George Clinton - The Mothership Landing Performance

George Clinton is a prime innovator when it comes to funk music, he is an American singer, bandleader, and record producer who contributed a great deal when it comes to Afrofuturism and creating a new genre where he was able to propose a better future as well as social problems in terms of Black people. He was a part of two bends called Parliament and Funkadelic being named later on as one: Parliament-Funkadelic.

Funk music as a genre is generated from the influence of many others such as jazz, R&b, and African grooves, it is mostly based on dance music with a strong rhythm where African musical tradition is greatly improvised in it. Clinton’s approach to music was diverse, not only did he have a futuristic vision of the world, but the vision was presented in colorful tones and notes where he was able to present dimensions he was in. The Mothership Landing’s performance is divided into two parts, the first one being more realistic, performing the music in a quiet calm tone including incredible rhythm being so addictive that even makes you makes move while listening to it. 

Upon watching the video, I observed the entire scenography, the clothes they wore, sequins, hair flips, platform shoes as well as the make-up on their faces, everything looks mystical,  magical succeeding to fit their energy into it and create a piece of art.

Hence, the other one comes more from the other dimension, representing the future. It is both when the Mothership is landing on the stage and all the other musicians stay, and when the rhythm of music is changed, something external arrived that made the performance more harmonious and different, that perhaps represents the future itself. The Mothership represents a stage object used by Clinton and his band during their live performances, it is mostly sent down by the vocal tones of the musicians, and it is usually followed by lights, smoke, fireworks, and sound effects. It is mostly used in order to make the Funk greater than ever, allowing them to improvise with the music and send their message to the audience. 

George Clinton had his own vision, his own perspective of the world, a perhaps an exceptional one, he produces and performed his music in an extraordinary way where he allowed himself to experiment and make spectacular concerts where funk music was presented in the full light. Clinton is the Prime Minister of P-Funk, nonetheless he achieved to bring Afrofuturism more into reality, thus raising awareness of racism and human equality.