Last month we hosted an epic Sonic Transmissions with Shabaka Hutchings, curating an evening of conversation, live performance and collective listening of Shabaka’s work, old and new. A saxophonist, band leader and composer, Shabaka Hutchings is one of the stars of London’s younger jazz community, as well as the city’s thriving improvised music scene. As part of the Caribbean diaspora, he pushes the boundaries of what musical elements are considered to be Caribbean. Constantly evaluating the nature of his relationship with musical material and tradition, he describes his attempts at composition as wrestling matches with questions of where and how the Caribbean can be encoded, and what happens when it is exposed to the western classical music cannon. We talked about ancestors and marxism, mythology and capitalism, time and language, rap and calypso, communities and colonialism, and imagining and creating new systems. Over the next few weeks we will release six videos containing gems from the night for you to enjoy and marinate on… Big shout out to the filming team Femi Anderson, Eva Grace Bor, Bart Jones and Kurt Gordon for capturing the night.

Featuring specials guests Theon Cross (Theon Cross Trio, Sons of Kemet) and Max Hallett (Comet is Coming) this was our 4th Sonic Transmissions in a series of exploratory live public listening sessions with musicians, DJs, artists and music makers. Navigating identity, politics, music and style, each session offers an alternative way to experience music and sound.