{"id":62124,"date":"2018-03-06T12:12:14","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T11:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=62124"},"modified":"2018-03-06T12:12:14","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T11:12:14","slug":"faka-band-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/faka-band-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-62126\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FAKA2018-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1499\" height=\"873\" \/>FAKA, made up of best friends Fela Gucci and Desire Marea, have become more than just the performance art duo killing you with their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bbekw5Jnx-c\/?hl=en&amp;taken-by=felagucci\">fiery instagrams<\/a> und <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gVNcLPJCuKE\">catchy dance music<\/a>. Surpassing any generic definitions, FAKA is best described as a cultural movement centred in South Africa, striving to subvert the cis-hetero gaze of post-colonial Africa. The duo undertake this through a multitude of mediums, spanning music, performance, photography, video, fashion and literature. \u201cFAKA means to occupy and penetrate,\u201d the pair tell Sleek. \u201cThat has been our approach \u2014 artistically and otherwise \u2014 to how we exist in a world designed to exclude us\u201d. Using their shared experience of being queer and black, FAKA seeks to liberate the LGBTQ community in South Africa, creating a safer and more open space for femme\/trans and non-binary people. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In light of their latest EP release, &#8220;Amaqhawe&#8221;, and their performance at this year\u2019s CTM festival, we spoke to the duo about the tricky task of being queer role models, and wanting to drink mimosas with Grace Jones.<\/span><br \/>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xHCN8bynfF0\" width=\"1500\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em><b>Can you tell us a little about how FAKA began and what it involves?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\nWe started making music in 2013 while living in different cities. Then in 2015 we both moved to Johannesburg, and that is where we started making music together and exploring performance in various spaces.<br \/>\n<em><b>Can you share the stories behind your aliases Fela Gucci and Desire Marea?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<b>Fela<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fela Gucci was inspired by the legendary Fela Kuti. It began as just a play on words, but soon realized that it was actually a way of carving an identity for myself outside of what was my current reality. It became my truth and a way of reclaiming myself, a way of reimagining and recreating myself.<\/span><br \/>\n<b>Desire<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Desire felt like a wonderful thing to become, and Marea is a star of the sea. <\/span><br \/>\n<em><b><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-62128\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/faka3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1181\" height=\"1340\" \/><\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<em><b>How did you get into making <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/24944\/1\/what-the-foq-is-gqom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gqom<\/a> (a genre of African house music coming out of Durban, South Africa)?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve always loved gqom, and we related to the lived experience that shaped it as a genre and culture. In 2016 we experimented with a hybrid sound which we dubbed Ancestral Gqom Gospel, and then in 2017 we partnered with Dj Bigger, Vukane and Mnotho Chamane, as well as DJ Kaybee. That\u2019s when we created Uyang\u2019khumbula. <\/span><br \/>\n<em><b>You have talked a lot about queer erasure in music and art scenes specifically in South Africa. How do you combat this?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We combat erasure by being visible. <\/span><br \/>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hj8b-b4qKOY\" width=\"1500\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><b><\/b> \n<em><b>Is Johannesburg&#8217;s queer scene changing? Are there LGBTQ safe spaces becoming available? How does FAKA play a role in this?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are currently bars and clubs that cater primarily to cisgender gay men. Many of these spaces aren\u2019t safe for femme, trans, and non binary\/non conforming people. We throw a seasonal party called Cunty Power that aims to provide a safer experience of nightlife for queer people. <\/span><br \/>\n<em><strong>I am aware that you both have come from quite small communities where queer allies were scarce. What is it like now being role models for other queer POC struggling with exclusion?<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It comes with pressure, because there\u2019s a level of humanity and allowance to make mistakes that\u2019s compromised as soon as you are defined as a role model. But having said that, it is the most motivating thing to have young black queer people come up to us and tell us how we\u2019ve empowered them to embrace and live their truth. That\u2019s exactly what we dreamt of, and why we do what we do. <\/span><br \/>\n<em><b><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-62127\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/faka2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1242\" \/>What advice would you give to all the queer people out there trying to do their thing?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Respect your grind. Put in the work and find spaces and people you can share your work with.<\/span><br \/>\n<em><b>What and who inspires you in fashion, art and music?<\/b><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a lot. Brenda Fassie, Athi Patra Ruga, Telfar, Nakhane, Baddie K, Natali Paneng, Lukhanyo Mdingi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/2017\/02\/02\/five-collections-tackling-the-issue-of-identity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grace Wales Bonner<\/a>, Stephen Tayo, Mowalola, Ian Isiah, Daniel Obasi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/2017\/12\/19\/best-of-2017-fashion-art-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shayne Oliver,<\/a> Thandiswa Mazwai and all the amazing queer\/trans kids in Joburg! <\/span><br \/>\n<em><b>Who are the young creative South Africans we should be keeping an eye out for?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thabo Hlalele, Nkulsey and Bradley, Elle van der Burg, Glen Guilherme, Lelo Meslani, Tiger Maremela, Linda a.k.a. Lucid Unicorn. <\/span><br \/>\n<b><em>Other than taking over the world, what are your plans for the future?<\/em> <\/b> \n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meeting Grace Jones for mimosas. <\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than musicians or role models, FAKA are a cultural movement subverting South Africa&#8217;s cis-hetero gaze.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":62491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,10172,10217,139],"tags":[7487,9961,10216,8234,116,10218,1850,3486],"class_list":["post-62124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-film","category-music","category-art","tag-ctm","tag-ctm-festival","tag-faka","tag-johannesburg","tag-lgbt","tag-non-binary","tag-queer","tag-south-africa"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than musicians, Faka are a cultural movement subverting South Africa&#039;s cis-hetero gaze. We spoke to the band about queer spaces and Grace Jones.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/faka-band-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More than musicians, Faka are a cultural movement subverting South Africa&#039;s cis-hetero gaze. We spoke to the band about queer spaces and Grace Jones.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/faka-band-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sleek Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-06T11:12:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophia Lawler-Dormer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sleek Magazine\",\"description\":\"Sleek is Germany\u2019s leading independent media house\/brand for creativity and innovation located in Berlin the creative capital of the world. This creativity manifests itself in SLEEK\u2019s quarterly print publication, digital and social media channels.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/\",\"name\":\"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-06T11:12:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-06T11:12:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6207a92e1245272342776e629566a9f3\"},\"description\":\"More than musicians, Faka are a cultural movement subverting South Africa's cis-hetero gaze. We spoke to the band about queer spaces and Grace Jones.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6207a92e1245272342776e629566a9f3\",\"name\":\"Sophia Lawler-Dormer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cc7215f2c0cb72f610d14abeaad7d3cef8b16a5d153e01ef70fdf657eaff338?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cc7215f2c0cb72f610d14abeaad7d3cef8b16a5d153e01ef70fdf657eaff338?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sophia Lawler-Dormer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/author\/sophia-lawler-dormer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility","description":"More than musicians, Faka are a cultural movement subverting South Africa's cis-hetero gaze. We spoke to the band about queer spaces and Grace Jones.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/faka-band-interview\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility","og_description":"More than musicians, Faka are a cultural movement subverting South Africa's cis-hetero gaze. We spoke to the band about queer spaces and Grace Jones.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/faka-band-interview\/","og_site_name":"Sleek Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/","article_published_time":"2018-03-06T11:12:14+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sleekmag","twitter_site":"@sleekmag","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"Sophia Lawler-Dormer","Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit":"4\u00a0Minuten"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/","name":"Schlankes Magazin","description":"Sleek ist Deutschlands f\u00fchrendes unabh\u00e4ngiges Medienhaus\/Marke f\u00fcr Kreativit\u00e4t und Innovation mit Sitz in Berlin, der kreativen Hauptstadt der Welt. Diese Kreativit\u00e4t manifestiert sich in der viertelj\u00e4hrlich erscheinenden Print-Publikation, den digitalen und Social-Media-Kan\u00e4len von SLEEK.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/","name":"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-03-06T11:12:14+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-06T11:12:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6207a92e1245272342776e629566a9f3"},"description":"More than musicians, Faka are a cultural movement subverting South Africa's cis-hetero gaze. We spoke to the band about queer spaces and Grace Jones.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/article\/faka-band-interview\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Johannesburg Duo FAKA Are Fighting Queer Erasure With Visibility"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6207a92e1245272342776e629566a9f3","name":"Sophia Lawler-Dormer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cc7215f2c0cb72f610d14abeaad7d3cef8b16a5d153e01ef70fdf657eaff338?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cc7215f2c0cb72f610d14abeaad7d3cef8b16a5d153e01ef70fdf657eaff338?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sophia Lawler-Dormer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/author\/sophia-lawler-dormer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}