Martin Perna is an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and multidisciplinary artist living in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

Music

Perna founded the musical groups Antibalas and Ocote Soul Sounds, and has written for and/or recorded with

TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), Dave Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, '' Santogold'' (2008), was released by Atlantic Records and met with widespread critica ...

, Toro y Moi, Sharon Jones,

Jovanotti Lorenzo Cherubini (; born 27 September 1966), known professionally as Jovanotti (), is an Italian singer-songwriter, rapper, and disc jockey. The name Jovanotti derives from ''giovanotti'', the plural form of the Italian word ''giovanotto'' (" ...

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

Baaba Maal Baaba Maal (, born 13 June 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July ...

Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * A ...

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

, the

Whitefield Brothers The Whitefield Brothers are a German funk band. The band, which consists of brothers Jan and Max Weissenfeldt, was previously known as the "'Poets of Rhythm"' beginning in 1991. Under this name, they were signed to the Quannum Projects label after ...

, the Daktaris, No Surrender, Apsci,

Architecture in Helsinki Architecture in Helsinki was an Australian indie pop band which consisted of Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, and Kellie Sutherland. Before its hiatus, the band released five studio albums: '' Fingers Crossed'' (2003), '' ...

, and many other groups. In 2021 he received his first

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for Best Global Music album for his co-production, arranging and performance work on the Antibalas album '' Fu Chronicles'' on

Daptone Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band ...

Records. In 2022, he composed and performed the soundtrack for the PBS American Masters documentary "Roberta" about singer

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

, directed by Antonino D'Ambrosio

Multidisciplinary Art

He is author of the children's book BLACKOUT! about the 2003 Northeast Power blackout, published in 2006 by Magic Propaganda Mill and illustrated by New York Times best-selling illustrator Ricardo Cortés. An apprentice of earth architecture master

Nader Khalili Nader Khalili (; 1936–2008) was an Iranian Americans, Iranian-born American architect, author, and educator. He is best known for his inventive structures that incorporated a range of atypical building materials to provide shelter in the develop ...

Perna also practices

superadobe Superadobe is a form of earthbag construction that was developed by Iranian architect Nader Khalili. The technique uses layered long fabric tubes or bags filled with adobe to form a compression structure. The resulting Beehive house, beehive-sh ...

architecture and has created works in

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and Austin,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In 2018, in collaboration with poet Roger Reeves and members of Antibalas, he set to music works by student poets at Miami Edison High School and performed the works together with the students and members of Spam All Stars at the North Miami Beach Bandshell as part of the O Miami Poetry Festival. In 2020, he performed the music for "Fourth of July", narrated by actor/spoken word artist

Daveed Diggs Daveed Daniele Diggs (born January 24, 1982) is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jeffer ...

, and written by Safia Elhillo, Danez Smith, Lauren Whitehead,

W. Kamau Bell Walter Kamau Bell (born January 26, 1973) is an American stand-up comic and television host. He has hosted the CNN series '' United Shades of America'' since 2016, and hosted FXX television series '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' from 20 ...

, Angel Nafis,

Idris Goodwin Idris Goodwin is an American playwright, rapper, essayist, and poet. In July 2022, Idris Goodwin became the third Artistic Director of Seattle Children's Theatre. Early life Idris Goodwin was born in Detroit, Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

, Camonghne Felix, and Nate Marshall, inspired by

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

's historic speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" In 2023 he collaborated with visual artist Courtney Desiree Morris on the performance art piece "Sopera de Yemaya: Bendición" as part of the "Remedios" show a
C3A
in Cordoba, Spain.

Partial Discography

* Daktaris "Soul Explosion" *Mike Jackson and the Soul Providers "Revenge of Mr. Mopoji" Desco *Nino Nardini "Rotonde Musique" *

Lee Fields Elmer Lee Fields (born April 26, 1950) is an American soul singer, sometimes nicknamed "Little JB" for his physical and vocal resemblance with James Brown. He has recorded with Kool and the Gang, Hip Huggers, O. V. Wright, Darrell Banks, and ...

"Let's Get a Groove On"

Daptone Records Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Ban ...

* Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings "Dap Dippin'"

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

and

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

"Walk Us Uptown" Chico Mann Antibalas rework. *

99¢

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

* Toro y Moi " Mahal"

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans, Inc., is an American independent record label founded in 2006 and based in Bloomington, Indiana. History On June 30, 2006, Phil Waldorf founded Dead Oceans with Chris Swanson. Swanson suggested the name Dead Oceans, which came fro ...

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

Uptown Walk

with Antibalas

* Antibalas "Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1"

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

* Antibalas "Talkatif" 1"

* Antibalas "Who Is This America" * Antibalas "Government Magic" * Antibalas "Security" < * Antibalas "Antibalas"

* Antibalas "Where The Gods Are in Peace"

* Antibalas "Fu-Chronicles" Daptone Records

With TV on the Radio

"Satellite"

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

" Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes"

Return to Cookie Mountain ''Return to Cookie Mountain'' is the second studio album by American rock band TV on the Radio. It was released July 6, 2006, worldwide by 4AD, and issued in the U.S. and Canada on September 12, 2006, by Interscope Records and Touch and Go Rec ...

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

Dear Science ''Dear Science'' is the third studio album by the band TV on the Radio. It was released on September 16, 2008, digitally through Touch and Go Records, with the physical release coming a week later through Interscope Records and DGC Records in Nor ...

With Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada

* Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada "El Niño y El Sol" ESL Music * Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada "The Alchemist Manifesto" ESL Music * Ocote Soul Sounds "Coconut Rock" ESL Music * Ocote Soul Sounds "Taurus" ESL Music

References

External links

* Full discography and album credits:
Personal site

Antibalas

Martin sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perna, Martin 1975 births Musicians from Philadelphia Living people American musicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians Antibalas members Afrobeat musicians