Moor Mother

Last updated

Moor Mother
Moor Mother - @ the Seahorse Tavern - OBEY Convention X (cropped).jpg
Ayewa performing in 2017
Background information
Birth nameCamae Ayewa
Also known as
  • Moor Mother Goddess [1]
  • Camae Defstar [2]
Born (1981-11-19) November 19, 1981 (age 42)
Aberdeen, Maryland, U.S.
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres Experimental [3]
Occupation(s)
  • Poet
  • musician
  • activist
Years active2012–present [4]
Labels
Website moormother.bandcamp.com

Camae Ayewa, [5] (born November 19, 1981 [6] ) better known by her stage name Moor Mother, is an American poet, musician, and activist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [7] She is one half of the collective Black Quantum Futurism, along with Rasheedah Phillips, [8] and co-leads the groups Irreversible Entanglements and 700 Bliss. [9] [10]

Contents

Early life and career

Ayewa was born in Aberdeen, Maryland, where she grew up in a public housing project. [11] [12] She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to study photography at the Art Institute. [13]

In 2016, Moor Mother released a studio album, Fetish Bones , on Don Giovanni Records. [14] The album, which was released alongside a 122-page book of poetry, [13] was included on year-end lists by Pitchfork , [15] Rolling Stone , [16] and The Wire . [17]

In 2017, she released a studio album, The Motionless Present, on The Vinyl Factory. [18] It featured collaborations with Geng, DJ Haram, Mental Jewelry, and Rasheedah Phillips. [19] The same year, she released a collaborative EP with Mental Jewelry, titled Crime Waves, on Don Giovanni Records. [20] [21]

She served as one of the guest curators at the 2018 Le Guess Who? music festival. [22] [23] In 2019, she released Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes . [24]

Ayewa co-leads and provides lyrics and vocals for the "liberation-oriented free-jazz collective" Irreversible Entanglements. [25] She met the quintet's members through musical and activist endeavors: bassist Luke Stewart shared bills with her band the Mighty Paradocs; saxophonist Keir Neuringer worked with Books Through Bars, whose events Ayewa has emceed; and the trio of Ayewa, Stewart, and Neuringer was followed by the duo of trumpeter Aquiles Navarro and drummer Tcheser Holmes at a 2015 Musicians Against Brutality event following the shooting of Akai Gurley. [9] The group performed in the inaugural season of the Kennedy Center's "Direct Current" contemporary culture showcase, [26] and their releases have been included in best-of lists in Magnet, [27] NPR Music, [28] The Quietus , [29] and Stereogum 's "20 Best Jazz Albums Of The 2010s". [30] The band's instrumentalists also performed on Ayewa's debut theatrical work, Circuit City . [31]

In the fall of 2021, Ayewa began serving as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. [32]

Discography

Studio albums

With Irreversible Entanglements

Ayewa performing with Irreversible Entanglements Irreversible Entanglements.jpg
Ayewa performing with Irreversible Entanglements

With 700 Bliss

Compilation albums

Live albums

EPs

Guest appearances

Remixes

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References

  1. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (October 6, 2016). "Moor Mother released 'Fetish Bones,' touring with Screaming Females". BrooklynVegan . Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  2. ↑ Fintoni, Laurent (December 18, 2015). "Meet Camae Defstar, The Philly Activist Channelling Her City's Pain Through Music". The Fader . Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  3. ↑ Blais-Billie, Braudie (October 19, 2017). "Moor Mother Shares Three-Hour Piece: Listen". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ Willems, Jasper (January 17, 2017). "Distorting The Present: DiS Meets Moor Mother". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Dandridge-Lemco, Ben (March 1, 2018). "Take a trip to Moor Mother's Philadelphia in this new mini-doc". The Fader . Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Moor Mother". Apple Music . Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  7. ↑ Ravens, Chal (January 11, 2018). "Moor Mother review – howl of apocalyptic fury is kept to a whisper". The Guardian . Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  8. ↑ Duplan, Anaïs (March 14, 2017). "Moor Mother Explains Black Quantum Futurism". Vice . Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  9. 1 2 Camp, Zoe (April 2, 2020). "The Revolutionary Free Jazz of Irreversible Entanglements". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  10. ↑ "700 Bliss discuss their debut album Nothing To Declare | The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  11. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (April 20, 2017). "Moor Mother: 'We have yet to truly understand what enslavement means'". The Guardian . Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  12. ↑ Rachel, T. Cole (December 19, 2017). "Performance artist Moor Mother isn't afraid of confrontation". Interview . Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  13. 1 2 Pelly, Jenn (October 26, 2016). "Moor Mother: Hardcore Poet". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  14. ↑ Iadarola, Alexander (September 6, 2016). "Moor Mother's New Track Is a Reminder of the Agitating Power of Noise". Vice . Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  15. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (December 9, 2018). "The 20 Best Experimental Albums of 2016 (page 2 of 2)". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  16. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher R. (December 28, 2016). "20 Best Avant Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Listen to The Wire's Top 50 Releases of 2016". The Wire . December 26, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  18. ↑ Ravens, Chal (February 21, 2017). "Moor Mother announces The Motionless Present LP featuring DJ Haram and PTP's Geng". Fact . Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  19. ↑ Kalev, Maya (March 22, 2017). "Moor Mother Tells The Story Behind Every Track On Her Radical New Record". The Fader . Archived from the original on April 1, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  20. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (May 10, 2017). "Moor Mother x Mental Jewelry – "Hardware"". Spin . Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  21. ↑ Kelly, Kim (June 13, 2017). "Philly Producers Moor Mother and Mental Jewelry Team Up on 'Crime Waves'". Vice . Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  22. ↑ Welsh, April Clare (May 24, 2018). "Moor Mother, Asia Argento set to curate Le Guess Who? 2018". Fact . Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
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  24. ↑ Yoo, Noah; Bloom, Madison (November 8, 2019). "6 Albums Out Today You Should Listen to Now: FKA twigs, Mount Eerie, Moor Mother, and More". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
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  28. ↑ "The 100 Best Songs Of 2017". NPR. December 13, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  29. ↑ Smith, Stewart (December 13, 2017). "Complete Communion: The Best Jazz Of 2017". The Quietus. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  30. ↑ Freeman, Phil (January 9, 2020). "The 20 Best Jazz Albums Of The 2010s". Stereogum. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
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  32. ↑ "USC Thornton Welcomes New Faculty". USC Thornton School of Music. August 3, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
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  34. ↑ Miller, Julie (February 24, 2017). "Moor Mother previews new record of poetry and soundscape with "This Week"". WXPN . Archived from the original on February 26, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
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  36. ↑ "True Opera | Moor Jewelry". Bandcamp . Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
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  41. ↑ "Black Encyclopedia of the Air, by Moor Mother". Moor Mother. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Jazz Codes, by Moor Mother". Moor Mother. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  43. ↑ "Irreversible Entanglements, by Irreversible Entanglements". International Anthem. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
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  47. ↑ "Clepsydra | Moor Mother". Bandcamp . Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Anthologia 01 | Moor Mother and Olof Melander". Bandcamp . Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  49. ↑ "Offering - Live at Le Guess Who | Nicole Mitchell and Moor Mother". Bandcamp . Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
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