(@noiseaux, #musicmonday)
Black folks rockin’ out isn’t limited to here in the United States. There are bands and artists in London (Sabatta, Otto Fischer, Ebony Bones, etc.), Kenya (Last Year’s Tragedy), and Germany, to name a few.
Hamburg-based Noiseaux (pronouced “nwa-zo”) is made up of 5 members from 4 continents, and lead by musician and social activist Noah Sow (below). The group does hard-driving, straight ahead rock. Their album Out Now, which was released this past September, is full of solid songs, three of which are included below.
What’s cool, too, about Noah is that she’s been speaking out about the treatment of blacks within Germany. According to the overview that accompanies her book, Germany Black and White: Everyday Racism, cautious estimates suggest that there are at least 1,000,000 (!) Black Germans living in Germany, and most of them are German citizens. Of course, it’s no secret that Germany has had a touchy racial climate (my kung fu teacher, Dai Sifu Emin Boztepe, has lots of stories about what it was like being a Turkish-born bouncer in German clubs in the 80s), but it’s also great to see people like Noah standing up and asserting their rights to co-exist and be part of the German national body.
Anyway, here’s a catchy lyric from “Be Calm”: “Can you believe we still ain’t there? Nothing’s relaxed except the hair.” Now, onto the music.
Cry of Rage
[audio:http://www.boldaslove.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/11-cry-of-rage1.mp3|titles=11 cry of rage]Be Calm
[audio:http://www.boldaslove.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/8-be-calm1.mp3|titles=8 be calm]Sirens
[audio:http://www.boldaslove.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/6-sirens1.mp3|titles=6 sirens]
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