‘This Time’, the first video from Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars‘ new album, Endangered, is a soulful, meditative message of hope in the shadow of desperation.
The album is the audio component of a multi-media project two years in the making, which addresses the historical conundrum that Black men in America are endangered. Inspired by “beautiful rage” expressed in the Afro-Futuristic and politically charged artworks of Floyd D. Tunson (whose work has been informed by racial injustice since the 1970s), and powered by lyrics from Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, Doncker charts a sonic journey to freedom steeped in 21st Century Psychedelic Soul. Shot entirely in Colorado, when he was there in June for the world premiere of Endangered, the video integrates Tunson’s stirring imagery with Komunyakaa’s poignant lyrics as Doncker’s vocals weave the narrative to completion. “Endangered is the fourth album I’ve done with Yusef,” Doncker notes.
“But when he keyed me in to Floyd’s brilliant artwork, the thematic inspiration was immediately explosive. I knew right then the entire shape and scope of this would go beyond just an album. Over the past two years I made multiple trips to Floyd’s home in Colorado to learn about the inspiration and meaning in these works, and the more I learned the more concrete the vision for Endangered became. It’s a lyrical/musical response integrating three artists’ respective disciplines into a unique and powerful emotional journey.”
Initially conceived as a live music performance cum art installation— art inspiring words and music, music and words inspiring art—complete with conceptual video art and projections by award winning filmmaker/videographer William Murray, Endangered grew in scope to be a socio-politically charged audio-visual soundtrack of 21st Century dissent, discomfort and reclamation. Thought provoking, emotionally jarring, occasionally uncomfortable, and ultimately revelatory in its scope, the album stands on its own as a bold sonic statement while simultaneously underscoring and complimenting the power of Komunyakaa’s words and Tunson’s art.
