Artist Spotlight: Floyd Lavine the Afrofuturist
by Drew Haller
WHAT IS AFROFUTURISM?
Some of the most consistently told stories about the African continent are stories of colonization, discrimination, ethnic war, under-development, economic corruption and political disaster. Prescribed African narratives are generally those of misery, poverty and Afro-pessimism. These stories have been difficult to overcome, especially in the pre-digital era where access to media, education and literature was largely monopolized by the owners of publishing houses and industrial enterprises.
The challenge of acquiring equal rights has largely been a challenge of attaining equal representation in the media we consume. People from the African diaspora have, for centuries, had to fight to reclaim the stereotypes cast against them, and the way their cultures have been depicted. But the accessibility of the internet, and the ease at which we can share, download and transfer new ideas and history through social media and data, has allowed for the emergence of the counterculture called Afrofuturism.
Afrofuturism is a cultural paradigm which celebrates African cultures and traditions by reimagining the past, present and future in a more Afro-centric way. It resists Western norms that generally exclude or misunderstand the African experience as a singular or monolithic entity. By using digital media to propagate African aesthetics, film, art, performance, dance and music, we have found a channel to democratize information and media. (Phillips, A: 2014)
The media is an essential mode to generate awareness for systemic social issues, like racial inequalities. It has led to a techno-cultural, multidisciplinary movement where Africans project alternative realities and futures, through art, as a channel of reprieve and a means of resistance. These futuristic constructions force us to question injustice in association with underrepresentation. Popular Afrofuturist artists include Sun Ra, Janelle Monáe, Octavia Butler, FKA Twigs and Mr Raoul K. More recently, Marvel’s Black Panther made it into mainstream media as a blockbuster hit that demonstrated the demand for more Afro heroes and narratives.
But the movement isn’t only centered in the U.S. One of South Africa’s very own, Floyd Lavine, practices Afrofuturism in his music. His music blends genres and cultures to produce unorthodox sounds that seem to cross temporal boundaries and geographic borders, bringing the listener to imagine a world in which African eccentricity and tradition is uplifted by electronic dance music, the genre which has proliferated the use of technology alongside instrumentation.
MEET FLOYD LAVINE
Floyd Lavine is a prominent DJ and self-proclaimed Afrofuturist who is breaking glass ceilings within the international music industry. His music is a combination of house and experimental techno. His beats are immersive, unexpected and distinctive. Tracks like Masala — Jungle Boogie -, Big Bad Guns featuring Thabo Sage and My African Techno apply electronic production to raw, polyrhythmic grooves delivered through high-spirited percussion and atonal vocals that emerge as sonic portals. Listening to it, it’s easy to imagine yourself astral projecting to ancestral dance floors. His most recent EP, Story Tellers Part 2, includes subversive tracks like Black Jesus and Mr Bones. His latest release dropped on 11 June 2021.
Floyd was born in Limpopo, studied sound engineering in the UK, and in 2012 he moved to Berlin, which he describes as the ‘mecca of electronic music’. Although the EDM scene was inspiring to him, Floyd made it his business to delineate an Africanism that would resonate more with his own background. In 2015, Floyd co-founded the Afro House party with RISE the record label, and traveled internationally to distribute the Afro genre alongside artists like Culoe De Song, Hyenah, Juba and Black Motion. Together with the Watergate Club, he created the Rise Afro house parties. The reception was clear; the people wanted more. His transcultural sound incited more inclusive soundscapes, but establishing himself and his unique sound required a steadfastness in his identity and purpose.
“In the beginning, when I first came to Berlin, I really wanted to fit in. I was in awe of what they were doing and I tried to emulate that. But over time, I gradually started to appreciate where I come from, and the message I wanted to relay. Being African does set you apart, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that your music is going to be received the way you expect it to be received. You still have to fight for your space. But I think it allows your art to flourish and for you to experiment more.”
Floyd is expanding his sound so that people will recognize the Afro sound in the same way that they recognize the techno or the house sound: by its essence. For Floyd, Afrofuturism is a philosophy.
“It’s about us as Africans, and how we see a future that we want to build or create or express. It encompasses everything about being a descendant of the African continent”.
AFRIKAN TALES
In 2020 Floyd launched his own record label called Afrikan Tales. The label is a space where African storytellers and musicians can reclaim their narratives.
“The whole thing is about storytelling. I want us to narrate our own stories. In a way, through narrating my story, I hope that it also helps others to narrate their stories. Because we are the stories we tell ourselves… In a way, it’s also a selfish thing because it inspires me to meet people that inspire me.”
Afrikan Tales is a direct investment in Africa’s creative economy, which Floyd stresses as a channel to reflect the plurality of African culture
“We need more investment in the arts. The rest is bullshit. You’ve checked it out now, the moment they close people down, what is left? When all else is done, people want to dance. If you invest in that you can change the philosophy of people, you change their minds. You can connect more.”
Hugh Masekela, Sun Ra, Parliament Funkadelic and Thomas Sankara are some of the old-school Afrofuturist icons who Floyd admires. He loved the political message in Masakela’s early works, the indeterminate and timeless style of Sun Ra, the surrealist groove of Parliament Funk, and the dignity which Thomas Sankara returned to Burkina Faso in ‘The Land of the Upright Man.’ He also finds a lot of talent amongst his friends and his surrounding community, like Nonku Phiri, who blends Afropop and Kwaito, and Phumlani Pikoli, author of Born Freeloaders. They push the boundaries, and remind him that the work is bigger than him; it’s an extension of his contemporaries’ advocacy for equality and liberation. Other tracks that fuel his Afrofuturistic sound can be found here, in the Afrofuturist playlist that he lovingly made for That Eclectic. It’s truly a chaotic soundbath, with high-intensity tracks and gratifying drops. Listen to it after you check out That Eclectic’s Afrofuturist playlist, and you’ll find yourself mind-bent into another dimension.
Floyd is platforming the voices that sing to the unknown future. By showcasing African talent, his record label embraces African heritages. Despite the disharmony that can arise when we try to merge contrasting worlds, innovation can be found in the discord, and solace can be found in raw, uninhibited cultural expression. Through Afrikan Tales, African creatives can find a stake in the international music industry, and the African audience will be better represented within popular culture. Overall, Afrikan Tales is a sonic archive of past, present and future histories, which are being forged for a better African future.
“Being an African, you’re constantly reminded that you’re an African no matter where you are. It doesn’t matter if I’m in Berlin, or I’m in Asia or I’m in Singapore — I can’t just take off my skin, and that already shapes how I think every single day. How I step into the world, and how the world reacts to me, is a constant. I can never have a blank canvas. But apart from that — my music has a purpose. It’s to celebrate our differences, but also to give each other dignity.”
Originally published at https://medium.com on June 22, 2021.
