Moor Mother

AFRO-FUTURIST INSURGENT

What music are you currently grooving to?

I really love Lonnie Holley. I’ve been listening to his album Just Before Music. It reminds me of home. I usually listen to it when I’m on a flight, because it gets so crazy flying from country to country, you need something that’s going to be a balance.

What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album? Pharoah by Pharoah Sanders. The track Harvest Time in particular is everything to me – I see myself in it. It gives me so much.

What was the first record you bought, and where did you buy it? It was this compilation that Hellcat Records put out, Give ’Em The Boot.

I loved Rancid and bands like that, street punk. My sisters had CDs which I could borrow but this was something I got with my own money, it was like six bucks, but I can’t remember where I got it. That was how I was able to discover punk. I had all this rich history of hip-hop and soul and reggae, but with the punk thing I really had to ask questions in school, like,

“What bands do you like?” “Who are Less Than Jake?”

Which musician other than yourself have you ever wanted to be? There’s so many. Nina Simone is big, Tracy Chapman’s big, Patti LaBelle is big. Did I ever stand in front of the mirror with a hairbrush as a kid? Oh, all the time. It was all I did.

What do you sing in the shower?

I have a shower song. It’s called Closer and it’s by Goapele. What is your favourite Saturday night record?

If I wanted to get people pumped I’d play some 700 Bliss [Moor Mother’s collaboration with DJ Haram]. Last night I played in Toulouse, and I played this 700 Bliss track called Anthology, and it was perfect.

And your Sunday morning record? Definitely A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. It’s a nice way to clear the air.

“A Love Supreme is a nice way to clear the air.” MOOR MOTHER