Animal Collective change EP art and album name as they issue apology for 'racist stereotype'

Animal Collective will make changes to both an EP cover and an album title in their back catalogue to avoid the use of “racist stereotypes”.

The experimental US group apologised for their earlier decisions, and announced they would alter the cover art of People, an EP from 2007, as well their 2003 album Here Comes The Indian.

People was released with a cover depicting two children and a “mammy” — an offensive archetype of an older black woman looking after young white children, which has links to slavery in the US.

In a statement, the band said: “There is no way to excuse using a ‘mammy’ on our artwork, and so we have decided to remove it.

“We understand now that using a racist stereotype at all causes more damage than an explanation can repair, and we apologize.”

The group added that they would be donating a “portion” of royalties from People to Equal Justice Initiative, a racial equality non-profit focused on the justice system.

Animal Collective also confirmed that Here Comes The Indian would revert to its original working title of Ark. “With utmost respect to Indigenous people we feel that having the word Indian in our record title sends the wrong message by objectifying the American Indian people, which is not what we were intending with the music,” the statement read.

The band added that they have “drawn countless inspiration from Indigenous people in America and around the world”, and would therefore donate a percentage of royalties to Seeding Sovereignty, an advocacy group for Indigenous people.

Animal Collective also confirmed they would be donating $10,000 (£8030), along with all Bandcamp sales from July 3, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

It comes as the band moved to put “the majority” of their catalogue on Bandcamp, including a newly released EP called Bridge to Quiet, completed during lockdown.