rootbound
autumn newsletter • november 17, 2021
rüt-baūnd - having roots formed into a dense, tangled mass that allows little or no space for further growth. these plants have a natural tendency to become root-bound, with their roots growing in a spiraling mass.
rootbound is an ever-growing concept—currently, rootbound acts as a digital space for black queer & trans people, but we hope to expand into a physical space within the next few years. this seasonal newsletter serves as an introduction to who we are: a black queer organization that centers black life, art, relations, and issues at the forefront.
autumn 2021
welcome to our autumn seasonal newsletter! we hope you enjoy our specially curated autumn newsletter that features a catalog of music, art, and writings by black people. if you like us, be sure to spread the word to others and we look forward to connecting again with you for our next seasonal newsletter.
artist's spotlight
"I CREATE THIS SOUND FOR SAPPHICS"
On a late August Monday morning, Madeline, the artist known as Bymaddz, greets us with a warm smile, one that feels something like a gentle hug through the screen. She is seated outside on her back porch step and asks us for a moment to get settled and reposition her camera. Playfully, she adjusts the camera while trading jokes and compliments with us, making sure to compliment Keza on the Rocio earrings she sees dangling from Keza’s ears. Quickly, she’s settled and ready to dive into the interview, an air of facility surrounding her. We exchange more tender and quiet smiles before we ask her the first question. We begin with a question about her songwriting process to which she responds, gleaming with confidence, ‘I write for myself.’
enjoy this clip from our interview with Bymaddz where she talks about her song writing process in more detail!
Search for the artist’s music, and any song by Bymaddz will transport you to a beautifully rhythmic and enticing realm. Her music is the type of music that you marvel at. Any song will have your body moving before you even realize it. It is through this, this alluring out-of-body experience, that it becomes apparent how much of herself she puts into her music. Excitedly, Bymaddz continues by telling us how her music comes to be. It’s an instinctual process, she describes. It begins with harmonizing. She details to us how through harmony or mumbling, she creates a song. She is not concerned with a meticulous songwriting process, that which requires writing down everything, instead, she lets the music lead her. Don’t write. Don’t jot it down. “Just sing,” she tells us, and it sounds like a reminder to herself. Her music is then a thing that flows through her. And, with a single listen, anybody can hear it in her work. Her music feels like a gentle pull. Even she cannot help but be pulled into the music.
Bymaddz seems to have the disposition of someone who has been making music their whole life, but she tells us she did not start creating her own music until her early 20s. Growing up, she was subjected to a difficult educational experience due to her ADHD that was not properly addressed. She tells us about her fraught relationship with school, detailing the moment in which she received an F+ in math class. But, while she had a complicated relationship with school, she used music as her escape. In her youth, her household was a musical one. Quickly, she delineates her connections. Her parents loved music, she begins, lost in memory. And, very warmly, she describes her grandfather. He was a trombone player, she tells us, and adds how fortunate she feels to have known him for the first six years of her life. It was because of her musical background and the need to care for her mental health that she decided to pursue music in her early 20s. Music is her solitude. It is a comfort for her. So, now in her mid-20s, she is eager to watch herself grow and evolve as an artist.
For an artist like Bymaddz, she understands that she is only as much as her musical progenitors. Even as she speaks of her own music, she can’t help but reference other artists that have inspired her to pursue the music she does now, a sound that she describes as ‘Lesbian Motown Funk.’ She giggles and tells us, “[I] create this sound for sapphics.” And her songs like “Coochie Stank", “Say Our Names,” “Just Be Friends” and more center and speak towards intimate lesbian relations. During our conversation, she weaves in artists and genres ranging from Otis Redding and Earth, Wind & Fire to J-POP and Tyler the Creator, all of which she claims have influenced her music. Going even deeper, she states, positive affirmation mantras have also had their effect on her music. It caused her to become a more intentional artist, she tells us.
Intentionality is an important framework for Bymaddz. She compares her approach to music to that of her practice of sustainability. “I do what I can with what I have where I'm at,” she tells us. Whether this applies to music or sustainability, it makes no difference. For Bymaddz, the only thing of importance is the intentionality behind it all. And she hopes her fans can follow her in this practice. If anything, she tells us, she wants her fans to listen to her work, to truly listen. She states, “what I write about is one thing, but how I say it is another.” For Bymaddz music is a form of storytelling and communication. Confidently, she states, “ I breathe life into my music by telling stories.” A statement that causes goosebumps and a quiet moment of reflection amongst the three of us. She continues by telling us her hopes are that her lyrics can inspire others, too. Just as she has learned, she wants her audience to know, too, that they are capable of anything. Very seriously she says to us, “take away the lyricism, the message, and know that overall you can do and be anything.” Further echoing this, she continues, “I believe that if you want it, you say it and then go and get it.” But you cannot do it alone. To us, she emphasizes the importance of a community that allows you to be yourself and be held within it. She also stresses the importance of perseverance—it’s a journey with no timeline, but it is important to stay on your own journey and never feed into disillusion, instead stay on your path know that nothing is in vain.
But what is in the future for Bymaddz? She wants to be limitless. Right now, she is in the process of exploring her creativity through alter egos. For her, alter egos give her the space to exist limitlessly, and act as a vehicle for her to explore various sounds. She tells us about one of them. She calls him ‘James Love.’ To her, he’s a bisexual queer man through who she can explore more edgy sounds. And, Bymaddz has some upcoming projects, including releasing songs she has previously recorded with bandmates, songs which started from thoughts she jotted down. She’s hopeful and excited for the future and for the opportunity to share upcoming music, which she and we believe will be a big, successful release.
To keep up with and support the artist known as Bymaddz click the links below:
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listen
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nook
a collection of poetry, film & video, fiction & non-fiction pieces that we love.
Speculation, n. - Shayla Lawz “Bloodchild” - Octavia Butler
“We Are Ugly But We Are Here” (cw: SA) - Edwidge Danticat
Atlantics - directed by Mati Diop
“[When the bed is empty...]” Dawn Lundy Martin
His House - directed by Remi Weekes (cw: death)
Justice: Childhood Love Lessons, p. 40 - 54 in All About Love: New Visions - Bell Hooks
“Jaw[n]bone Soup” Joselia Rebekah Hughes
"The Belly of the World: A Note on Black Women Labors" - Saidiya Hartman
"You! Inez!" - Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
"trauma is a ghost, who knew" (cw: SA) - Brandon Taylor
music keza
1. september duendita
2. mother nature's bitch okay kaya
3. come live with me dorothy ashby
4. these arms of mine (live) otis redding
in search of apple cider </3 oooo autumn. i love this season so much. i've been thinking about apple cider a lot since i made it for the first time last year with my sister and wanted to experience the process & sensations again. this year, i did get the chance to make some apple cider again with apples from a friend <3 so, i technically am no longer in search of apple cider XD but enjoy this playlist of songs that makes me think of making cider, sweet autumn things, familiarity, warmth, intimacy in all forms, community, and all of the colors this season offers us. spotify
apple music
youtube
music angel adaeze learn to love - anaïs & azekel
zaza and some runtz- terry presume
safe - cktrl
fuji 5000 - odunsi (the engine)
zero zero zero there's this thing that happens to me where sometimes listening to sounds can make me feel physically ill, and i felt that a lot these past few months. sometimes, what helps or other times makes it worse, is listening to one song on loop for hours. a lot of the songs on this playlist were songs i listened to on a loop and now they exist in this playlist together. enjoy + let me know which one is your favorite or which one you could listen to on a continuous loop. right now for me, my continuous loop song is "Fire" by SiR!
spotify
apple music
youtube
what's going on (domestically + internationally)
November 13th - 19th of each year marks Trans Awareness Week, with November 20th being Trans Day of Remembrance. It is essential for us to uplift, support, and listen to our trans siblings while they are alive and continue this support year-round.
crowdfunding & gofundme links to support
Help Nigerian Trans Women Launch a Magazine
Coat Drive for Black Trans Texas Connection
Help Cat Secure Funds for Top Surgery Black Trans Louisville Linktree
Call to help Alyssa & Shawnte Transfer out of a Men's Prison
Help Supply BIPOC Trans Femmes with Self Defense Kits
Help Zaniya Secure Temporary Housing
Support Nigerian Trans Women! Mutual Aid for Gender Affirming Care, Safe Housing, and Hormones
Support Jo's Health & Safety
what we are up to
keza
getting back into visual journaling and collaging on an almost daily basis BUT already have lost my favorite journal to work in. *sigh* which is okay because i have a backup, but it has made me realize how much i loveee the feeling of completing a sketchbook/journal. especially one that is very loved & used, with collage pages that are stuck together, post it's sticking out, ink on bleeding from page to page, etc. hoping i can experience that with my backup and my long lost journal soon (i'm gonna find it UwU)
refrences newsletter cover: Unwritten, Shitanda nook: Bloodchild: Territories Between Us, Teresa Kutala Firmino We Are Ugly But We Are Here: Sometimes We Must Take Turns to Rest, Mafalda Nicolas Mondestin, 2021 Speculation, n.: Speechless, Lorna Simpson, 2017 [When the bed is empty...]: Girl in Armchair, Gwendolyn Knight, 1950 All About Love: Someday, Tajh Rust, 2020 Jaw[n]bone Soup: Untitled, Wangechi Mutu, 2003 You! Inez!: THE CHORUS (Unwritten), Shitanda, 2021 The Belly of the World: A Note on Black Women Labors: La Cena (The Supper), Belkis Ayón trauma is a ghost, who knew: Ndopupura Ndisina Chandabata (I Will Give a Testimony with Empty Hands), Virginia Chihota what's going on: Black Trans Flag - Design by Raquel Willis music - playlist covers: angel - zero zero zero: The Hours Behind You, 2011 Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
thank you so much for joining us! watch out for updates on our instagram account & for release dates for upcoming zines, newsletters & more. we would love to hear what you have been reading, watching, and listening to! feel free to submit your recommendations or your own art here!
follow us on IG! @r.ootbound
&
creators: illustrations by keza ruranga
angel adaeze (they/them)
keza (she/her, they/them)