>> Cover Story: Stage

Soul and synchronicity

>> With a number hovering around 60, the Kalmunity
Vibe Collective has grown into an amorphous institution of poetry, funk, dub and soul, with a new book and CD not far away. Four core members discuss what makes them click

The Kalmunity Vibe Collective introduced itself to Montreal audiences four years ago, bringing the world of live, organic improv into the city’s musical consciousness, and giving talented performers from hip hop, funk, soul and reggae a regular platform to express themselves.
 

With a core membership of about 20, and a floating collective totalling somewhere around 60 people, Kalmunity has attracted and showcased many different voices over hundreds of shows, spawning creative subgroups and projects all along the way. One of those projects, a book/CD entitled Talking Book: Blues, Jazz, Dub, Rap, Song and Freedom in the Literature and Orature of Montreal’s Kalmunity Vibe Collective, is in the manufacturing process now, and unfortunately won’t be ready for the collective’s January 26 show.
 

Co-edited and compiled by members Jason “Blackbird” Selman and Kaie Kellough, it’s the first attempt to document some of the writings and music that always seem to be flowing from this brilliant ensemble. The Mirror spoke to four different members of Kalmunity last weekend.
 

JAH SUN

Mirror: The big payoff of working with a collective group must be watching them splinter into offshoots and other projects.
 

Jahsun: That’s 100 per cent true. You’re involved in quite a few big projects over the course of a year as opposed to three or four. It kind of puts into effect what we really want, which is to live through the art, and it gives you that opportunity.
 

M: You guys have essentially created a scene within the loose framework of your extended collective, and audiences have continued to respond to the vibes that you all bring.
 

J: Certain people are always looking for the elements that we bring, and live, freeform music lets people see that we’re really just getting down with each other, and as we do that, we grow and perfect our skills and bring out pieces that are more arranged. We don’t practise, but there are themes that come back, and we will build off of that. I love the way it’s growing, and it’s giving place to a scene in this city that doesn’t always allow for poetry, or the funk and soul side of things.
 

M: How do you feel when you see Montreal bands blowing up and exploding across the globe? Does that ever seem like something you could see Kalmunity doing?
 

J: We’re caught up in the grassroots. We love the underground, we love the creative aspect and we want to live through music. We’re not exactly trying to win a Grammy, but you want to be able to pay your bills and live a beautiful life through your craft. I’d like to see Kalmunity become some sort of institution in Montreal, that is always there even if the players change, even if an aspect of the collective moves into a more commercial area. Hopefully, there will still be that element of Kalmunity that still brings out new talent, that supports a creative network and lets people grow together.
 

Queen
 

M: When you look back four years, can you see something concrete that has come out of your time with Kalmunity?
 

Queen: It’s a really proud feeling to know that I’ve been a part of this movement. It’s the type of thing that really pushes the limits of your creativity, as well as embracing everyone around you and trying to find ways to make everything work. You’re able to see that perhaps your own traditional style of work may be boxing you in. When you come into Kalmunity you ultimately end up questioning yourself and your creativity, really challenging people, challenging their knowledge of self.
 

M: Is being in Kalmunity significantly different from being in a band?
 

Q: I’ve played with gospel bands and African bands, and you have your set music that you’re working with. The band plays this and the singers sing this, you get together and rehearse once a week, and you work at the same things over and over. We have a structure or equation that we work with here, but because it varies so much in the individuals, the musicians, the vocalists, it’s up to you to have your own constant and be able to adapt to each situation and find out how flexible you really are.
 

M: Are you happy with the way that things have progressed within the group over the last four years?
 

Q: I must say yeah, that I’m really happy. I’ve realized that if I don’t get it at first, I can try again, and maybe do it the next time I perform. Once you reach a plateau, and everyone around realizes that you reached a plateau, we keep on talking and working to muddle through how to make it to the next level.
 

Prince Mohamed
 

M: What do you get as an individual working with so many like-minded artists?
 

Prince Mohamed: This is a situation where you get to work with your art and you don’t have to assume all the ways in which the industry works to make you into a certain kind of person. This gives you a strength that really doesn’t come from that.
 

M: There are many accomplished artists who don’t pay any attention to what the music industry is doing.
 

PM: Well it’s all around us. We’re always hearing about someone trying to make their business work in terms of the entertainment world. To avoid that way of thinking isn’t always easy. Kalmunity provides a solid ground away from all of that. You can really think independently about your art.
 

M: Everybody seems to be very active outside of the collective.

PM: I think everybody brings all of that back to Kalmunity as well, and that’s part of the way things work around here. It’s not our job to all focus on the same thing. You have to bring your life into it, so right now I’m bringing a lot of things that I’m interested in, and that’s part of it.

M: Do you think that Kalmunity has become essential in terms of a Montreal music happening?
 

PM: I definitely think so.  Last summer, I tried to get this poet from Sri Lanka , a well-known political writer, to host a Kalmunity event as a way to showcase his work. That’s part of trying to play a cultural role in the city. When people do come through, we can play the host, we can use the band to back them, and they get to meet people who work in similar areas. I definitely think it is a sort of cultural institution that’s important to a lot of people.
 

KatalySt
 

M: What’s the biggest change that you can see since you started collaborating with Kalmunity?
 

Katalyst: Josephine is gone. That’s a big change.
 

M: Josephine Watson.
 

K: Yes. Josephine was host of our show for the first two years. She was a proficient singer, poet, rapper and she could do everything. She kept things running smoothly and just made things flow. She moved away and isn’t presently part of the group, and it’s a challenge to go from someone directing things to grow into adult, grown-ass performers who don’t need someone to tell them when to go, or when is a good time to wait. We’ve really moved into self-governing our roles in the collective.
 

M: Everybody wants fluidity on stage, but what is actually going on up there when we’re sitting out there in the audience?
 

K: If you think of the concept of an improv team, you have a certain amount of time beforehand where you quickly discuss your skit, and what we do is kind of similar. We work a lot on body language and ideas, and there’s a communication going on within the group that has a lot more to do with synchronicity, and an understanding that these things have to happen instantaneously.
 

M: I can definitely feel the love here, but there must be some occasional strife. How does the group deal with things like that?
 

K: When you go to a Kalmunity show, you’ll see communication. People have to actually speak and express themselves to each other, even if those things are negative. People are more willing to express anger or emotions because we have that openness. If we don’t communicate when things aren’t going well then things will get worse. We’re all pretty close, and hopefully learning to express ourselves as best we can.