard despite suffering a rebuke by humanitarian groups.

Ministers were briefing parliamentary committees Tuesday on a Cabinet-approved mission that would deploy Italy's navy to assist the Libyan coast guard in patrolling its territorial waters. A vote could come as early as Wednesday.

Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti told a joint meeting of parliament's defense and foreign affairs commissions that Italian ships would respond to specific Libyan requests and that the deployment would not impinge on Libya's sovereignty.

Pinotti also denied the claim from some human rights groups that the mission would constitute a naval blockade.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni says Italy's assistance off the coast of Libya could become a "turning point" in his country's effort to manage the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.

The U.N. migration agency says 94,802 migrants have reached Italy this year as of Sunday, a number on par with last year and which represents 85 percent of Europe's new arrivals. The agency estimates that 2,221 people have drowned this year while attempting to cross the main Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy.

Italy's bid to get 10 humanitarian groups to agree to new rules of conduct for rescuing people from the Mediterranean failed when at least four, including Doctors Without Borders, refused to sign on Monday.

Amnesty International was the most recent group to criticize the plan, saying that dispatching warships to aid the Libyan coast guard was "a shameful attempt to circumvent the rescue of migrants and refugees."

Objections to the Italian demands include a provision that would permit armed police on the rescue ships. Several non-governmental groups strenuously oppose having weapons on the ships at any time, saying guns and humanitarian operations are incompatible.

The groups also oppose a proposed rule that would prevent them from transferring rescued migrants to other vessels, which would force their boats back to port instead of allowing them to keep doing rescues.

Doctors Without Borders general director Gabriele Eminente said her charity would continue to work in the Mediterranean "but at the moment, I don't understand what the failure to sign means."

The Italian government has said humanitarian groups who do not agree to the new rules could be refused access to Italian ports.

But it seems unlikely that Italy could deprive them of access to its ports. Under international law, vessels that have rescued people must not be subject to undue delay, financial burden or other difficulties, according to the U.N.'s refugee agency.

In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said that if the groups "adhere to some principles and operational standards, in line with international law, then they will have the assurance that they can access Italian ports."

At least three groups accepted the Italian government's rules: Save the Children, Malta's MOAS and the Spanish group Proactiva. The EU is encouraging more to sign up.

Italy drafted the code of conduct after prosecutors in Sicily alleged that some non-governmental organizations had been colluding with the smugglers who send boatloads of migrants out daily from Libya, for example by signaling their presence in one area of the sea.

Groups including Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders denied the allegations, and said the claims undermined their humanitarian work by creating a climate of mistrust.

This story has been corrected from an earlier version to show that the number of migrants to Italy this year is on par to 2016 figures, not up 11 percent.

Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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Italy focuses on Libya mission to manage migrant crisis - ABC News

BBC News

Migrant crisis: Irish navy rescues 109 off Libyan coast - BBC News BBC News It was the L William Butler Yeats' first rescue since it was deployed to tackle the migrant crisis. and more »

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Migrant crisis: Irish navy rescues 109 off Libyan coast - BBC News - BBC News

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government will provide water and sanitation to migrants in Calais and open two reception centers away from the city, it said hours after a court ordered it to end what it called inhuman treatment of foreigners trying to get to Britain.

Less than a year after "the Jungle", a vast shanty town next to the northern port city, was razed, migrants have returned, with charities and the national human rights watchdog fiercely critical of the squalid conditions they live in.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said there were about 350-400 migrants around Calais, compared with the estimated 10,000 who used to live in the Jungle. The two new centers to house them will be in Bailleul and Troisvaux, about an hour's drive inland.

"We don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past but we also want to handle the problems in Calais," Collomb said, indicating a determination to avoid providing facilities that could draw migrants to the town, making it once more a hub for those trying to reach Britain.

Access to water, showers and toilets will be provided in the Calais area via mobile facilities, Collomb said.

Earlier on Monday, France's top administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat, ruled that the treatment of migrants was unlawful.

"The Conseil d'Etat considers that these living conditions reveal a failure by the public authorities that has exposed these people to inhuman or degrading treatment," it said in a statement.

"These shortcomings are a serious and unlawful infringement on a fundamental freedom."

It said a lower court was within its rights to order the provision of toilets, drinking water and showers.

France has avoided the brunt of Europe's migrant crisis, receiving a fraction of the asylum seekers handled by Italy or Germany.

While President Emmanuel Macron has called for migrants to be treated with dignity, his government has refused to open a new reception center in Calais, saying it would act as a magnet for migrants.

Last week, Human Rights Watch pressed France to end what it described as recurrent police violence against migrants in Calais. Collomb said there would be an investigation into police behavior.

The European Union is struggling to find a coherent answer to a migration crisis that has tested cooperation between member states. Macron has instructed his government to speed up France's asylum process.

Reporting by Richard Lough, Celia Mebroukine, Marine Pennetier; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Robin Pomeroy

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France to set up migrant centers outside Calais after court ruling - Reuters