Punk/ Industrial/ Black Quantum Futurism/ Poetry of Moor Mother
November 13, 2019 9:37 PM   Subscribe

2019 has been a busy year for poet, musician, activist, Moor Mother (Red Bull Music Academy interview, 1 hr), who collaborated with Roscoe Mitchell (1 hr, YouTube) in a sparse pairing of woodwind and poetry, and with the London Contemporary Orchestra (The Line of Best Fit review) on a free verse poem ... about colonialism, slavery and commerce in British empire, and a realisation of her desire to “fuck up some classical music.” Before she released Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes, the follow up her 2016 debut album of confrontational, punk-industrial Afrofuturism (NPR via Genius), Fetish Bones, she was the vocalist on Zonal’s debut album, Wrecked (Bandcamp x3), itself a collaboration between metal musician Justin Broadrick (Napalm Death, Godflesh, Jesu) and electronic producer Kevin Martin (The Bug/Ming Midas Sound).

From the Afropunk album review:
As a project, Moor Mother studies white supremacy’s atrocities against the African diaspora (both historical and current) and with a stark confrontation of those crimes. It is less concerned about healing through the forgiveness of the oppressor (which in itself is a form of abuse) but exploring how through the confrontation of pain a people can process the collective trauma and heal for their own sake. Moor Mother meticulously builds these musical pieces to give the subject matter the respect it deserves; rather than continuously pummel the audience with noise for the sake of noise, there’s a nuanced control in sound and how Moor Mother creates the soundscapes in her work.
Interview with Moor Mother by Sonic Acts (half hour, YT), opening with a question on Black Quantum Futurism, a multidisciplinary collaboration between Camae Ayewa (Rockers!; Moor Mother) and Rasheedah Phillips (The AfroFuturist Affair; Metropolarity) exploring the intersections of futurism, creative media, DIY-aesthetics, and activism in marginalized communities through an alternative temporal lens.
posted by filthy light thief (4 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
She's got a book of poetry called "Analog Fluids" coming out on Future Sciences Books next week as well!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 11:12 PM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]


Thank you flt for this excellent post and also for linking to Bandcamp. I hope to listen when I get back to current abode tonight.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 1:34 AM on November 14, 2019 [1 favorite]


I knew this person when I lived in Philadelphia! Hosted Camae and Rasheeda for a couple of their events at an art gallery I used to direct and enjoyed trying to strut and stunt at their big annual ball alongside the best and brightest of the semi-underground Black futurist scene. Moor Mother is as brilliant and arresting as she seems; seriously go down this rabbit hole of links (awesome post!) if you have any passing interest in diaspora-fueled righteous weirditude.
posted by youarenothere at 2:41 AM on November 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


I try to believe that the name “King Midas Sound” refers to what everything would sound like if you had donkey ears, but I know I’m just fooling myself and the only story about King Midas anyone ever remembers is the one about the gold
posted by aubilenon at 6:44 AM on November 14, 2019


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