*Announcing* Asher Gamedze & The Black Lungs - Constitution /// 2xLP/CD out August 30, 2024
*announcing* IARC0084
Asher Gamedze & The Black Lungs
Constitution
2LP/CD/DD out August 30th, 2024
In the midst of madness in these times... we are blessed with the task of helping bring music into the world. Today, it's new work from Cape Town, South Africa based drummer, composer, and bandleader Asher Gamedze, with his new 10-piece ensemble The Black Lungs.
Recorded in one day at Cape Town’s Sound and Motion Studios, Constitution is Gamedze’s follow-up to 2023's Turbulence and Pulse.
In the 81-minute double album, dynamic avant jazz arrangements and explorations are animated and deepened by word-fragments and samples of poems written and recited by renowned scholar and inhabitant of the undercommons, Fred Moten.
Gamedze presents this elaboration of the possibilities of autonomous constitution in and through polyrhythmic, modal, large ensemble music – "a minoritarian fellowship in breath."
(( photo by Lungiswa Gqunta ))
“Members of the dispossessed, won’t you lend me your ears!”
This is the repeated call and the rallying chorus of the nearly 40-minute title track / centerpiece of Constitution. In this expansive new work, Gamedze holds down duties on the drum kit, joining with Ru Slayen (percussion), Sean Sanby (bass), and Nobuhle Ashanti (piano) breathing together to cohere in what would otherwise be called a rhythm section. The ensemble is expanded by more breath, horns and voices – Tumi Pheko (cornet), Garth Erasmus (alto saxophone), Jed Petersen (tenor saxophone), Tina Mene (vocals), Athi Ngcaba (trombone) and Fred Moten (words) as they collectively explore and deconstruct the conceptual, tonal and atonal possibilities of themes which are at once of old and new dreams.
Further situating the sound and the impulse of the ensemble within the multitudinous terrains of the historical and ongoing struggles of the dispossessed, Gamedze explains that “The Black Lungs is inspired by the revolutionary thought and practice of the Black Consciousness Movement. In particular, the relationship between antagonism – constituting a united front of all the oppressed against white supremacy and racial capitalism – and the possibilities for resistance and elaboration - the creative militant capacities of those assembled – enabled and unleashed by that process of constitution.”
(( Artwork by Leila Khan - Kanaladorp Press ))
"Find Each Other"
Along with today's announcement and pre-order, the album opener “Find Each Other” is available as a lead single on all digital music platforms. The piece begins with poet Fred Moten’s unaccompanied voice:
We some bodies, things with moments
We whisper into the microphone as if it were an open secret
That brush is faster than beat
That scrape is the incessant, excessive, accelerant generalization of strike
We cause, and gather, and refuse, and caress
And often we are permitted to return to a meadow
Often we are invited to dance
As brush becomes faster than beat a polyrhythm begins to develop behind Moten, primary and cross rhythms dropping in and out as the 10 piece Black Lungs ensemble gather together, finding each other in the circular rhythms of Gamedze (drums), Ru Slayen (percussion), and Sean Sanby (bass). Alto saxophonist Garth Erasmus adds subtle, breathy, rhythmic melodies, weaving them between the rhythm section and Moten’s voice. Eventually, the spacious chording of pianist Nobuhle Ashanti cements the melodic structure and signals the entrance of the tonal and atonal group swells of Tumi Pheko (cornet), Garth Erasmus (alto), Jed Petersen (tenor), and Tina Mene (vocals).
The result is a self-reflexive mission statement. An arrival. Asher Gamedze & The Black Lungs are here.
(( photo by Niclas Weber ))
Asher Gamedze
Asher Gamedze is a cultural worker based in Cape Town, South Africa, involved in music, education and history. As an independent musician he works as a drummer, composer and bandleader. A versatile drummer with an open sound and sensibility, Gamedze plays across and between multiple traditions of music including free improvisation, soul music, rock ‘n roll, and many locally situated traditions from Southern Africa. He has performed extensively in South Africa and other parts of the African continent including Egypt, Lesotho and Malawi. Gamedze has been on multiple European tours and has also played in the USA, particularly in Chicago where he has a big community. Gamedze has performed and recorded with: Angel Bat Dawid, Ben LaMar Gay, Nduduzo Makhathini, Alan Bishop, Salim Washington, Sharif Shenaoui, Donna Khalife, and many others.
Upcoming Shows
Asher Gamedze: A Semblance
25 July - The Commons - Cape Town, South Africa
26 July - 196 Victoria - Cape Town, South Africa
Asher Gamedze: Quartet
28 August - Feeërieën - Brussels, Belgium
30 August - Jazz Festival Willisau - Willisau, Switzerland
1 September - Amboss & Steigbügel - St. Gallen, Switzerland
26 October - Jazz Jantar - Gdansk, Poland
27 October - Enjoy Jazz - Ludwigshafen, Germany
Asher Gamedze: Another Time Ensemble
8 November - Le Guess Who - Utrecht, Netherlands
Constitution Deluxe Gatefold 2xLP
Constitution comes on two 140 gram classic black vinyl LPs inside a heavyweight reverse-board gatefold jacket - featuring striking linocut artwork by Leila Khan of Kanaladorp Press - with IARC obi strip and poly-lined printed inner-sleeves. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST
Purchase Constitution as part of the
Summer Mini Mondo Bundle
For the fervent, faithful collector of our output.
Due to the popularity of our last two MONDO bundles, we’ve decided to keep the seasonal bundle series rolling! This new 𝙎𝙐𝙈𝙈𝙀𝙍 𝙈𝙄𝙉𝙄 𝙈𝙊𝙉𝘿𝙊 contains IARC0085 SML - Small Medium Large, IARC0083 Tomin - Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina, and IARC0084 Asher Gamedze & The Black Lungs - Constitution...
...with a couple BIG extras this time: (𝟭) 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 *𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚, 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗪𝗜𝗗𝗘, and (𝟮) 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝗨 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲, in addition to the US & UK warehouses, which will help to minimize VAT tax etc !!!
All items with ship together in one package around August 1st, 2024, just in time for the worldwide street date of album IARC0083. Note: this means that you will receive album Constitution ~four weeks BEFORE its street date. Bandcamp downloads will be sent via email for all the releases by or before the ship date.
Order the Summer Mini Mondo on limited edition color vinyl here.
Order the Summer Mini Mondo on classic black vinyl here.
(No CD bundle this time, sorry...)
*re: FREE SHIPPING, due to a technical nuance that’s not worth describing here, we had to charge atleast .50 cents, so please don’t be alarmed : )
Distribution via RedEye for US, Canada, North & South America
This album will also be available on CD, Cassette, and Classic Black Vinyl (same package specs as listed above).
Retailers in the United States or Canada or anywhere else inside of North, South and Central America... Please reach out to your sales rep at RedEye Worldwide if you are interested in making wholesale purchases of this album, or any other album in our catalog. Don't yet have a RedEye rep? Please just reach out to us and we'll get you hooked up!
Distribution via !K7 for Europe, UK, Japan, Australia, and ROW
This album will be distributed by our good friends at !K7 and their various territory partners in Europe, UK, Japan, Australia, and everywhere else in the world outside of North & South America.
If you are a retailer or store with questions about wholesale or are just looking to get some of our records... we'd like to make things as easy for you as possible, please do not hesitate to reach out!!!
(( photo by Lungiswa Gqunta ))
