#Desire Marea “On the Romance of Being”

[akiraeffect]

[leahsfiction]

bandcamp friday recs (2023/08/04)

Pamela Z - Echolocation (1988) - electronic, new wave, unique experimental vocal pieces

Shovel Dance Collective - The Water is the Shovel of the Shore (2022) - collages of folk music & field recordings by waterways. Silt Verses fans come get your juice

Desire Marea - On the Romance of Being (2023) - avant-garde jams with extremely compelling vocals. hard to categorize but my #1 pick from this list

Fiore Laurentienne - Volume 1 (2019) - fun modern classical with live instruments and warm analog synths

unholy bones - undone (2023) - just found this through my cohost feed! a fun mix of "post-" genres in one guitar-focused album

Kaidi Tatham - The Only Way (2023) - okay i preordered this months ago but it goes on here. hip-hop, jazz, fusion, just one rly confident and fluid album

[thelivingend]

I gotchu. I'll give you a little list with genre so you don't get jumpscared by a scream. :) (note: this got out of hand so sorry! I hope this is what you're looking for! It's not a ton of pop punk but outside like, two bands, I don't listen to much pop punk these days. If you want some bands in that genre let me know! Also, straight-up punk is not something I'm listening to a lot right now, but I have a lot of recs if you're into that as well.)

Metal/metal adjacent:

Death is a Warm Blanket by Microwave (start with Leather Daddy, that song builds and builds it's SO sexy in a musical sense)

Periphery IV: HAIL SATAN by Periphery (proper metal, INSANE musicianship, stellar clean vox, lonnnng tracks)

Zig by Poppy (She might be more electronic, but whatever. Church Outfit gets me hype. Some people think she's overrated but she's FUN. Female rage.)

The last Sweet Pill album was great, you should check that out.

Chill indie stuff:

Little Oblivions by Julien Baker (if you haven't heard it yet you're missing out)

Folk punk:

Rhombithian by Sincere Engineer (female vox, she's SO cool. Start with Corn Dog Sonnet)

Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 420 - Mom Jeans/Prince Daddy & the Hyena/Pictures of Vernon (collaborative EP, favorite track on there is Thrashville 2/3 - if you like this, all three of those bands are great places to start in the genre)

Industrial/club:

On the Romance of Being - Desire Marea (strong South African influences and spans house to industrial to r&b to big band)

LESS IS MOOR by Zebra Katz (Coolest voice I've ever heard. Songs are wild. My favorite is IN IN IN, but the whole album is worth listening through.)

Single song: This S*it Will Fuck You Up - Combichrist (fuzzy, distorted, French, repetitive)

Goth:

Tocsin by Xmal Deutschland (the most-listened ones are my favorites, old band)

Jazz fusion:

Slow, Incremental Change - Fat Randy (SmarterChild is my favorite track. They have 71 monthly listeners; can't get more underground. They are CHALLENGING but they are professionals. They also sell pickles at shows.)

Two other great groups are Snarky Puppy and Sungazer. Any album works, but Lingus (SP) and Macchina (SG) are good tracks.

Pop+:

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE by Karson (they remind me of Caroline Polachek for some reason. Speaking of:)

Moth by Chairlift (the band is not together anymore, but it's Caroline on vocals. I quite like how it shows off her voice. Crying in Public is my favorite track.)

Let me know if you want more because this was lots of fun and I have other options!! If you want me to go really underground I can also do that :)

Well i do not think i am missing out. jokes aside THANK YOUUU i am not a pop punk person anyway so this is beautiful. i actually saw poppy live recently!! i almost left before her set bc i was there for one of the openers but i'm glad i stayed & i love when she leans in to the nu-metal thing (that spit/church dress single goes crazy) and i also looooove sweet pill and also saw them live recently!! and i added a bunch of these to my library tysm <3

[musicdiaries]

Top 10 Albums 2023

Anohni and the Johnsons - My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross Daughter - Stereo Mind Game Desire Marea - On the Romance of Being Esben and the Witch - Hold Sacred Ethan P. Flynn - Abandon All Hope Gazelle Twin - Black Dog Glüme - Main Character Kara Jackson - Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter - Saved! Troller - Drain

[audiomatiquecfou]

Audiomatique 12-04-23 feat. : Acid Arab - Aksak Maboul - Ruby - Desire Marea - Disidentes - SPK - Chris & Cosey - Moon Duo

L’émission de radio Audiomatique du 12 avril 2023 Transmission 441 présentée de 17 h à 18 h sur les ondes de CFOU 89,1 FM animée par Les Sonoristes

Radio show Audiomatique April 12, 2023 Transmission 441 aired from 5 PM to 6 PM on CFOU 89,1 FM hosted by Les Sonoristes

1) Acid Arab : « Acid Chawi » (Trois)

2) Aksak Maboul : « Brown Dwarfs » (Une aventure de VV (Songspiel) (Made To Measure 48))

3) Ruby : « Carondelet (Me Too Mix) » (Salt Peter 25)

4) Desire Marea : « Banzi » (On The Romance Of Being)

5) Disidentes : « Martillo » (Various Artists - Síntomas de techno : Ondas electrónicas subterráneas desde Perú (1985-1991))

6) SPK : « A Heart That Breaks (In No Time Or Place) » (Auto Da Fe)

7) Chris & Cosey : « Dancing Ghosts » (Collectiv Three (An Elemental Rendevous))

8) Moon Duo : « Ripples » (Killing Time EP)

Écoutez en différé / Listen : https://archive.org/details/audiomatique-12-04-23 https://www.tumblr.com/audiomatiquecfou Contact : audiomatiquecfou@gmail.com Facebook : www.facebook.com/audiomatiquecfou

[biglisbonnews]

Watch Desire Marea’s liberating music video for new single ‘Be Free’ Finding gay love in South Africa’s hypermasculine taxi gangs, the song arrives ahead of the musician’s forthcoming album, On the Romance of Being https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/58203/1/watch-desire-marea-liberating-music-video-new-single-be-free-romance-being-album

[thequeerafrican-blog]

Touch with your eyes: Queer art of Africa

This blog has mainly been dedicated to the political and social scope of queer identities in Africa, with a focus on history, government, activism, and media. Art has also played a strong role in activism by changing how people view the world and challenging ideas of people in power that have created a one-sided narrative of what is acceptable and worth recognition. I have long believed that art is a force, that makes us view ourselves and the world from a different, more profound viewpoint. 

 There are few things in this world I love more than art in all of its forms. I often tell people that if I did not choose to study political science, I would pursue a degree in art history to possibly one day curate exhibits in art museums and galleries. I also know that art is not just sweet to look at, but good for us as humans. A study conducted in 2016 by Dr. Christina Davies found that engaging in 100 hours or more per year (two or more hours per week) of arts engagement has the potential to improve mental wellbeing, and engaging in creative activities and events improves the likelihood of these benefits as well. 

But thankfully enough, art is just as political and critical of the world around us as it is aesthetically stimulating and profound. In short: I love it, and I believe I would be doing myself a great disservice if I did not find a way to bring an artistic perspective to this conversation of queer African identities. I’ll begin with a short background of traditionally recognized African art, then go on to discuss modern ways that queer artists of the continent are shaking the artistic table. 

Traditional African Art

Art from the African continent has long been marveled at by the world at large. Rock drawings from as far as 6000 years ago have been discovered in present day Niger. Sculptures from the Nouk culture of Nigeria  made in 500 BCE are believed to be some of the earliest known. These works often exemplified the abundance of nature, such as plants, animals, and shapes. The tenth century brought about more complex mediums of art, such as bronze and brass. Egyptian art and culture is also widely respected as wonders of the ancient world, with an entire scientific discipline known as egyptology dedicated to studying many factors of Ancient Egypt such as sculpture and hieroglyphics.

19th century Yoruba cap mask (Nigeria) 

Wall Decoration from Tomb of Seti i (Egypt) 

The histories of colonialism and imperialism have displaced a myriad of fine works indigenous to the African continent, and can be found in some of the most famous museums such as the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A few notable artists of African origin are Al Anatsui (Ghana), Cheri Samba (Congo), William Joseph Kentridge (South Africa), and Gonçalo Mabunda (Mozambique). 

El Anatsui - Intermittent Signals (2009) 

 Queer African Art Today

Queer artists from throughout the African continent have been receiving more recognition for their contributions to the zeitgeist. South Africa hosts a vibrant cultural scene for young creatives, which is showcased in the documentary hosted by queer American performance artist Mykki Blanco featuring LGBTQ+ artists and at Afropunk Johannesburg. Fela Gucci and Desire Marea’s artistic collective known as FAKA is a great and extensive example, An article in Vogue by Rachel Hahn beautifully describes their artistry. Their passions and works include art, photography, and music. They released an EP in 2016 titled Bottoms Revenge, and both are sartorial masterminds, as they consistently adorn themselves with eccentric and stylish pieces on their album covers and in photoshoots. Their music video released in 2017 titled Uyang’khumbula is all the proof needed of their fabulous aesthetic and infectious musical talent (Hahn). 

FAKA (South Africa)

Mikael Owunna is photographer from Nigeria who is using his skills to showcase the stories of queer African immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers in the diaspora. His documentary photography project entitled Limit(less), features people from Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Liberia, Somalia,  Morocco, and several other nations. Many of the people features in Limit(less) tell stories of their personal identities, family strife, self-love, nationality, and what it means to be a member of the African diaspora. 

Features from Limit(less) 

He states of his vision: “I shot and documented the stories of over 50 individuals for the project in 10 countries toward my goal of debunking the myth that it is “un-African” to be LGBTQ. In the process I found that there are no safe spaces anywhere for LGBTQ Africans - even in the “liberal” West.” By pursuing this artistic vision in the hopes of creating awareness, solidarity, and safety for others, Owunna demonstrates that there queerness is as legitimate as Africanness, and the two coexist beautifully within the hearts and minds of his subjects and himself. 

Cinema: Rafiki (2018)

Finally, to highlight another beautiful art form that has represented queer identity: cinema. One fine example, however, is the release of the Kenyan film Rafiki (2018) (“rafiki” is the Swahili word for “friend”). This movie was a breakthrough for many reasons. For one, it was the first Kenyan film to be featured at the Cannes Film Festival. Furthermore, it is a story about two lesbian Kenyans and their romance. In Kenya, queerness is criminalized, which led to the movie being banned in the country in spite of the fact that it received international acclaim. 

The director, Wanuri Kahiu, spoke to NPR in April 2019. She explained that in no way was the movie meant to make a political statement, as it was simply just a story about two women in love. But because of her African identity and gender, everything she does is assigned a political agenda. However, her decision to make this movie is a groundbreaking one, as it portrays a beautiful representation of what has been erased by mainstream society in Kenya, and changes the landscape of cinema in more ways than one. 

Rafiki (2018) dir. Wanuri Kahiu

Art comes in all forms and all places and the reasons for its creation range from catharsis, anger, curiosity, existentialism, and downright fun. The visions of African artists have indelibly changed the landscape of art and culture as we know it, and these queer creatives from the continent and the diaspora are just a few examples of the innovation and newness that is coming out of African countries.