Sumac & Moor Mother

What happens when you combine Sumac: a band that uses the volume, distortion, and guitar-centric approach of metal to make music that has the malleability of jazz and textural exploration of noise with Moor Mother: a poet and sound artist that has deconstructed hip hop to a point where it’s less about rhyme and rhythm (though obviously both are present in her work) and more about oratorical cadence and power. The Film is an album that takes attributes of both artists’ work and finds common ground in shifting musical patterns, and expressive force. The record is a musical thumbing of their noses at the more traditional approaches of their respective fields, an innovative, powerhouse of an album.

The Film’s moniker speaks to the fact that it is conceived and delivered as a complete album, a full story or narrative. Moor Mother puts it best: “The idea is to create a moment outside of the convention. This is a work of art. Thinking about the work as a Film, instead of an album or a collection of songs. This task is impossible in an industry that wants to force everything into a box of consumption. You won’t understand or get the full picture until the artwork is completed. This work is developing and is requesting more agency within the creative process.” The Film does have clear themes running throughout – again Moor Mother expounds: “the themes are universal in nature - land - displacement - the climate - human rights and freedoms - war and peace - the idea of running away from the many violent forces and horrific systems of man and empire.”