Brute [bro͞ot]
noun: brute; plural noun:
brutes - a savagely violent person or animal.
origin: late Middle English
(as an adjective): from Old French brut(e), from Latin brutus ‘dull, stupid.’
“You are no longer peacefully assembling,”
announces the voice of an officer on a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a
sonic weapon employed by riot police, capable of deafening a target by
exceeding humane levels. Both a corporeal and symbolic tool of violence, the
LRAD violates the physiological space between state control and the body using
amplified sound. Fatima Al Qadiri returns to Hyperdub for her 2nd album Brute.
Made from the perspective of her transnational experience, her new record explores
the theme of authority, the relationship between police, citizens and protest
worldwide, particularly of her adopted home in the United States. Musically, Brute
teeters between rage and despair, manifesting in restrained percussion, sampled
and processed recordings of urban protest, and the signature minor progressions
that distinguish Al Qadiri’s body of work. Reflecting on the carceral state (Oubliette),
the militarization of police (Endzone, Curfew), the fragile boundaries between
defence and the deadly use of force (Battery,
10-34), and the relentless violation of the dignity of protesters and activists.