Tag Archives: Moor Mother

Masayoshi Fujita previews upcoming album, Migratory, with two new singles, ‘Our Mother’s Lights’ ft. Moor Mother & ‘Valle’

07 August 2024

Photo: Ryo Noda

After enticing us with the beautiful and reverie-inducing ‘Tower of Cloud’, vibraphone wizard, multi-percussionist, and composer Masayoshi Fujita has unveiled today two celestial and delicate new singles, ‘Our Mother’s Lights’  and ‘Valley’, lifted from his much anticipated upcoming album, Migratory. ‘Our Mother’s Lights’ features composer, poet, vocalist and educator Moor Mother. “I love the creative work of Masayoshi”, she said. “To collaborate on such a beautiful composition is really exciting and I’m honoured for the world to hear it.” Fujita has also commented on the track:

“I didn’t intend to add any vocals to ‘Our Mother’s Lights’. But through some lovely encounters with Camae (Moor Mother), it just happened. And I’m glad that it did, because her voice and lyrics are so powerful and fit with the image of the song very well. She has just brought this song to another level.”

Speaking about ‘Valley’, Fujita says:

“I had this bowed marimba phrase idea whilst I was scoring a film last year. When I made this song, I envisioned clouds crawling over mountains and valleys from the point of view of a bird.”

Listen to both singles below and be sure to grab Migratory when it’s out on September 6th through Erased Tapes.


Moor Mother unveils new single & video ‘All the Money’

20 February 2024

Moor Mother, aka Camae Ayewa, announced last month the release of her ninth album, The Great Bailout, out March 8th through ANTI-. With the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act and the 1835 Slavery Abolition Act acting as the backdrop for the album, the composer, poet, vocalist and educator offers an incisive reflection on the brutality of British slavery, including paid reparations to slave owners.

Following the delicate, spectral, and sublime ‘Guilty’, Moor Mother has shared second single ‘All the Money’. Compelling and affecting alike, a sinister tone lurks throughout. Listing British iconic landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral, The Victoria & Albert Museum, Big Ben, The Tower of London, The British Museum or The Palace of Westminster, Ayewa asks, “where’d they get all the money?”. ‘All the Money’ features British-Iraqi dramatic soprano, opera composer and producer Alya Al Sultani and it comes with an accompanying video directed by filmmaker and multimedia artist Cauleen Smith. Watch it below.

Moor Mother announces new LP, The Great Bailout, and shares ‘Guilty’

22 January 2024

Photo: Ebru Yildiz

There’s exciting news from Moor Mother, aka Camae Ayewa, who has announced the release of her ninth studio album titled The Great Bailout. Releasing on March 8th through ANTI-, it saw the composer, poet, vocalist and educator invite an impressive list of artists to contribute to the album, including Lonnie Holley, Mary Lattimore, Vijay Ayer, Angel Bat Dawid, Sistazz of the Nitty Gritty and Aaron Dilloway, amongs others.

The 1833 Slavery Abolition Act and the 1835 Slavery Abolition Act acted as the backdrop for the album. “Research is a major part of my work, and researching history – particularly African history, philosophy and time – is a major interest,” Ayewa commented. “Europe and Africa have a very intimate and brutal relationship throughout time. I’m interested in exploring that relationship of colonialism and liberation, in this case in Great Britain.”

The delicate, spectral, and sublime opening track ‘Guilty’, shared alongside the album announcement, masterfully sets the tone for the album. “Displacement and its effects are not discussed enough,” Ayewa says. “The PTSD of displacement should be a focus, and as we have the opportunity to learn about things happening in the world, we also have the opportunity to learn about ourselves. We’ve been through so many different acts of systematic violence.”

‘Guilty’ features Lonnie Holley, Mary Lattimore and Raia Was, and is offered with an accompanying video by Scott Kiernan. Watch it below.

Moor Mother announces Jazz Codes Deluxe and shares unreleased track ‘We Got The Jazz’

30 March 2023

Photo: Sam Lee

Composer, poet, vocalist and educator Moor Mother, aka Camae Ayewa, has announced a digital deluxe edition of her highly acclaimed album, Jazz Codes released last summer. Slated for release on May 19th through ANTI-, the upcoming expanded version features six previously unreleased songs. One of them is the staggering ‘We Got The Jazz’ feat. Kyle Kidd, Keir Neuringer and Aquiles Navarro. “‘We Got The Jazz’ is me thinking about how mediocre a lot of popular music is, about its capitalistic structures and how those placements are bought and paid for,” Moor Mother commented. “I’m speaking about the whitewashing of who’s allowed to participate in jazz, who is allowed to participate in poetry, and asking where the room for innovation is, now and in the future. It’s also me thinking about my jazz band, Irreversible Entanglements, and how we’ve toured the world destroying stages, uplifting audiences, and inspiring everyone on the jazz scene with or without recognition. I’m also speaking about my own influence on the culture.”

‘We Got The Jazz’ is offered with a visual accompaniment and you can check it out below.

Lonnie Holley teases upcoming album, Oh Me Oh My, with new single ‘I Am A Part Of The Wonder’ feat. Moor Mother

09 February 2023

Celebrated improvisational artist Lonnie Holley is set to release his new album, Oh Me Oh My, on March 10th through Jagjaguwar. Through his music and visual art, Holley has been addressing “how we overcome adversity and tremendous pain; about how we develop and maintain an affection for our fellow travelers; about how we stop wishing for some “beyond” and start caring for the one rock we have”. On his new album, this message is clear and triumphant, in tune with Mother Earth and delivered over a vibrant mix of styles.

To bring Oh Me Oh My to life, Holley enlisted producer Jacknife Lee and a cast of outstanding musicians, such as Moor Mother, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, Rokia Koné and Michael Stipe. He comments:

“My art and my music are always closely tied to what is happening around me, and the last few years have given me a lot to thoughtsmith about. When I listen back to these songs I can feel the times we were living through. I’m deeply appreciative of the collaborators, especially Jacknife, who helped the songs take shape and really inspired me to dig deeper within myself.”

Following the title track, Holley is teasing the album again with a jubilant new single, ‘I Am A Part Of The Wonder’ featuring Moor Mother. Check out the accompanying visualizer below and listen to ‘Oh Me, Oh My’ straight after.


Le Guess Who?’s Who 2022: Kuunatic

20 September 2022

There’s less two months to go before Le Guess Who? takes over Utrecht. With over 150 artists set to perform, how do we make sense of such a monumental line-up? We made a list of the artists we’re most excited to see and asked them for their recommendations.

Kuunatic

Official Website

Performing Sunday 13th November (Curated by Animal Collective)


Formed in Tokyo in 2016, Kuunatic is the tribal-psych trio of Fumie Kikuchi (keys and vocals), Yuko Araki (drums and vocals) and Shoko Yoshida (bass and vocals). Sonically diverse, their unique sound is an amalgamation of each member’s different musical and cultural background. Their transcending debut album, Gate of Klüna, came last year through Glitterbeat Records and we can’t wait to see them performing it live at Le Guess Who?. We’ve asked them what other bands they are looking forward to and Fumie, Yuko and Shoko each picked an artist respectively. Read on to find out!

 

Les Filles de Illighadad

Facebook

Performing Friday 11th November (curated by Animal Collective)

 

Moor Mother & billy woods performing ‘BRASS’

Bandcamp

Performing Saturday 12th November (curated by CURL)

 

Goat

Twitter

Performing Saturday 12th November

 

Le Guess Who? will take place 10-13 November. For the full line-up, tickets and more info visit leguesswho.com. And take a look at other artists we’re excited about picking their own Le Guess Who?’s Who.