Curator Eliza Ryan selects the globally-minded collaborators who span and synthesise musical genres with ease
As part of our new summer US project States of Independence we've invited our favourite 30 American curators, magazines, creatives and institutions to takeover Dazed for a day.
The Warm Up at MoMA PS1 takes place in the gallery’s courtyard every Saturday – but for one day only, the live outdoor music series is bringing the party to Dazed. The curators have selected their favourite music artists to come out of the US right now, and resident DJ Maria Chavez has made us an exclusive mix to bring a little MoMA magic to your speakers.
Over to NYC (by way of Oklahoma, Maryland, and Kuwait) for our next selection – as chosen by independent curator, Eliza Ryan.
ELIZA RYAN (MOMA PS1) ON FUTURE BROWN:
"Extremely talented artists in their own practices, collectively Fatima Al Qadiri, Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda (Nguzunguzu) and J-Cush (Lit City Trax) create an innovative and complex body of work as Future Brown. Having worked with all the artists individually in the past and recently on their debut presentation of Future Brown at MoMA PS1 it is clear to me that their collaborative forces put forth a unique and globally shaped sound which effortlessly spans across musical genres. Pulling from varied artistic influences, Future Brown synthesizes seemingly disparate elements in to some of the most radical work today - be on the look out for what comes next!"
Tell us about where you grew up – what was it like, and how did it influence you going forward?
Future Brown: We grew up in NYC, Oklahoma, Maryland and Kuwait. 3 American locations and 1 Arab. We’re all obsessed with music from around the world, which is a reflection of our diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Describe your sound in 3 words.
Future Brown: Intercontinental, juicy, freeze-up
Moma PS1’ s live shows take place every Saturday all summer long. How do you warm up for the weekend?
Future Brown: No weekends for us until the next life.
How’s your summer looking? What do you have planned?
Future Brown: We’re all pretty much individually on tour at the moment except Fatima who just wrapped up tour.Some highlights are J-Cush & Nguzunguzu have gigs together in LA & Tokyo. Future Brown played Sonar and Villette Sonique earlier this summer, and are playing Norway and Italy later this year. We just finished a mini project and our album is finally wrapping up so announcement is on the horizon later in the year.
When you make music, what other artists do you look to for inspiration?
Future Brown: We cull from our collective record collections, but mostly our inspiration is making music for a specific vocalist we love. We go into the studio thinking, “Ok yeah this is a track for this MC or singer.” And sometimes it comes true! We end up working with that person, which always seems unbelievable.
What’s your perspective on the American underground music scene right now, as you inhabit it? Where do we go from here?
Future Brown: America’s underground is blowing our mind. There are so many great producers and vocalists out there. Teklife has become a worldwide phenomenon and something very similar has been happening with the Jersey Club stuff and obviously the rap scene keeps growing in all new directions. It’s really cool for us to watch how America has really started to embrace Grime, including the MCs. The tides have turned for the better. We’re all really excited for our record to come out. It’s got a lot of flavors - a lot of vibes; Dancehall, Reggaeton, Rap, R&B, Grime. It's a pretty bold take on our surroundings and music right now.
Ready for Rhode Island? We're headed to Providence for a special selection from Pitchfork editor and author, Brandon Stosuy.