by Chukwubuikem Nnebe
The musical programming for The Seeds We Carry is a cross-continental and pan-diasporan exploration of Black music and movement-making as manifestations of Black resistance, Black survival, and ultimately Black aliveness. Showcasing forms of Black creativity birthed in the Caribbean and North America and whose roots can be traced to the African continent, this musical programming seeks to celebrate the temporal and spatial linkages that exist between Afro-descendant communities and that have traced the evolution and expansion of the Black diaspora around the world over the past four centuries.
Through participatory workshops, festivalgoers will be invited to learn the history – and the moves – of voguing and stepping, two dance forms that alchemized experiences of marginalization and cultural denial into expressions of Black artistry, resourcefulness, and community-building. While voguing and ballroom culture emerged as embodiments of queer Black and Brown resistance and solidarity in the face of homophobic and transphobic exclusion, stepping was borne out of the prohibition of traditional cultural practices inherited by the enslaved in the American South from their ancestors stolen away from the continent. In both instances, the resulting styles of movement-making speak to Black creativity and its potential for sprouting – against all odds – entire worlds of art from the seeds we carry.
The musical programming will also feature live performances that seek to celebrate and contextualize Black musical traditions through a contemporary lens. One such creative practice that will be on display is the Jamaican sound-system culture, which speaks to the indomitable nature of Black aliveness and its inability to be contained to a single location. Rather, through the construction of mobile sound systems, the spirit of Black joy moves wherever the riddims take it, from the streets of Kingston to the steps of Arts Court. Indeed, these tropical sounds can be as fluid with regard to space as to style, with avant-garde creators pushing the envelope with dub-inspired, club-focused electronic soundscapes that deftly merge danceability with experimentation. Similarly, other artists are expanding the bounds of club music through creative practices that layer a multiplicity of sonic influences all rooted in the global African diaspora. Starting with a base of traditional drum-laden beats atop which is sprinkled Jersey club, Brazilian baile funk, Ivoirian coupé-décalé, and South African amapiano, such textural assemblages of rhythms upon riddims reflect a kaleidoscopic conception of Black creativity that transcends both time and space.
As a whole, the musical programming for The Seeds We Carry aims to foreground Black artistry as an inheritance from our ancestors, a gift through which we communicate our resistance, our survival, and our zest for life with each sound we make and every step we take.
