Opening with a toe-curling horn section before tearing in with some gutting powerhouse lyrics and culturally drenched shout-outs, Aquakultre teases us with the first glimpse at their upcoming full-length album, Legacy, and it is dangerously catchy.
Digging in on the subject of systemic oppression, Aquakultre calls for strength from those who have endured it and made their mark, all while reminding us of the importance of perspective and the fact that a mile in someone else’s shoes isn’t always enough. Some experiences take a few generations to sink in.
Somehow, we’re still elated by that damn horn section and heavy groove, because good art should always mean something AND incite spontaneous dance parties.
Among the song’s shout-outs to Jill Scott, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Marsha Ambrosius, Aquakultre credits Lido Pimienta (who also created the single’s artwork) as being a primary source of inspiration for the lyrics.
“This song was inspired by cousin Lido Pimienta after watching her perform for the first time in Halifax,” says vocalist and frontperson, Lance Sampson. “She truly blew me away, and it drove me to understand something about myself in the process. Sometimes my perspective, or the way I handle things at the end of the day, can always be linked to institutionalism or values that I’ve learned through growing up in a neighbourhood where the police preyed on young black kids. This song has allowed me to break that shame of being beat down and bullied by the system, and turn it around to educate people who may not have a clue to what people like us experience.”
Pimienta’s experience in Halifax sparked a media-wide controversy after a volunteer photographer was removed from the Halifax Pop Explosion show for refusing to move when the Polaris-prize winning artist invited “brown girls to the front” as an act of making safe space.
Written just a handful of days after the show, the events reflected what Sampson saw as being an extension of society at large, and one that has been echoed throughout his own life.
Sampson says his experiences as a teenager were shaped by frequent run-ins with the law: “selling drugs, skipping school, hanging out with my homies until 3am, robbing, stealing…. You name it, I’ve done it.”
While that might turn into a question of whether we’re all inevitably a product of our environments, Sampson counters with the lyrics: “It takes two to tango, I can’t blame it on my surroundings/Doubt that I wouldn’t change a thing if you reroute it.”
Of course, Sampson has since dramatically turned his life around; choosing to focus on music and family, and as a result he has successfully launched one of Halifax’s most sought-after bands. But, as they say, no man is an island. Whether it’s a matter of the space we occupy or the role we play in the life, it’s necessary to apply the context of our society and, as Sampson says, the important thing is to keep the conversation going.
Legacy is expected to be released sometime in early 2020.
Show Dates:
09.13.19 – Halifax, NS @ Alteregos Cafe & Catering
*with Kye Clayton