While most students’ first exposure to instruments and music is through plastic recorders and toy bongos from their elementary school days, Austin Moore-Farrow was surrounded by a guitar — and an opera singer.
Growing up in a musical household, his father always played the guitar, which made him want to play it. His aunt was an opera singer, which inspired him to sing and create music for community, culture and awareness.
“Then there was this perfect mix of the people around me listening to the right music to inspire me,” Moore-Farrow said. “My parents were listening to Todd Rundgren, my grandma listened to Marvin Gaye, my
sister was listening to Tupac, my friends were listening to Kanye; by the time I was in high school, those were the artists that meant the most to me and inspired me to take this path.”
Moore-Farrow professionally started making music after high school. Even though he’s worked as an art director and a photojournalist, and went to film school, he always made time to write and produce music.
Growing up in a small town like Jensen Beach, and staying there until 2015, he decided to postpone producing and releasing his music.
“I did that because I wanted to network,” he said. “I wanted to network with more people, especially those who have more quality behind their music and had meaning. Those who took their craft more seriously, and that’s harder to find in a small town. I sat on my music until the right moment came and going to FAU really helped with that.”
Moore-Farrow studied broadcast and multimedia journalism at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He took a variety of courses such as audio production with professor Kevin M. Petrich. He learned audio engineering, and mixing, and was a part of FAU’s South Florida Journal, a weekly student-run public radio program under Petrich’s guidance.
“I learned about hearing things during the recording process that most people don’t pay attention to,” Moore-Farrow said. “Petrich helped me find those things and he helped me with the learning process to know about the audio being pristine. It made me more confident for my music and I felt unified with something I was always passionate about.”
While working on his academics and audio engineering, he was also passionate about activism and
progressive organizing. He has worked as a campaign manager, helped to unionize workers’ rights and organize vaccinations in Broward County.
“I care to work hard for people,” Moore-Farrow said. “It’s a huge part of my life to help motivate and prioritize
society.”
Music has always played a key role in social activism and various rights movements throughout history. Since Moore-Farrow has a passion for activism and music, he said he realized a moment for reinventing rhythm could
be made.
“I want to fight to ensure creative industries stay strong,” he said. “Things like proper wages and equity help preserve art and culture. But the music industry has become about how much money you have over talent. So, I want to use my talent to create neo soul with a message and for the soul of community culture, and that soul isn’t in your wallet, the soul is in your talent and message.”
Finding inspiration from R&B, hip-hop and neo soul artists, he worked to share his interests, progressive activism and voice with Boca Raton.
“Neo soul is not as vibrant here in Boca,” Moore-Farrow said. “But I want to change that because there’s a place in my heart for Boca having gone to college here.”
While working at a social media marketing company, he met other artists and had the inspiration to form a collective of
artists. Taking inspiration from Sade’s song, his Bulletproof Soul is a music and publication label, and a support
system for music. It’s also a platform for discussing historical and modern contexts.
“We have around 30 artists in our collective,” he said, including Imani Taylor, aka Nyyjerya, who Moore-Farrow first heard when he was listening to “The U,” an album that involved artists such as Denzel Curry, Lord Lu C N, J.K. The
Reaper and Anna Wise, among others.
Moore-Farrow reached out to Nyyjerya, they became close friends and she helped co-found Bulletproof Soul.
“We are determined to bring back the sense of community in the music industry, popular culture and
art,” he said. “Nyyjerya helped to bring seven other artists and producers on board. I now get to work on an album, my dream project, ‘Grasping Things at the Root,'” which has 12 songs.
The name is inspired in part by an Angela Davis quote. Moore-Farrow, who also performs on the album, is a producer along with Nyyjerya and artist Clark the Healer.
Throughout the project, Moore-Farrow, Nyyjerya and other performers such as eqobKING, SLWJMZ, Lofty305, DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ and more reflect on the importance of cultural unity in a time of oppression and systemic issues.
“Themes from ‘Grasping Things at the Root’ include social conditioning,” Moore-Farrow said. “Community,
culture, and of course, dialectal materialism. We wanted to address things like crime and other issues
that happen in society.”
The album cover’s border includes an adapted poem from artist and poet William Morris, which helps
illustrate themes throughout the concept album also including class consciousness and mortality. There
also is not a root featured on the album cover implying that society, as a whole, does not grasp things at
the root. The cover, which pays homage to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Midnight Marauders”
shows locals in the community.
“You’ll find that the lyrics are not too in-depth,” Moore-Farrow said. “But strive to be relatable. It’s an album in
most people’s class interest. It also is very eclectic, with genre-bending soundscapes.”
The group uses strong social metaphors in each track, demonstrating their social education as well as
lived experiences.
For example, “Just to be free. Learned from Huey I won’t leave. You can be. What you wanna be. Learn from me,” is a double reference calling to performer Moore-Farrow’s inspiration, Huey Newton, a co-founder of the Black
Panther Party.
With his interest in activism and human rights, the importance of activist Davis’ inclusion is particularly meaningful to him, which is why he decided to use her image on the cover.
“[Davis] and her manager were extremely accommodating,” he said. “She’s a massive influence
on me and my years as an activist and organizer as well. I wanted to share her message that also fits the
album.
“Coming from a music background and family, in general, they’re proud of a lot of things and the work
I’ve done for community,” Moore-Farrow said. “A deep, yet relatable and fun concept album speaking societal
truths with great people. I could not ask for more. This is my dream project, truly.”
“Grasping Things at the Root” is available on all streaming platforms.
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