A Fold release is a listening experience AND a learning experience. The sound of Fold’s music is an absolute joy. And the themes of the tracks are thoughtful and thought provoking. Their use of ‘found voices’ in their tracks is a big part of this; in past reviews I have compelled to research the people who provide these found words, and I’ve learnt a lot of things. In short it is music for the heart, soul, mind and, of course, body – you can dance to it, people.
There is a theme to the music here, Fold explain ‘The tracks on this record were written and produced between 2020 and 2024; a period of great turbulence, challenge and trauma for the world. We Do Not Forget embodies a journey of processing all that has gone on both internally and externally during those four years. This involved coming to terms with power structures that exploit us and our world for profit, often in horrific and inhumane ways. It was also a reckoning with historical arcs of trauma, reframing a lifetime through the lens of undiagnosed neurodivergence and pandemic burnout’.
It has been three US election cycles since Fold released their first single ‘Mr President, We’re In Trouble.’ With the next US election happening very soon,the opening track ‘We Do Not Forget’ addresses a different president through the words of poet, activist, essayist and teacher June Jordan (1936–2002). She delivers an indictment of an unjust imperialist war. The soundtrack to this is built around a jazzy reggae infused soundscape with the core of a strident piano. In the sound there is the hurt of the people involved in the conflict and the anger at the world of it being allowed to happen.
‘Forever War’ is a previously released single and the words I wrote in my review still remain unfortunately valid. World conflict has shifted up a gear with the Israel-Hamas war spreading its effects to neighbouring regions, the UK/US actions against Houthi in Yemen and US hawks calling for direct military action against Iran. And as though we needed it, military leaders in both the UK and US have ramped up demands for the increase in military forces because of the threat of Russia.
It is of course no coincidence that this year is an election year in the US and was in the UK;; current governments flexing their military muscles either directly or via proxies is always good for re-election. Anyone remember Thatcher’s war in the Falklands? And of course there are the numerous conflicts that have continued forever – often proxy wars,
I think it’s important to acknowledge the source of voices in the track. A narrative from Mnar Adley takes centre stage in the verses with additional passages from Alice Walker and Lorraine Hansberry, but the Forever War hook is voiced by an expanse of figures including Kurt Vonnegut, Noam Chomsky, Douglas Adams, bell hooks, Mike Ruppert and more. Angela Davis even makes a cameo doubling the phrase ‘military-industrial complex.’
The theme of the track is reflected in the music, and here they use a subtle – and undoubtedly appropriate – nod to Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ to set that musical stage. Musically the track is simple but complex, or complex but simple if you will. A striking melody line is set over subtle beats, samples of found sounds and words. While the music isn’t strident, the words hold the power of the track. The understated nature of the music somehow adds to the words.
The track is a protest song for now. It protests against not only governments but the beneficiaries of war – the military-industrial complex; the companies who lobby for conflict. Its message is an important one, one that we all need to take notice of.
‘To Be Hated and Thus Corrected’ may sound gentle musically but Fold are fooling you because the last thing this track is about is something gentle. The topic of this track is that anger and hate, applied appropriately, are good things, useful things. It appeals to the listener to be open to anger in the face of injustice and to channel that anger towards creatively challenging the edifices of injustice, rather than directing it back towards each other in toxic social media debates. It argues that there are things in this world that it is appropriate to hate, and that that hate should be channelled into making change. It challenges us to forgo our ‘everythings fine, and it’ll work out in the end’ approach. What it doesn’t do is specify what anyone should hate; Fold are leaving that to us.
The words that gently and powerfully educate us in this track are spoken by celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks and luminary author Richard Bach.
The music is good, beyond good and is strangely pastoral, beautiful, gentle and mesmirising. Glorious layers of sound whirl, swirl and waft over and around the hard beats and the found vocals.
‘The Painful Truth’ is about the suppression of dissent, and the music is a wonderful funky slow groove that is frankly rocking my world. It;s the musical equivalent of melted chocolate; melting over you in the most wonderful way. Horns that sound so good it hurts, a sparse drum track that grooves magically. And yet the music does more than this, it’s visual, it allows you to ‘see’ bell hooks saying the words.
The (spoken) words come from the before mentioned late bell hooks; carefully chosen and placed soundbites that weave an important message. The track reflects a society in which dissenting voices are being deliberately and increasingly stifled. Yet there is hope because, as hooks states, ‘people are really hungry for truth.’
Seth Mowshowitz of Fold says “We are continually impressed by bell hooks’ observations and with each new discovery we feel her loss more keenly. Like me, bell hooks was also a New Yorker. She was a professor at CUNY where my father taught for most of his career. This piece uses excerpts from a 2002 interview that triggers memories for me of how it felt to live in post-911 New York / USA. Dissident voices were ruthlessly silenced. Powerful forces took full advantage of the hurt and fear that people were experiencing. What bell hooks observed at that time was the beginning of a trend that has only increased since. We are now very much, as she puts it, ‘in danger of silencing any form of speech that goes against what is perceived to be the status quo.’ This is the perspective that we want to amplify right now.“
The importance of the message in this track right now is that, in my opinion, while the, let’s call them, the alt-right trumpet freedom of speech and cite being cancelled by the left; it appears that at the same time they seek to cancel the voices of those that disagree with them through both actions and legislation.
The closing track ‘Dark Matters’ is one I haven’t heard before. There is a power in both the words – provided by Mr Gee – and music together that left me incredibly sad,
Mr Gee describes this as “a bit of an anti-war, anti-everything piece’. It responds to the many humanitarian crises caused by wars across the world—from Gaza to Sudan and elsewhere—along with the global power structures facilitating them.
Mr Gee says ‘Humanity is capable of such great love, yet we fall down the same rabbit-holes. The recent events have really made me question everything. Dark Matters is inspired by my despair over War in general. Even when we try to take the stance of peace, sometimes we end up speaking the language of battle and becoming warriors once more’,
This is incredible, simply that.
To describe this release and the tracks on it as timely would be an understatement, The arc of the tracks take in world events in the recent past and present. But instead of addressing these in a simplistic way, Fold’s approach is thoughtful and seeks to educate. And they take as much care with the music. The music compels, it’s mesmerising. It has a groove that is uniquely Fold.
While I have heard these tracks in isolation, the combined effect of hearing them one after the other is powerful. It takes you on a journey. We Do Not Forget’ is music for the heart, soul, mind and body. This is simply wonderful.
What I have reviewed here is the digital release, the CD release – see below -gets three extra tracks.
The info
The music on this release has been remixed and remastered.
‘We Do Not Forget’ consists of 2 separate releases.
The digital release is a 5 track EP available on all other platforms.
The CD version (exclusive to Bandcamp) is an 8 track mini-album bundled with a hand-illustrated 28-page zine. Available here https://fold.bandcamp.com/album/we-do-not-forget
Tracks
- We Do Not Forget
- Forever War
- To Be Hated and Thus Corrected
- The Painful Truth
- Dark Matters
- Sustain
- Take It All Back
- I Just Try to Work It Out
