Chicago-hailing psych/jazz fusion/tropicalia act Monoculture deliver powerful commentary exploring the hardships of the working class on politically-conscious film Beyond Material.
A bold showcase of class consciousness and the interconnectedness of struggles, the film is elevated by tracks like “Open,” “I’ll Do You One Better,” and “Beyond Material,” weaving a tale that blur the lines between past and present.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Merawi Gerima alongside executive producer Faayani Aboma Mijana, the film meditates on freedom and struggles. Speaking of the film, they say “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.”
With a versatile musicality that weaves political awareness into layered, expansive sonics, the group continue to evolve and diversify as they cement themselves a genre-bending force to be reckoned with.
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