Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations presenteert eerste hoofdstuk van nieuw album

David Jairus Ochieng Okumu en de zijnen kondigen het nieuwe album ‘I Came From Love’ aan.

Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations lanceren de plaat op vrijdag 14 april via Transgressive Records. ‘I Came From Love’ is een wandtapijt van de Black-experience, die afkomst, de erfenis van slavernij, wat het betekent om in een onrechtvaardige samenleving te bestaan en Okumu's eigen familiegeschiedenis onderzoekt.

Op Okumu's nieuwe plaat doet hij een beroep op een sterrencast, waaronder Eska, Kwabs, Wesley Joseph, Robert Stillman, Anthony Joseph, Byron Wallen, Raven Bush en Grace Jones. In plaats van de plaat onder eigen naam uit te brengen, heeft Okumu de naam 'Dave Okumu & the 7 Generations' gekozen, die Okumu ziet als "my actual ancestors, the ancestors of others, my musical ancestors, and my descendants".

Het album is een oeuvre dat in hoofdstukken wordt gepresenteerd: ‘You Survived So I Might Live’ [nummers 1-4], ‘The Intolerable Suffering Of (The) Other’ [5-8], ‘Seduced By Babylon’ (9-11) en ‘Cave Of Origins’ (12 -14). Elk hoofdstuk komt met een kortfilm van regisseur Nicolas Premier. Bekijk de eerste onderaan.

Okumu verklaart waarom: ““The narrative of this record emerged in tandem with the origin of its musical journey, through a rumination on survival, ancestry and heritage. The account of the young west African girl who was transported to South Carolina in 1756 and sold to the slave owner Elias Ball and the subsequent unearthing and presentation of her story to her descendants became an emblematic framework for these songs, opening doors to many aspects of the diasporic experience. The music stands in loving defiance of any forces that would seek to disconnect us from our collective history. As I consciously stand before my ancestors through the medium of this sound world, I proclaim that ‘You survived so I might live’”.

De eerste single is Blood Ah Go Run, die de gruwel van de New Cross-huisbrand in 1981 aanpakt, waarbij dertien zwarte tieners in Zuid-Londen om het leven kwamen. De teksten weerspiegelen de gevoelens van de zwarte gemeenschap van die tijd en riepen uit: "Blood ah go run / if no justice no come."

Okumu: “Living in an area as culturally rich and diverse as southeast London, I feel touched by an atmosphere of transcendence forged through a particular type of adversity. When you walk the streets and so many cultures are represented within a community, it’s difficult not to ask the questions ‘how did these people get here and what have their ancestors passed through so that I can have the life I am experiencing now?’ The story of the New Cross Fire and the subsequent response from different factions of society is one such trial, embodying a process which came to shape a significant element of the discourse around race relations in this country. Living in this part of London, I want to remember and honour those who lost their lives in that fire as their sacrifice, along with many others, feeds directly into my experience of this world.”