MACHETE MOUTH I HAVE SOME SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL MACHETÉ MOUTH is a fitting moniker for a group that yields their music as an ancestral weapon against an age-old problem: white supremacy. The band is primarily a duo of Jenèe Donelson, the group’s frontwoman, vocalist, songwriter, and creative driving force, and her multiinstrumentalist musical partner, JOSHUA ABEYTA DENVER VOICE MUSIC REPORTER David Bailey. “Grimoire,” the group’s first full-length album, is “a textbook of magic, occult, and esoteric knowledge containing spells, rituals, instructions for creating amulets and conjuring spirits, functioning as a personal magical diary or guide,” according to the group’s website. The album is a follow-up to their selftitled EP released in 2021 and “7 Inches Deep”, a vinyl single released through Denver’s Unit E Records in 2023. “Grimoire” also features Joseph Lamar, Brady Gaynor, Alison Sheldon, and Harmony Rose of Milk Blossoms. The album’s opening track, “Abacus,” is a futuristic incantation that feels like the opening sequence in a film adaptation of an Octavia Butler novel. “A lot of this album is about reclamation of what I already knew to be Black music, which is the blues, which is rock, which is alternative, which is punk— all those different things are intertwined with this sound,” said Donelson. Donelson was born in St. Paul, Minn., raised in Houston, and moved to Denver in her late teens to attend culinary school. Being raised in the South as a Black woman was quite the dichotomy. “Houston, I really didn’t get to appreciate (it) as an adult,” Donelson said. “I would love to go back, but the way that Black women are treated in Houston, specifically around the uterus, it’s kind of terrifying. But I think Houston is one of the most multicultural places. It’s bigger than New York in size, and it’s got some of the same diversity things going on. And, I really miss that.” You can hear Donelson’s cultural and culinary influences on the record, as Grimoire’s menu offers a wide variety of tastes and textures. The second track, “Solomon,” features soaring vocals, a bluesy piano, and haunting strings laid over rhythmic breathing that could be emanating from a chain gang. The song is a battle cry, and does not mince words with the chorus: “You will pay me every inch of flesh that you owe.” Later in the record, “I Hope The Crow You Eat Is Well Seasoned” is a direct nod to the Jim Crow South, the Suffragist movement, and a direct shot at the intersection of patriarchy and white supremacy. “I’ve been here, we’ve been here, we’re not going anywhere,” said Donelson. “This is ancestral shit. Like, I hope that everything that white supremacy has given us gets back to them. How much time do you want for your progress? We’ve done everything that’s been asked of us, and still you’re asking for more time. And, I think time’s up.” Grimoire is a powerful collection that will move the listener to investigate further, and Donelson hopes it will spur them to action. But her advocacy goes beyond the recording studio. Since moving to Denver, Donelson regularly relied on Macheté Mouth is frontwoman, vocalist and songwriter Jeneè Donelson, and multi-instrumentalist David Bailey. Credit: Katie Langley / @kt_langley public transportation. She felt like RTD wasn’t meeting her needs due to service cuts and unaffordable fares, especially for people existing near or below the poverty line, so she began field research, discovering that many other folks shared her frustrations. “I would go onto the bus, rain or shine, and I would record people’s testimonies on whether or not they felt like they were being advocated for by RTD. I would record people’s testimonies, folks who couldn’t get to RTD’s meetings. Just being able to create this symphony of sounds of other folks’ voices. I think that the bus is a mobile community center. And in so many ways, RTD was gutting and still is gutting that system.” In 2017, as a result of her research and budding organizing work, Donelson started the Rocky Mountain Bus Riders’ Union, the first of its kind in Denver. “What I saw was that Seattle had a bus riders’ union. New York has a bus riders’ union. Most major cities had bus riders’ unions. I went to Baltimore with one of the members of the bus riders’ union, and I spoke to the actual union drivers, and they’re like, ‘You have to unionize the riders, too.’ That’s when I got the idea to just start doing it.” Much like Donelson’s work on “Grimoire” was propelled by a recognition that there was a void to be filled and collective needs that weren’t being addressed, Donelson’s organizing is driven by her desire to leave the world a better place than she found it. Whether through the arts or advocacy, her love for her community and sense of justice are undeniable. “Grimoire” will be available to the public in late July, and you can keep up with the group at www.iammachetemouth.com. 6 COLUMN
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