Memetic
Seeing a lack of cultural diversity in Ottawa's nightlife scene, DJ and producers Memetic (aka Kwende Kefentse) and Zattar (aka Alexandre Mattar) banded together in 2005 to start TIMEKODE, a monthly party dedicated to African funk, soul, R&B, and reggae. Since their humble beginnings at a local university cafe, it has grown to become one of the Canadian capital's most popular nights, bringing in international artists like Dâm-Funk, Quantic, and more.To celebrate their tenth year of throwing parties and making music, the duo are releasing TIMEKODE X on Memeplex Records, a three-part remix compilation featuring artists from Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto. While it's a chance for them to collaborate with some of their favourite DJs, producers, rappers, and singers, including Bonjay, The Souljazz Orchestra, and Scott C of The Goods, they're also hoping to shed a light on the ongoing police brutality and murder of black bodies across the country.One of the highlights of the latest installment, TIMEKODE X Vol. 2: Montreal, is the pair's reworking of Freak Motif's "Running For Your Love," which features singer Lady C, and MCs Bender and Hyfidelik. The plaintive hip-hop track begins with a few fiery "whoop whoops" lifted from KRS-One's "Sound of Da Police," with audio clips of news headlines, brutal arrests, and the final moments of Eric Garner's life pulsing through lush beatwork and smooth vocals. Today, THUMP's premiering the equally politically-charged music video, which was directed by Lesley Marshall and intersperses TV footage of the killings of Garner, Sammy Yatim, and others.We recently spoke to Kwende about the Black Lives Matter movement, visibility in Canadian media, and the lack of allyship amongst white artists.THUMP: Tell us about the idea behind the "Running For Your Love" video.Kwende Kefentse: I linked up with this director of photography named Amir George from Chicago. He runs this film series called Black Radical Imagination for black filmmakers in the US. He came up to Montreal and we shot the music video together with a director named Lesley Marshall. The concept is about a woman who goes out running and bumps into someone she's attracted to, invites her to a party, but the girl has to work. The gender-fluid woman goes to the party, and when she comes out, she sees someone being brutally arrested and accosted by the police. When she pulls out her phone to record it's the person she was attracted to.How important is it for you to raise awareness around police brutality through these releases? Do you think there's a public perception that black murders are only happening in the United States?
I started working on the Montreal iteration of the series when shit in the US was charging up again. In August, a young man named Abdirahman Abdi died after being brutally beaten by the police here in Ottawa, which was caught all on camera. I grew up in the GTA [Greater Toronto Area] and I've been involved in several incidents of injustice with the police, so what happened here in Ottawa was very personal to me. It just brought the point home even further because it was right in my backyard.I didn't want this record to seem like a reaction to that because it's not—the unlawful killing of black people is something that's happening all the time—but this situation made it more timely. If you look at the way the media's been covering these cases, it's actually really disappointing.Do you feel like the Canadian media isn't making these murders a priority?
I think they're not even reporting them. Within groups of people who consume media daily, it's easy to believe that black people aren't being murdered here in Canada, because there's more focus put on the United States. With the case involving Abdirahman Abdi, we can't lose focus because it's another instance where a young man's life was taken on camera, and nobody is really speaking about it.I find there's not enough critical discourse in major media, and part of the responsibility of being a musician is raising awareness about what's going on. For me, it's not about just making music that's gonna make the club turn up, it's about bringing light to issues that are important to me.What are some ways artists of color can come together and spread political messages through their music?
You know, it's more interesting to me what's happening with the artists who are not of color. I work as a music development officer for the city of Ottawa, so I go around the world to different music conferences to see how things work in respect to the industry. It's a very white world, especially in the DJ world.It has always amazed me how little you hear about political issues in these circles, when most of these people are making their living playing black music. I'm not shocked because I've been living in this world for 34 years, but with the amount of DJs who play music that comes from this African diaspora, it's crazy that very few of them have a word to say about this. If we could get them on board, maybe that could change something.How much do global movements like Black Lives Matter help inform the ways in which you create party spaces and art?
I think whether consciously or not consciously, what's been cool about TIMEKODE is we always try to work within these communities on different levels. Economically empowering is important. We want to put some money in the pockets of small businesses by partnering and doing other projects. I've always tried my best to partner with people who're new Canadians, people from diaspora communities who take the risk to try and start a business.It's also important to create an environment where all bodies are welcome and a lot of that has to do with the music. The vibe connects people to these global movements, and the approach to playing the music speaks to a cultural continuity that's about carrying on the tradition of celebration. As DJs this isn't a social mission, but while we're putting on parties and making people sweat, we think about how bringing people together on a regular basis is something that heals.What TIMEKODE has done for 11 years is incrementally create a space where it's understood that even if you're not directly a part of the diaspora, and all the things that's come out of it, we're still very accepting of everybody. You may have to learn a little bit more about our culture and how we get down, but it's all good.TIMEKODE's record release party is Sept. 23 in Ottawa, you can also catch them at this year's POP Montreal on Sept. 24.Max Mohenu is on Twitter.
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I started working on the Montreal iteration of the series when shit in the US was charging up again. In August, a young man named Abdirahman Abdi died after being brutally beaten by the police here in Ottawa, which was caught all on camera. I grew up in the GTA [Greater Toronto Area] and I've been involved in several incidents of injustice with the police, so what happened here in Ottawa was very personal to me. It just brought the point home even further because it was right in my backyard.I didn't want this record to seem like a reaction to that because it's not—the unlawful killing of black people is something that's happening all the time—but this situation made it more timely. If you look at the way the media's been covering these cases, it's actually really disappointing.Do you feel like the Canadian media isn't making these murders a priority?
I think they're not even reporting them. Within groups of people who consume media daily, it's easy to believe that black people aren't being murdered here in Canada, because there's more focus put on the United States. With the case involving Abdirahman Abdi, we can't lose focus because it's another instance where a young man's life was taken on camera, and nobody is really speaking about it.
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You know, it's more interesting to me what's happening with the artists who are not of color. I work as a music development officer for the city of Ottawa, so I go around the world to different music conferences to see how things work in respect to the industry. It's a very white world, especially in the DJ world.It has always amazed me how little you hear about political issues in these circles, when most of these people are making their living playing black music. I'm not shocked because I've been living in this world for 34 years, but with the amount of DJs who play music that comes from this African diaspora, it's crazy that very few of them have a word to say about this. If we could get them on board, maybe that could change something.How much do global movements like Black Lives Matter help inform the ways in which you create party spaces and art?
I think whether consciously or not consciously, what's been cool about TIMEKODE is we always try to work within these communities on different levels. Economically empowering is important. We want to put some money in the pockets of small businesses by partnering and doing other projects. I've always tried my best to partner with people who're new Canadians, people from diaspora communities who take the risk to try and start a business.It's also important to create an environment where all bodies are welcome and a lot of that has to do with the music. The vibe connects people to these global movements, and the approach to playing the music speaks to a cultural continuity that's about carrying on the tradition of celebration. As DJs this isn't a social mission, but while we're putting on parties and making people sweat, we think about how bringing people together on a regular basis is something that heals.What TIMEKODE has done for 11 years is incrementally create a space where it's understood that even if you're not directly a part of the diaspora, and all the things that's come out of it, we're still very accepting of everybody. You may have to learn a little bit more about our culture and how we get down, but it's all good.TIMEKODE's record release party is Sept. 23 in Ottawa, you can also catch them at this year's POP Montreal on Sept. 24.Max Mohenu is on Twitter.