Ahead of their appearance at Rewire 2018, The Quietus’ Claire Sawers talks to FAKA about they are breaking new sonic ground with their infectious, fabulous, politicised mix of gqom, gospel and ancestral percussion.
“Two mesmerising creatures are voguing and pouting. Desire Marea and Fela Gucci are licking their lips, arching their backs, making sine waves with their naked torsos, to a soundtrack of stuttery percussive rhythms, in the middle of the dusty African wilderness. It was FAKA’s ‘From a Distance’ video, the duo’s tribute to South African household name and afropop legend Brenda Fassie, that caught the eye of Mykki Blanco, who retweeted it and called it “Cute”. Like many, he’d fallen for the charms of FAKA, a cultural movement established in 2015 by Fela Gucci and Desire Marea. Blanco went on to make his Out Of This World documentary with them, exploring South Africa’s queer scene, and celebrating some of the artists in Jo’burg, the country’s largest city.
FAKA’s work involves live performance, music video, academic talks and hosting their queer club night, Cunty Power. Describing themselves as “a counter institution that is meant to shelter everybody who is alienated by mainstream culture”, their art explores post-apartheid masculinity, transphobia and modern African spiritualism. Their music is an intoxicating potion of gqom, pop, gospel and ancient rhythms, often danced out in a hyper-sexual blur of New York ballroom and ancestral African styles.”
FAKA perform live at Rewire 2018 alongside Chino Amobi, Elysia Crampton, Visionist and many more on Saturday, 7 April.Watch the video for ‘Uyang’khumbula’ below and learn more about their performance at: FAKA.
Rewire 2018 Festival and Day passes are available atTickets.
→ https://www.youtube.com/embed/xHCN8bynfF0