Make Yourself At Home — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s elusive freeform explorer Xmunashe.
In a world where hype and artist success is often calculated through streaming figures and Instagram likes, Xmunashe has chosen to play by his own metrics. The Botswana born, Australia based lyricist has built a devoted underground following hopping from city to city across the world, drawing crowds simply through the old school power of word of mouth.
He has no Spotify presence or recorded songs on the internet, and until recently, the only way to hear his music – which blends energetic freeform jazz with soul and hip hop – was to see him live. Gigs have taken place from corner shop basements to the Sydney Opera House, and from Brisbane to Phoenix.
Now, Xmunashe has released his first studio recordings, and in fitting fashion it’s only available on limited edition vinyl. MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME / INSTINCTUAL AUDIO MANIPULATION features four studio tracks on the A‑side, and the flip features a fully improvised live recording from a gig in Australia. To celebrate, we’ve invited him to take part in Analogue Appreciation, our series celebrating physical culture in a digital world.
- Read next: Analogue Appreciation: mary in the junkyard
There’s perhaps no one doing it right now who embodies its spirit like him. “I think physical objects give things a sense of permanence,” he says. “You can touch them, keep them, damage them, move them from one place to another and eventually pass them on. They collect history. I like that an object can carry memories and meaning in a way that something digital sometimes doesn’t.”
See his picks below.
FKA twigs: CAPRISONGS vinyl
CAPRISONGS is probably my favourite album to come out in the 2020s. I love how experimental it is while still feeling sweet, playful and incredibly personal. It feels like FKA twigs giving herself complete freedom to explore. And I love the album cover.
Toni Morrison: God Help the Child
I love the way this story unfolds. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so quickly. Toni Morrison is such a legendary storyteller, and the way she uses words is incredible. A friend lent me this book, and there’s something about having a physical book that you can hold, pass on or trade with friends that makes the experience feel more lasting.
African woman and child sculpture
I love this statue I have in my apartment. It reminds me of being young and growing up tied to mum’s back as we do in my culture. Also makes me think about the strength of Black women and the way that strength is passed down.
Xmunashe: MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME vinyl
This is my first project and my first release, and I chose to release it only on vinyl. I made it with a lot of love and care, so seeing it exist as something tangible is really beautiful to me. Every time someone buys one, I get to physically see an example of someone choosing to support what I’m making. In a world where music can feel so intangible, that means a lot to me.
‘Que Sera Sera’ by Mukisa: Painting started at one of my live shows
This painting was started by the artist Mukisa during one of my live shows. I love it because it’s almost like a physical record of something that happened in the room that night. My shows are very improvised and every one of them is different, so having another artist respond to the music in real time and leave something behind from that experience feels really special to me. It captures a moment that can’t ever really be recreated. My first art piece.
MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME / INSTINCTUAL AUDIO MANIPULATION by Xmunashe is out now.
Buy your copy of Huck 83 here.
Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Instagram and sign up to our newsletter for more from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture.
Support stories like this by becoming a member of Club Huck.
You might like
The hell bangers of Botswana's underground metal scene
Far beyond driven — Botswana’s heavy metal culture gets hyped for all the wrong reasons: namely the desert-defying style of its leather-clad crews. But beneath the surface is a DIY subculture uncorrupted by the outside world.
Written by: Bongani Madondo
Analogue Appreciation: mary in the junkyard
Role Model Hermit — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s art rock fabulists mary in the junkyard.
Written by: mary in the junkyard
Grainy, yearning memories of Europe’s ’90s free rave heyday
Never Alone — A new photobook from Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi presents pictures they made over seven years while touring the continent as part of the Tekno Mobil Squad soundsystem crew. It archives parties, people and a lifestyle largely consigned to the past.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Hanoi’s nightlife faces raids & repression, its underground scene modulates
Spaces Between the Beats — Tensions between nightlife and authorities have grown in recent times, as police target venues and their patrons with increasingly frequent drug testing and searches. With clubs becoming hostile spaces as a result, Hanoi’s electronic music community is finding new spaces and forms of expression, reports Martin Guttridge-Hewitt.
Written by: Martin Guttridge-Hewitt
American Football: The One With The Feelings
Many moons — The Midwest emo architects transformed a college experiment into a coming-of-age soundtrack. 25 years on, their latest iteration sees them bottle the same magic for the ups and downs of middle life.
Written by: Tracy Kawalik
Joe James: “I will never be absent in my children’s lives because I know it doesn’t feel nice”
Hard Feelings — As the silky MC prepares to release his debut album ‘The Ends Never Ends’, he joins our column on fatherhood and masculinity to discuss leaving his childhood home at 16, the manosphere and his risk-embracing approach to life.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian
