Black Motion to perform at Israeli event

TALI FEINBERG

And, with more than 287 000 followers on Facebook and 292 000 followers on Instagram, the group has a huge fan base that is open to its message of music as a way to cross barriers.

In August 2018, Black Motion got caught in the crosshairs of BDS-SA, which triumphantly announced that the duo had decided not to play at the Meteor Festival at Kibbutz Lehavot HaBashan because it wanted to boycott Israel.

But when the SA Jewish Report spoke to Black Motion’s manager, Kutlwano Chaba, he said it was completely untrue. The group backed out of the festival because they were nervous about travelling to a “conflict zone”, he said. He was horrified that a personal decision had been twisted for political purposes.

Chaba says the band has learnt from that experience, and it has made an informed choice to perform at the Israeli event, CannaTech, at the end of November.

“If you don’t have your own view, you will be used, and that’s unfair, especially to musicians. All they want is to perform their music as a way to bring people together. We don’t want to separate people; it’s not what we’re about. Always ask yourself where you stand before you allow yourself to be used. Why must we take sides? Our message is to appreciate each other as people.

“One day we play at an ANC [African National Congress] rally and the next day at an EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] rally. We wouldn’t boycott either. If we are being used to play political games [like with BDS] … I don’t think it’s fair,” he says. “Let us decide. Don’t vilify people if they differ or don’t want to get involved [in politics]. Music can unify rather than divide people.”

CannaTech will bring together experts and businesspeople from the burgeoning global cannabis industry, and this is a particular interest of the band members, especially Thabo Mabogwane (known as “Smol”).

“They really want to play at this event. It makes sense as they will be exposed to the [cannabis] industry, and they will get to do what they love and learn about something they are really interested in. It makes complete sense,” says Chaba.

“These are big players from Israel, and if one nationality is spearheading it, we want to learn from it,” he says. “So we got the information, and made an informed decision. It’s not important where people are from; what’s more important is what they can offer. There will always be conflict in the world. You can’t listen to only one side.”

Chaba believes the band missed out by backing out of the Meteor Festival last year. He hopes that they’ll still be invited to play in Israel in future, either at Meteor or other festivals, clubs and events. “That’s the thing about house music: it can be played anywhere,” he says.

When the SA Jewish Report spoke to him last year, he said that Black Motion was considering hosting an event to bring Jews and Muslims together in South Africa. “We are launching an album in two months’ time, and I would love to see both sides of this issue attend , and enjoy the gift of music. I suspect there is no dialogue between the two groups. Music can bridge this gap,” he said at the time. Although the group didn’t manage to hold the event due to budget constraints, Chaba would still like to get people from different backgrounds to attend shows together.

“We are lucky because in South Africa, one of most diverse countries, we have managed to live together and make music together. We shouldn’t allow ourselves as musicians to fuel divisions,” he says.