“A Whole Revelation Of Yourself” Moor Mother Writes For Clash

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Moor Mother – aka Camae Ayewa – is a force to be reckoned with.

One of music’s truly unique voices, she leaves her stamp on any genre that comes in her path, re-contextualising standard tropes as something vivid, fresh, and exhilarating.

Chopping down the rules, Moor Mother’s thirst for expression reached new heights during the close of 2021, with her album ‘Black Encyclopedia Of The Air’ receiving across the board praise.

Playing a very special London show to launch the record, Moor Mother’s continuous creativity immediately took her into fresh projects.

Clash caught out the American voice to pen an essay for our Autumn issue – here, we place it online in its entirety, a wonderful piece of poetry that illuminates key aspects of her creative life.

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PRELUDE

We need more Jazz, freedom Jazz, a Jazz government, a jazz pledge of liberation, Free Jazz countries. Free Jazz, free swinging, improvised hearts on fire. Jazz universities without walls, A jazz state of mind, a jazz prayer, a known future of jazz, a jazz direction, a spinning circle of Jazz that acts like a Jazz portal. I am thinking about getting out of the idea of being taught, you wanna learn something, this African classical music of Jazz and survival, joy and protection, then go into the garden and into your inner garden, see life take shape watch the dance. Become rooted like a tree that’s Jazz. A whole revelation of yourself, a free expression, the triumph, the migration out.

4 Milford Graves

part 1
the heart

its nature man
i wasn’t playing around see
i went right to the source
i was reading all these books
about the masters
going back to the source
up in the mountains
deep in meditation
its nature man
i wasn’t playing around
see i went right to the source
i went right to the heart
straight to the heart man

off beat off rhythm off time
this is what we sound like

off beat off rhythm off time
it’s a different vibe man
we connected to a higher force
cosmic force call it whatever you want man
you know when your heart go
ting-raww—frapt!
rat-a-tat-a-rot-a-toko!
shhhap
thwap! 

part 2
the family 

this is a family
i wanna know how you doing today
i wanna know how you react to the rhythm
what is your heart saying
how fast you moving
how high is your highs
how low is yours blues
listen to my heart
see this is swinging
swinging in to the next day
fist blazing
drums blazing
life moving on
a people move on
the rhythm moving on
a power

this is a family
we have our own teachers
and only our hearts know there names
ritual of secrecy can’t give it all away
especially when they cant hear it
when they can’t taste it can’t feel it
when they can’t smell it and see it
listen to your heart
feel it swinging
swinging in to the next day
blood blazing
drums blazing
life moving on
a people move on
the rhythm moving on
a ritual 

part 3
survival 

aye ay
visions visions
visions of a liberated future

took me to see trane man
and those drums was loose
free swinging
and i said i want to survive
like that
martial arts
freedom swinging
survival
come at me with everything you got
i wanna know what i need to work out

survival
eubie blake
james p johnson
scott joplin
the king of ragtime
survival
a communal sound
juba & jubilee
jelly roll morton
will marion cook
william grant
still hall johnson
will marion cook
the origin of the cakewalk

he went to harvard man for a year man
and came back to teach the people
see man that’s survival
going back in the garden
having a conversation
listening to the rhythm
around you
juba
yara
juba
yara
Survival 

part 4 
the drum

cosmic energy
dialogue of the drums
the vibration of the earth is changing
we need far out inner sounds
sounds man
sounds that are tuned in
are you tuned in to
no time no time no time
just the drum
the heart
the drum
the heart

aye man am i floating or flying
are you listening to the plants
are you sitting in the garden

space time back in no time beyond quantum holy ghosts
pieces of time

Time’s pendulum

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‘Black Encyclopedia Of The Air’ is out now on ANTI-.

Photo Credit: Bob Sweeney

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