“Black Techno Futures: Local and Global Perspectives” is a video discussion as part of Unsound 2020 which took place on July 23rd. It was programmed and hosted by Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson from Discwoman and Brooklyn’s Dweller Festival. Including perspectives from different cities
Speakers involved are:
- Jasmine Infiniti (Brooklyn) : Jasmine Infiniti is a DJ and Producer born in The Bronx and raised in the ballroom, with DJ roots in Oakland California, where she and friends formed New World Dysorder, a party and record label that centers trans and POC creatives, performers, and musicians. A long time member of the New York chapter of the legendary house of Infiniti (the legacy of the Icon Ross Infiniti) and former mother of the Bay Area chapter, Jasmine blends her love and knowledge of ballroom and bitch beats, techno, house, and anything in between, creating unique engaging sounds scapes in both her production and DJ sets.
- Lakuti (Berlin/London) : Lerato Khathi aka Lakuti grew up in Soweto, South Africa. After studying law in Johannesburg and filmmaking in Toronto, she dedicated her life to music as a DJ, promoter, label owner and agent, throwing underground parties and playing around the world at clubs and festivals. She has lived in London and Berlin, where she now resides, co-programming Friday nights at Panorama Bar with Tama Sumo.
- Axmed Maxamed (Amsterdam) : Axmed Maxamed – a queer diasporic Somali activist, organiser and music nerd, Axmed Maxamed is also co-founder of Dance with Pride, an initiative aiming to re-unify dance music with its queer roots and raise money for grass roots initiatives through parties and the sale of Dance with Pride T-shirts. Axmed is also a co-curator of the music compilation Place: The Netherlands – raising funds for and awareness around LGBTQIA+ refugees, co-organised the first Somali LGBTQIA+ gatherings in the Netherlands and is engaged in a project digitally archiving the lives of queer Somalis in the diaspora and Somalia, both past and present.
- Authentically Plastic (Kampala) : DJ, Producer & Artist based in Kampala, Uganda, Authentically Plastic’s sound is necessarily political. They run a roving, riotous, club night in Kampala called ANTI-MASS, a space for femme, queer and experimental artists in an increasingly repressive social climate. Their sets, at once dark & playful, use Gqom, Vogue & Techno as a base for exploring other unknown sounds. Their music is influenced by anything from quasi-electronic Northern Ugandan rhythms, to early acid experiments, and Afro-futurism.
- Onirica (Rio de Janeiro) : an afro Queen from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), dj resident of BATEKOO (@batekoo) and producer of Projeto Soma (@proj.soma). Ønírica works with the empowerment of Black culture through music and performance with sets ranging from funk carioca, black music and afro electronic latinities.
- Moderator: Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson (Discwoman, Dweller Festival, NYC)