Angel Bat Dawid and DeForrest Brown Jr: Alkebulan - Beyond Drexciya

"There is no more Drexcyian dimension. That dimension is closed. Like a wormhole. Like a stargate. So this final information you read here is just remnants of a possibility that could have happened. — The Remnant of a Hydrogen Element aka Gerald Donald.”
— From an interview with Kodwo Eshun, conducted for Hydro Decapita (2010) and A Sphere of Water Orbiting a Star (2023) by The Otolith Group.

Alkebulan: Beyond Drexciya is a mythic voyage through collapsing space and time. When one ancient door shuts, another emerges—guiding us into a cosmic gateway rooted in Black mythos and ancestral memory.

DeForrest Brown, Jr. and Angel Bat Dawid traverse sonically across multidimensional realities, to reclaim Alkebulan as the true cradle of Black civilization—a portal to metasymmetrical futures beyond physical dimension, where history, myth, and the future converge in sacred space.

About the Artists

Angel Bat Dawid is a Black American composer, improviser, clarinetist, pianist, vocalist, educator, and DJ based in Chicago, United States. Her debut solo album The Oracle (2019) was released with the International Anthem Recording Co. to widespread critical acclaim. Recorded using only her cellphone in various locations from London, UK to Cape Town, South Africa, to her hometown of Chicago, Dawid’s release was described by Pitchfork as “a vibrant, spiritual, free-jazz document of Black life as it stands today.” Known for her prowess as a bandleader and performer, Dawid leads the all-woman ensemble Sistazz of the Nitty Gritty, is a founding member of the performance research group Autophysiopsychic Millennium, is a clarinetist in Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble, and tours globally with her ensemble Tha Brothahood. As an educator, Dawid teaches her “Great Black Music’‘ course at Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center through Old Town School of Folk. Dawid also composes pieces for live performance, has scored television series, and hosts a monthly show on NTS Radio.

DeForrest Brown Jr. is an Alabama-raised, Ex-American, rhythmanalyst, writer, musician, and curator currently based in Vancouver, Canada. Under the moniker Speaker Music, he channels the African American modernist tradition of rhythm and soul music as an intellectual site and sound of techno-vernacular expression. He has released three albums on Planet Mu; Of Desire, Longing (2019), Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry (2020) and Techxodus (2023). Brown’s debut book Assembling a Black Counter Culture was published by Primary Information in 2022.

Accessibility

The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. While plans for a full building upgrade to facilitate access for wheelchair users are still underway, events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available virtually via high-quality livestream (see link here). ASL interpretation is available upon request. Please contact us at info@westernfront.ca or +1 (604) 876 9343 to arrange. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.

Acknowledgements

Presented with support from the Government of Canada and the the SOCAN Foundation.