Featuring vocals from the first lady of Equiknoxx, Shanique Marie.
Earlier this year Equiknoxx embarked on their first trip to West Africa, playing across the Ivory Coast and visiting Ghana in the process. It is from this trip that the footage for the surreal video for Gavsborg’s track ‘Did Not Make This For Jah_9’ was taken.
The track appears on Kevin From Ivory Coast, a beat tape-influenced EP from Gavsborg that was inspired by the Equiknoxx producer’s childhood, when he would listen to Mobb Deep and Erykah Badu on compilations like Funkmaster Flex’s 60 Minutes Of Funk tapes, as well as Alric & Boyd’s ‘Fat Block’ weekly hip-hop radio show on Fame FM, Kingston, Jamaica.
The project resulted from a back-and-forth between Gavsborg and Shanique Marie, who would send the producer ideas in the form of voice notes of vocalised abstract stanzas, around which we would create the tracks. Both the EP and the video were completed in lockdown.
The titular ‘Kevin’ is the name given to the metal sculpture that features in the video and on the EP’s cover art, who was created and gifted to Gavsborg by Abidjan based Ivorian metalwork street artist ‘A we’. According to Equiknoxx, the name was given to the sculpture by “a wonderful kid from Ireland.”
Kevin From Ivory Coast is out now on Equiknoxx Music.
A statement from FACT
We stand in solidarity with protestors fighting across the globe for justice for the murder of George Floyd and protesting against continued systemic racism and police brutality, who are showing extreme bravery and strength in the face of increasingly violent abuse by police officers.
We are harrowed and horrified by the murder of George Floyd, as well as the murders of Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and many others, just in recent memory. We recognise that it is our responsibility to fight against racism and violence of all forms towards black people, in the US and globally, and to commit to learning and practising anti-racism.
We acknowledge that the vast majority of the music and art that we cover comes from black culture and firmly believe that it is our essential responsibility to support the communities without which our publication would not exist. Black Lives Matter.
You can support George Floyd’s family by donating to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund, as well as those protesting his murder and those communities worst affected by police violence by donating to Black Lives Matter, Black Visions Collective, Reclaim The Block, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Northstar Health Collective. You can also split your donation between 38 community bail funds, including the Minnesota Freedom Fund, the LGBTQ Freedom Fund and the Bail Project, here.
You can check here for a longer list of resistance funds to donate to, and here for a list of resources to support George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Today, Bandcamp is waiving its revenue share, ensuring that 100% of sales go directly to artists and labels. You can find a list of over 1000 Black artists and Black-owned labels to show your support here.
In addition, many labels, including Ba Da Bing, Club Chai, Dark Entries, Hyperdub, Incienso, Jacktone, Local Action, naive, Ninja Tune and Swing Ting, are donating their proceeds to Black Lives Matter groups, bail and resistance funds, as well as anti-racist organisations.
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