Max Le Daron

Azizaa Mystic

Joey Le Soldat

 

Before it became a song, Freedom was a spiritual energy split across continents. In 2014 Max spent some time recording Ewe ceremonies in Ghana’s Volta region: while he came specifically to record rhythms, Max left with his soul irreversibly connected to the spirits and energy called upon during the ceremonies.

When he returned to Belgium, Max shared the sounds with Gan Gah, a producer who grew up in Agadir in southern Morocco, surrounded by Gnawa culture and music. Gan Gah immediately felt the connection between Ewe and Gnawa music, which traces its rhythmic and spiritual roots to West Africa. Gan Gah worked hand in hand with Max to incorporate the complex and shared polyrhythms into Freedom’s beat.

The next logical step was to ask Azizaa to drop her unmistakably voodoo-charged vocals on the track. The Black Magic Woman is also a child of the Ewe people, and has made a musical mark with her deep-rooted spirituality, which clashes head-on with much of modern-day Ghana’s monotheist façade.

To top it all off, Joey le Soldat storms into the song with the steaming fury of the burkinabè people. His vociferous verse attacks the fanatical prophets deceiving and manipulating the people.

Freedom is hence more of a spiritual reunion than collaboration, the binding of energies split across centuries and continents, in a unified call for spiritual freedom.