The Brother Strikes On: $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You
LP|DL
Out on twenty eighth October
Pre-order from Sister Ray
A part of a robust lineage of South African protest music, afro-jazz combo The Brother Strikes On have created an album of unbelievable variety and creativity that feels uplifting and inspirational. Louder Than Conflict’s Gordon Rutherford evaluations.
Probably the most memorable, and most intriguing, characters to function in David Simon’s good TV drama, The Wire, is definitely Brother Mouzone. For these unfamiliar, this enigmatic type is the man you rent to resolve beefs once they develop into, properly, simply too beefy. The erudite and politically astute Mouzone’s display screen time might have been small, however he made a huge impact, notably on one South African band.
Identical to the Michael Potts portrayed character from whom they get their title, The Brother Strikes On get the job achieved with consummate professionalism, absolute effectivity and no lack of panache The scintillating $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You is their fourth album, their first for Shabaka Hutchings’ label, Native Insurgent Recordings, and it sees them put on Mouzone’s title as fittingly as Omar donned that trenchcoat.
In addition to being an absolute colossus of the London jazz scene, Hutchings has earned one thing of a fame in trendy occasions as the toughest working man in showbiz (© James Brown). Due to this fact, it’ll come as no shock to study that his function right here extends past the boardroom. Expertly, he takes on manufacturing duties and, the place required, sprinkles his stardust throughout this inspiring assortment by contributing flute and clarinet.
$/He Who Feeds You…Owns You will not be the primary collaboration between Hutchings and The Brother Strikes On. A number of the band function on considered one of Hutchings’ many autos, the space-age afro-jazz combo, Shabaka And The Ancestors. Right here, nevertheless, the roles are flipped. As an alternative of being band chief as he’s with The Ancestors, Shabaka could be very a lot a help participant to this dazzling South African outfit. Mouzone might have had a bit-part function, however The Brother Strikes On are undeniably the celebrities of this present.
Given all of that , there are certain to be some parallels between The Brother Strikes On and Shabaka And The Ancestors’ newest launch, We Are Despatched Right here By Historical past. Each outfits compose music and write lyrics that carry a potent message and each We Are Despatched Right here By Historical past and $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You could be categorised as protest albums. With regard to the latter, that truth is clear earlier than the needle even will get near the turntable. Simply verify the title, which comes from a speech by pan-African revolutionary, Thomas Sankara. As frontman Siyabonga Mthembu explains, “Whoever feeds you, whoever owns your meals system, runs you”.
Don’t be fooled by the directness of the album title, nevertheless. In the case of the music, The Brother Strikes On put their message throughout in a fairly totally different manner from The Ancestors. In my 2020 evaluation on We Are Despatched Right here By Historical past, I spoke about how the music was a darkish and foreboding soundtrack to the apocalypse. The Ancestors create musical chaos, pushed by an visceral power that takes your breath away. However, following the template they laid out on 2021’s Tolika Mtoliki, The Brother Strikes On choose to sofa their protest in a way more refined manner. The velvet glove to The Ancestors’ iron fist.
The best connection between the 2 approaches comes within the form of frontman, vocalist, poet and efficiency artist, Siyabonga Mthembu; a person who has been quoted as saying “the non-public is all the time political”. While the accompanying music could be softer, Siyabonga’s forceful and formidable phrases carry simply as a lot bearing, it doesn’t matter what language he’s singing in (and he makes use of a number of languages).
Described by Mthembu as a “time capsule of a second earlier than the pandemic”, $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You is a outstanding achievement, the sound of a gaggle of musicians acting at their peak and in absolute synchronicity. It’s a multiplicity of gems, with every observe feeling like an organism in its personal proper, all contributing to the larger sense of accomplishment. And what variety. Positive, at its core, that is afro-jazz at its best, nevertheless it spans manner past that. The Brother Strikes On skilfully pull on a bunch of influences to enrichen this heady brew. Take the dreamy and hypnotic Sphila, for instance. Its opening passages, dominated by the chiming guitar of Zelizwe Mthembu might be mistaken for one thing by the Cocteau Twins, earlier than it soars out of its seemingly infinite loops into mesmeric chanting.
Additional proof of the band’s versatility is obtainable up within the first two minutes of Hamba. Fittingly, for a conventional African funeral piece, it’s delivered acapella, with the voices combining fantastically like essentially the most heavenly Gregorian chant. Then, like Sphila, it shifts, flowing splendidly into superb African rhythms supporting Siyabonga Mthembu’s impassioned vocal. Hamba additionally permits us to attract one other direct comparability between $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You and We Are Despatched Right here By Historical past, because the tune was additionally coated by Shabaka And The Ancestors on their album. Nevertheless, as soon as once more, there are discernible variations. As you’d anticipate, The Brother Strikes On undertake the extra refined strategy. However that, there’s room in our lives for each variations.
Maybe the best variety comes within the form of the album’s nearer, Ta Tom. As soon as once more, we’re listening to one thing that fluidly morphs and shapeshifts because it unfolds, beginning out as a portentously creeping jazz melody. With out warning, nevertheless, it transforms into the closest factor to afro-metal possible, propelled by Zelizwe Mthembu’s riff and the powerhouse drumming of Simphiwe Tshabalala. Then, having flirted with role-playing Black Sabbath, The Brother Strikes On progress on to one thing that appears like a prog exercise. Ta Tom brings an impressive album to a fairly outstanding conclusion and emphasises, simply in case you haven’t detected it beforehand, simply how musically adept and inventive The Brother Strikes On are.
Nowhere is that this extra evident than on the album’s introductory single, the redoubtable Bayakhala. Like Ta Tom, the guitar of Zelizwe Mthembu and the drumming of Tshabalala are outstanding. As highlighted beforehand, Hutchings is content material to take a again seat on this assortment, letting The Brother Strikes On do their factor. Nevertheless, on the early passages of Bayakhala he supplies a chic, dancing flute that layers character throughout the tune. Ayanda Zelekili’s bass weaves out and in of the horns of Mthunzi Mvubua (bringing a searing alto), Muhammad Dawjee (tenor) and Malcolm Jiyane (trombone) to relentlessly drive the tune residence. It’s as compellingly tight as any band efficiency I’ve heard this 12 months. These horns fulfil an analogous function on the pleasant Sweetie Love Oh, a tune characterised by essentially the most dramatic – and progressive – key adjustments and an excellent vocal efficiency by Siyabonga. Right here, he pours out each ounce of emotion as he delivers his strains. No shock. His supply is ideal all through this album, whether or not chanting or pleading or when he melodically lightens the tone.
That is an album that’s affected by glorious songs, but when there’s one stand out then it’s Mazel. Like a supertanker carrying the entire world’s tears, Mazel is sorrow personified. It’s opened by the Coltrane-like mournful tenor sax of Dawjee, accompanied by Zelizwe Mthumbu’s gossamer-like guitar strains. Siyabonga’s voice pleads and cries, “we’re struggling rainbow little one”. It’s a outstanding 5 minutes of music that can stay lengthy within the heads of those that hear it.
$/He Who Feeds You…Owns You is an unbelievable achievement, an album that’s dazzlingly written, produced and carried out. It’s a outstanding instance of the facility of the collective and whereas there are numerous moments of particular person brilliance, the greatness of The Brother Strikes On lies of their unity, It’s the best way they mix that makes their music particular.
It surprises and delights because it progresses and the extra one listens to it, the extra one actually appreciates it. And while it’s clearly a protest album, not like We Are Despatched Right here By Historical past, you by no means get a way that you’re standing on the sting of the abyss. Conversely, $/He Who Feeds You…Owns You really appears like an extremely uplifting and optimistic album. Musically, it educes moods of sanguinity moderately than nervousness. And, by God, we may all do with a few of that proper now.
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The Brother Strikes On are on Instagram, Twitter and Fb.
Native Insurgent Recordings could be discovered right here. They’re additionally on Instagram and Twitter.
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All phrases by Gordon Rutherford. Extra writing by Gordon could be present in his archive.
Gordon can also be on Twitter as @R11Gordon and has an internet site right here: https://thedarkflux.com
