MOVEMENT (MAYIBUYE) - Mo Laudi
Duration: 15:46 min.
Come, from the end of March, to Klankenbos for Radio Forest Sessions. Every last week of the month you can listen to new sound works by one of the artists from OORtreders Festival 2020 in Radio Forest (info point), a resonating wooden cabin in the middle of the forest. From 22 to 28 March, you can listen to the immersive sounds of 'Movement (Mayinuye)', a creation by French/South African sound artist Mo Laudi. At the request of OORteders, Mo Laudi studied the meaning of the name of the festival in relation to apartheid and his family history, from his South-African roots, for the creation of this composition.
“Recently, my family rediscovered a grave where my great-grandmother was buried. For years, they had had no access to the location where the grave was. When apartheid laws were implemented, Black people were forcibly removed from their homes, the land was given to White people, the most known situations being District Six and Sophiatown. As was the land where my great- grandmother was buried, the grave became part of the land owned by a White farmer and my family, through generations, had no access.” - Mo Laudi
The composition criticises the issue of access to, or exclusion from, land imposed by apartheid, which remains unresolved to this day. But at the same time the piece creates a space for open conversation. The work evokes the connection between African spirituality and nature, and interrogates how we can heal a deep trauma that continues without examination or acceptance. Based on archives and an original score, the sonic architecture of reverbs weave a tapestry or quilt of distant syncopated ancestral drums juxtaposed with voices and organic sounds from South African urban and savannah landscapes.
Once a month the soundscapes of Radio Forest Sessions are also broadcasted by the international Movement Radio, in cooperation with Onassis Foundation in Greece.
Curious about the rest of the line-up? Keep an eye on our Facebook page for the upcoming programme.