A flash mob of young musicians has come together to release a single to raise money for The Christchurch Foundation in response to the Christchurch terror attack.

The musicians have released the song They Are Us which will become available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play on Monday, 8 April.

Every download sale becomes a donation to The Christchurch Foundation.

The musicians have called themselves Band of Strangers for a simple reason – they were loosely-connected strangers who banded together out of a desire to respond to the March 15 tragedy.

Band leader Kane Chong, a 19-year-old recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist, said They Are Us was inspired after seeing a Facebook call from fellow musician Matthew Beardsworth reaching out to anyone who would like to do something in response to Christchurch.

“I instantly messaged back. We got talking and we both decided to reach out within our contact bases and bring like-minded people together to help us make this extraordinary.”

Mr Chong said Band Of Strangers aims to bring hope to life through music. The musicians leading the project - Chong, Beardsworth, and Tara Salthouse – had dozens of musicians volunteer to dedicate six hours of preparation in the University of Auckland rehearsal space before recording at SAE Institute Auckland.

“After meeting each other for the first time, we soon learned that all 22 of us gathered for the same reason - to send a message of hope, unity and peace,” Mr Chong said. “Music brings people together where words alone can’t, and we share as much passion for the art as we have the desire to send our message.”

This is the second time the young community-minded musician has created music to make the world a better place. Mr Chong put out the single We Are One to raise awareness of autism in 2016, which became a no 1 song on iTunes. He was also involved in We Are One – A Concert For Autism in 2017.

The lyrics of They Are Us are about standing as one, siding with the victims of March 15 and remembering their spirits. Over 15 instruments plus a harmony of singers contributed to the end result.

“The building was alive with the magic we were producing,” Mr Chong said.

“When it came to playing the song as a group at the end of the night, we were not the room full of talented strangers that had sat in a circle in the early evening. In six hours, we were united by our cause, a true brand of strangers.”

To directly donate to The Christchurch Foundation:

https://christchurchfoundation.org.nz/giving/our-people-our-city-fund/donate