I met up with Boddhi Satva for Krull. Producer, DJ and founder of the music genre Ancestral Soul, Boddhi was invited to Stockholm, Sweden for the release and screening of ’Fonko’, a documentary about the current musical revolution taking place in Africa, where his contribution to the revolution is featured. He gave me a run down on his background, life lessons, passion for music and everything in between. It was an intense hour with laughter, recognitions and gratitude.

be who you are, just ’cause otherwise you’ll be unhappy!

Bria Boy
‘I was born in the Central African Republic, which is a small country that is unfortunately known for the wrong reasons. I was born in the capital, Bangui and raised in Bria, located in the east. My mother is Belgian-American and my father was from France and Central Africa. They met in a club in Belgium and fell in love at first sight! My mom already had two sons from a previous marriage at this time and for a white woman to leave Europe and follow a black man that she loves to Central Africa was quite an experience in itself. I had a very comfortable upbringing, but outside of the house that’s where I felt at home. It was a rural area and we would just go fishing, hunting, literally doing what you do in the village! We were always in touch with Mother Nature, you know. I had a huge problem with identification. I never considered myself as white during my upbringing. The kids in the streets would call me “white boy”. It wasn’t until I went to study in Europe at the age of 18 that I realized I was part white. I would look at my mother’s heritage from a distance. I couldn’t identify with “her people”. This was extremely confusing. Then my father spoke to me. That just blew my mind. Very shocking but pivotal in the rejection of myself, “at the end of the day as much as you want to be black, you are not, so be who you are, just ’cause otherwise you’ll be unhappy!”

The Inspirations
‘The reason I’m telling you about my background is because every experience counts. It’s like when you are a kid, and you attend celebrations, and you are rocking the drums, and they are responding from another village. You don’t understand what they’re saying but it speaks to you. It’s all sorts of experiences. I was fortunate to have parents who allowed me to do whatever I wanted do. I mean, school was important. We had a very strict education. You know African fathers, they don’t fuck around. But you know it was love. We are here for a purpose and make sure to serve that purpose.’

‘All the elements of my youth, upbringing and all things related to life from birth to death have been a very big part of my life and is a heavy influence in my music. At first, I was doing hip-hop, I was rapping. Ha! Ha! I had cornrows and went all in. And then I was fortunate to cross paths with Deep House. It opened my eyes and allowed me to understand that, ’shit man, this is the sound that allows me to mix everything together’. When I first started I always maintained that Afrocentric drum pattern. Like the way I use my snares. It hasn’t been done like that in house music before. Specifically, Kevin Yost, that guy is fantastic! His music is crazy and incredibly deep. That opened up my perspective.
Also, I was raised in a household with a lot of females, my mom was at home and always around. The female experiences in my house have been interesting and a massive inspiration for my music, break-ups and make-ups, you know.’

New Work
‘My album ’Transition’ is a part of a trilogy. The first album was called ‘Invocation’, the second album is ‘Transition’. The reason for the names is because from invocation a transition must come. You are asking for something to happen to you. Whatever you are asking for will lead you to transition. My next album will be called ‘Manifestation’, because from transition will lead you to a manifest. This is why music is very spiritual for me, like Fela Kuti has been a massive influence on me. I emulate the way he plays his solo. Once you understand that frequencies can affect someone and energies, you cannot mess with that.
I was inspired by my Father when I made Transition. It was in December 2012 when I went back to Central Africa for the first time after 12 years. I had been traveling around Europe and Africa. My father got very sick instantly and the next thing you know I’m inspired to work and finish up my album. I had done three songs by then, and was working on two pivotal songs during that time, ‘Benefit’ with Omar and ‘Papa’. These were also the only two songs he listened to before he passed away. If you look at the cover, you have myself, my father on my right side, the third eye on my forehead, and the woman on my left represents Africa, the spirit of her. My father is smiling even though he is dead his spirit will never die, he is now the ancestor, he is now the light.’

Thank you very much for your time to meet with us and we look forward to your coming album and future work!

https://open.spotify.com/track/4KFlVPumNfXs8FBJNElKoZ

Photographs by Luc Gatwa