Alongside a video shot in Malawi for new single Old Rock’n’Roll, the Edinburgh innovators discuss acceptance, cultural appropriation and the lineage of rock’n’roll

Young Fathers: 'If we can afford bombs, we can afford blankets and a welcome'

Given our devotion to journalistic integrity, it’s rare Guardian Music feels compelled to use words lifted directly from a press release. When those direct words come from Mercury prize-winning Edinburgh innovators Young Fathers, it would be pointless to even attempt to paraphrase.

Best albums of 2015: No 9 – White Men Are Black Men Too by Young Fathers Read more

Before their statement begins, however, some information about the video for Old Rock n Roll, which is premiered below. Set in a small village in Malawi, it was shot when the trio went to play the Lake of Stars festival in September, and is a vivid and vibrant visualisation of a track in which the group “attempt to come to terms with preconceptions – what’s expected from a black man in the west”.

Its title – Old Rock’n’Roll – has poignancy in the wake of their recent support slot supporting Paul Weller during his arena dates, however. It was, they say, a collision of cultures, but essentially both acts stem from the same rock’n’roll spirit.

The group use this experience as a launchpad to discuss the response from those unsympathetic to the refugee crisis. Below, they articulate their thoughts on acceptance, cultural appropriation and the lineage of rock’n’roll: