Moor Mother
Ayewa performing in 2017
Background information
Birth nameCamae Ayewa
Also known as
  • Moor Mother Goddess[1]
  • Camae Defstar[2]
Born (1979-11-19) November 19, 1979
Aberdeen, Maryland, U.S.
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresExperimental[3]
Occupation(s)
  • Poet
  • musician
  • activist
Years active2012–present[4]
Labels
Websitemoormother.bandcamp.com

Camae Ayewa,[5] (born November 19, 1979) better known by her stage name Moor Mother, is an American poet, musician, and activist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[6] She is one half of the collective Black Quantum Futurism, along with Rasheedah Phillips,[7] and co-leads the groups Irreversible Entanglements and 700 Bliss.[8][9]

Early life and career

Ayewa was born in Aberdeen, Maryland, where she grew up in a public housing project.[10][11] She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to study photography at the Art Institute.[12]

In 2016, Moor Mother released a studio album, Fetish Bones, on Don Giovanni Records.[13] The album, which was released alongside a 122-page book of poetry,[12] was included on year-end lists by Pitchfork,[14] Rolling Stone,[15] and The Wire.[16]

In 2017, she released a studio album, The Motionless Present, on The Vinyl Factory.[17] It featured collaborations with Geng, DJ Haram, Mental Jewelry, and Rasheedah Phillips.[18] The same year, she released a collaborative EP with Mental Jewelry, titled Crime Waves, on Don Giovanni Records.[19][20]

She served as one of the guest curators at the 2018 Le Guess Who? music festival.[21][22] In 2019, she released Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes.[23]

Ayewa co-leads and provides lyrics and vocals for the "liberation-oriented free-jazz collective" Irreversible Entanglements.[24] 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.[8] The group performed in the inaugural season of the Kennedy Center's "Direct Current" contemporary culture showcase,[25] and their releases have been included in best-of lists in Magnet,[26] NPR Music,[27] The Quietus,[28] and Stereogum's "20 Best Jazz Albums Of The 2010s".[29] The band's instrumentalists also performed on Ayewa's debut theatrical work, Circuit City.[30]

In the fall of 2021, Ayewa began serving as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music.[31]

Discography

Studio albums

With Irreversible Entanglements

Ayewa performing with Irreversible Entanglements

With 700 Bliss

Compilation albums

  • Manufacture of Indigo (2015)[45]
  • Clepsydra (2020)[46]
  • Anthologia 01 (2020) (with Olof Melander)[47]

Live albums

  • Offering: Live at Le Guess Who (2020) (with Nicole Mitchell)[48]

EPs

  • Crime Waves (2017) (with Mental Jewelry)[49]

Guest appearances

  • Fhloston Paradigm - "...All" from After... (2017)[50]
  • Show Me the Body - "In a Grave" and "Everything Hate Here" from Corpus I (2017)[51]
  • Lushlife - "I've Seen It Before I Was There" from My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power (2017)[52]
  • Eartheater - "MMXXX" from IRISIRI (2018)[53]
  • Reef the Lost Cauze - "Splinters" from The Majestic (2018)[54]
  • Screaming Females - "End of My Bloodline (Remix)" from Singles Too (2019)[55]
  • Art Ensemble of Chicago, We Are On the Edge (Pi, 2019)
  • Zonal - "Body of Wire", "In a Cage", "System Error", "Medulla", "Catalyst", and "No Investigation" from Wrecked (2019)[56]
  • Harrga - "À Vif" from Héroïques Animaux de la Misère (2019)[57]
  • Armand Hammer - "Ramses II" from Shrines (2020)[58]
  • Sons of Kemet - "Pick Up Your Burning Cross (feat. Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid)" from Black To The Future (2021)[59]
  • The Bug - "Vexed (feat. Moor Mother)" from Fire (2021)[60]
  • madam data - "In the emptiness beyond emptinesses..." from The Gospel of the Devourer (PTP, 2021)
  • Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris (RogueArt, 2023)[61]
  • Celestaphone - "Tithes" from Paper Cut From the Obit (2023)[62]
  • Shapednoise - "Poetry" from Absurd Matter (WEIGHT LOOMING, 2023)

Remixes

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. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Duplan, Anaïs (March 14, 2017). "Moor Mother Explains Black Quantum Futurism". Vice. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Camp, Zoe (April 2, 2020). "The Revolutionary Free Jazz of Irreversible Entanglements". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ "700 Bliss discuss their debut album Nothing To Declare | The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. 1 2 Pelly, Jenn (October 26, 2016). "Moor Mother: Hardcore Poet". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (May 10, 2017). "Moor Mother x Mental Jewelry – "Hardware"". Spin. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ Amin, Tayyab (December 8, 2018). "Le Guess Who? 2018: Fringe global sounds and community outreach in Utrecht". Fact. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ Ng, Ivana (May 2020). "Irreversible Entanglements: Who Sent You?". DownBeat. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Irreversible Entanglements - DIRECT CURRENT: Millennium Stage (March 13, 2018)". The Kennedy Center. 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  26. ↑ Meyer, Bill (December 15, 2020). "Best of 2020: Jazz/Improv". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  27. ↑ "The 100 Best Songs Of 2017". NPR. December 13, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  28. ↑ Smith, Stewart (December 13, 2017). "Complete Communion: The Best Jazz Of 2017". The Quietus. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  29. ↑ Freeman, Phil (January 9, 2020). "The 20 Best Jazz Albums Of The 2010s". Stereogum. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  30. ↑ Beta, Andy (October 14, 2020). "Moor Mother: Circuit City". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  31. ↑ "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.
  32. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (September 29, 2016). "Moor Mother: Fetish Bones". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  33. ↑ 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.
  34. ↑ "Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes by Moor Mother". Apple Music. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  35. ↑ "True Opera | Moor Jewelry". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Circuit City, by Moor Mother". Moor Mother. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  37. ↑ Yoo, Noah (September 23, 2020). "Moor Mother to Release New Album Circuit City This Week". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  38. ↑ "BRASS, by Moor Mother & billy woods". Moor Mother. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  39. ↑ "BRASS from Moor Mother & billy woods". Backwoodz Studioz. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Black Encyclopedia of the Air, by Moor Mother". Moor Mother. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Jazz Codes, by Moor Mother". Moor Mother. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Irreversible Entanglements, by Irreversible Entanglements". International Anthem. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  43. ↑ Beta, Andy (March 25, 2020). "Irreversible Entanglements: Who Sent You?". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  44. ↑ Scherstuhl, Alan (June 24, 2020). "Jazz Is Built for Protests. Jon Batiste Is Taking It to the Streets". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  45. ↑ "Manufacture of Indigo | Moor Mother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Clepsydra | Moor Mother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Anthologia 01 | Moor Mother and Olof Melander". Bandcamp. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Offering - Live at Le Guess Who | Nicole Mitchell and Moor Mother". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  49. ↑ Blanning, Lisa (June 14, 2017). "Moor Mother x Mental Jewelry - Crime Waves". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  50. ↑ "After... | Fhloston Paradigm". Bandcamp. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Corpus I | Show Me The Body". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  52. ↑ "My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are In Power | Lushlife". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  53. ↑ "IRISIRI | Eartheater". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  54. ↑ "The Majestic | Reef The Lost Cauze". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  55. ↑ "Singles Too | Screaming Females". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  56. ↑ "Wrecked | Zonal". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  57. ↑ "Héroïques Animaux de la Misère | Harrga". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  58. ↑ "Shrines | Armand Hammer". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  59. ↑ "Sons of Kemet". SHABAKA HUTCHINGS. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  60. ↑ "Fire by The Bug". Ninja Tune. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  61. ↑ Fordham, John (January 27, 2023). "Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris review – devoted heirs carry the torch". The Guardian. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  62. ↑ Celestaphone. "Paper Cut From the Obit | Celestaphone". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  63. ↑ "Mandela Effect by Gonjasufi". Apple Music. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  64. ↑ "You Can't See Inside of Me by What Cheer? Brigade". Apple Music. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  65. ↑ "Because I'm Me (Remixes) - EP by The Avalanches". Apple Music. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
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