Our Music

Who will sing the songs of the revolution? Well, we'll sing some of them. But we can only sing so many. You're more than welcome to sing some yourself.

Here are some of the songs we have recorded for your, and our, listening and downloading pleasure. Of course, you must keep in mind that the autonomous footsoldiers musical revue is, and always will be, an amorphous collective. Not every song was conceived of, written, or performed by the same group of footsoldiers. Nevertheless, footsoldiers we are, and footsoldiers we shall continue to be, however far apart spatially the whims of autonomy may carry us.

One song in particular illustrates well the unpredictable genesis and evolution of an autonomous footsoldiers tune. Its name is Fatcake. Here we have three intermediate forms of Fatcake, in chronological order.

The first is a version played by the band in Texas. The second, recorded in the Secret Room, was arranged by a four man permutation of the footsoldiers during the heat and humidity of August, 1999. The third, a remix by dj dubl'a forged from magnetism, ones, and zeros in two Deep South days, came soon after.

Of course, dj dubl'a doesn't restrict himself to remixing that which he helped create in the first place. Here's another work of his.

In the early days, the band was enormous. They were heady times, and they produced the inspiration that was to kindle the flame of passion that burns still. The band has written originals right from the start, but also dabbles in the covering of others' music, as the following songs demonstrate.

The initial joy of being in an enormous band dwindled, and there was a hiatus. After various footsoldiers left to heed their respective destinies, the band relocated to the secret room, took on new personnel, and, through stinging, sweat-soaked eyes, saw to the recording of four or five new numbers. The exact total eludes the memory.

The autonomous musician can be a strange beast. One offshoot of the footsoldiers came to be known as NoMan Is An Island, a one man band. Armed with a drum kit, a sequencer equipped synthesizer, a baritone saxaphone, and his voice, NoMan Is An Island took the Secret Room by storm. Here is a sampling of NoMan's efforts.

Another side project is djebay and his sampletron.

Last, but not least, another song inspired by love, produced by yet another permutation of footsoldiers. This isn't your everyday ska.