In this rather intriguing interview, the artistic polymath Satch Hoyt discusses his latest work Afro-Sonic Mappings.
It’s a deep dive into understanding Black history, present and indeed future through the musical histories of ‘Black people’.
As an artist I endeavour to create works that are visually and socio politically demanding as well as seductive.
Before getting onto your excellent project, can we briefly discuss your trajectory into the world of art-were you destined (such a cliched statement)?
Destined is an interesting word. I would say I had no choice but to be a creative person, to comprehend and manoeuvre the pressured classist racialised world I was born into. To gather the courage needed to shape my own destiny so to speak. I was and still am way too rebellious to conform to any so-called normalcy. In art I have the possibility to portray an unrestricted supernatural woke world full of hope and possibility, no holds barred.
Afro-Futurism does it really have relevance or is it merely a buzz word in terms of the black identity.
For the longest time white people figured they owned all notions of sci fi or futurism. They were (and to a greater extent) still in fear of a Black planet. As we in the transnational African diaspora become more aware of our histories and who we are, we no longer wait for their approval. We claim our star-studded cosmologies which have been in existence for centuries.
As a prime example let’s take the Dogon people from Mali. Their cosmology is based on the Nommo twins, and Sirius B, a dwarf star, part of the Great Dog star constellation. Europeans did not know of Sirius’ existence until a powerful enough telescope was invented.
We are extra-terrestrials. Who else could survive the middle passage and go on to invent genres of music like; Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Afro Beat, and furthermore spawn writers such as Octavia Butler, Samuel R Delaney, Toni Morrison,the list goes on?
I argue in my Afro-Sonic Mapping theory that, the shipped, the enslaved acted as portals carrying mnemonic networks of sound over to the Caribbean basin and the Americas.
How has Black identity and the Black experience, changed?
Black identity like all identities is not stagnant it’s constantly in a state of flux. It transforms to its current epoch. We are the mistresses and masters of reinvention. #BlackLivesMatter, have helped put ‘Blacks’ back on the agenda. That ‘agenda’ ushered in by another murder based on race. This corporate outpouring is a result of white guilt. The ancestors are haunting the guilty masters.
Currently we are witnessing a certain global Black tokenism. Black people are being allocated top positions in institutions and businesses. However the staff they are shepherding do not represent cultural diversity. We are talking about centuries of institutional racist mind sets that need to be rectified and healed. It seems to me that white people have allocated a large element of the race recomposing task to a handful of Black folks, will it be sustained? It’s a ginormous haptical gig, to quote Fred Moten.
We are extra-terrestrials. Who else could survive the middle passage and go on to invent genres of music like; Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Afro Beat, and furthermore spawn writers such as Octavia Butler, Samuel R Delaney, Toni Morrison
Sonic Mapping so discuss this current work and what inspired this work?
I would say the core inspiration comes from my love and awe of the genius in Black music. Its utter ability to narrate our historicity from profound sonic perspectives. To be able to map out a spiritual connectivity and present continuous cyclic exchange. To display the antiphony between the continent and the transnational African diaspora. Modes and codes of sound/music are crucial in both cultural discourse and socio-political dialogue and their continued transculturation. Its recognition and embrace can aid in the healing of fracture and displacement trauma.
Sonic dialogues (from a curriculum perspective) can assist the contemporary narration of the Black Atlantic middle passage. Afro-Sonic Mapping collapses time revealing the contemporaneity of ancient African music genres within current genres such as hip-hop, drill and more.
The violence enacted on the black body has a long-lacerated history, in that environ of continuous violent sounds. The chains and violent odours were most certainly the early elements in the foundations of rebel music genres such as be-bop, hip-hop, drum n bass, drill
Talk a bit about the music element and how that shaped and continues to inform Black culture and identity?
I argue in my Afro-Sonic Mapping theory that, the shipped, the enslaved acted as portals carrying mnemonic networks of sound over to the Caribbean basin and the Americas. The sonic amalgamations started in the abysmal sub-human ship holds. People from different countries who spoke different languages were held captive and crammed together. That’s where new linguistics were born.
Talk more about this sub-human and grotesquely violent period of ‘Blacks’ and shaping music.
The violence enacted on the black body has a long-lacerated history, in that environ of continuous violent sounds. The chains and violent odours were most certainly the early elements in the foundations of rebel music genres such as be-bop, hip-hop, drum n bass, drill (to name but a few) . Amalgamations laced in frantic fear and paranoia, denigrated human beings existing on the edge of black death.
On landing and the eventual allocation to plantations sound/music was again the clarion, all, the field hollers. The playing of drums was forbidden especially when the masters worked out that certain beats were coded messages to rally and start uprisings.
Another important element in the pivotal role that music played in Black culture is the Africanisation of Christianity. The church was the one respite where rituals and indigenous belief systems could be cloaked and transformed. This long ongoing culture of music and dance as we all know remains a vital element in Black culture. Two of my favourite contemporary artists are Little Simz and Kendrick Lamar.
Ultimately, what do you want to achieve with this work?
I am a person who has consented ‘Not to be a single being’ to quote Édouard Glissant.
As an artist I endeavour to create works that are visually and socio politically demanding as well as seductive. It asks us to reconsider our lack of empathy and question what we are doing and what have we done on this planet.
I rebuke the draconian violent patriarchal policy makers that continue to sow havoc and discontent, held in place by their un-progressive gate keepers. By telling it like it is and allowing my imagination to design a new world of harmonious equality. I attempt to create possible sonic utopics, reflective sculptural objects and paintings that are layered graphic scores cartographic depictions and cosmic constellations.
Allowing my imagination to design a new world of harmonious equality.
Please buy the book Afro Sonic Mappings