Since the recent release of their latest single ‘I’ll Do You One Better’, Monoculture returns to the limelight with the release of their latest politically-conscious film Beyond Material. Striving to make powerful commentary exploring the hardships of the working class, the film sees the band make their motion picture debut in this new short film.
Making a striking comment on class consciousness and the interconnectedness of struggles while blurring the lines between past and present, the new film evokes a politically charged backbone that calls on people to fight for a better world. Featuring tracks ‘Open’, ‘I’ll Do You One Better’ and ‘Beyond Material’, the film was directed by award-winning filmmaker Merawi Gerima alongside executive producer Faayani Aboma Mijana, the band’s co-founder.
The film is about workers who experience the workplace as a new plantation. The commentary here is that, under our current system, we ostensibly have freedom, but in actuality, we are wage slaves who must work to survive. Even then, living is often meager, even if the work is hard. I call the film ‘Beyond Material’ because I recognize that the fight for a better world is more than just a material struggle, there’s also an ideological component to that struggle, and this film humbly joins that struggle.”
Monoculture are a psych/jazz fusion/tropicalia band hailing from Chicago, USA. Spending over ten years as a musical team, the band consists of founding members Faayani Aboma Mijana and Nick Leibold. The group’s psych-fueled sound has seen them release two studio albums alongside a string of genre-bending singles. Over their ten years as a creative force, the group has diversified its sound to create a fresh approach to music making. Upon moving to Chicago in 2019, the band incorporated a whole host of guitars, keyboards, synths, string sections, and orchestrations to widen their artistry – all while staying firmly rooted in the material world through their lyrics that speak to the current political moment.
The band have also supported the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre as well as the Mild High Club whilst drawing in a dedicated crowd of their own at headline shows across the USA. Outside of the band, co-founder Faayani takes pride in being a member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, using their political awareness to expand the band’s sound and themes.
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