March 28, 2024

Hutchings Network talks about their album Black Into the Future.

Hutchings Network talks about their album Black Into the Future.

sHabaka Hutchings is the spokesperson for British “No Jazz”. With his Caribbean roots and love for African music, he has developed into one of the most exciting saxophone players of our time. Sons Of Kemet’s new album “Black to the Future”, which has caused quite a stir over the years with its unusual two-drum and tuba-drum beat section, is now releasing on the “Impulse!” Historical. We reached Hutchings by phone in London.

Mr. Hutchings, I’d like to talk about the particular “black aesthetic” that you pursue on your new album. In an accompanying statement, you connect your concept of “blackness” to questions of humanity, nature, and the spiritual realm. Why is blackness a philosophical category for you?

By black I mean a certain way of seeing the world by remembering traditional African practices, and ancient existential concepts. One must be aware of the relationship between the human world and the natural and spiritual world, which was once fused together into one cyclical overarching concept.

There is a center piece on your album called “To Forget the Source”. What source are you referring to?

First and foremost is Africa, of course. One must not forget that Africa was the cradle of humanity. We have to remember this when we ask ourselves: “Who are we actually?” What was the cosmology that people had to put themselves in at that time? What is the role of saints in Africa? If one realizes how the ancients understood one’s relationship to nature and the spiritual world, one also learns something about our present.