Assembling a Black Counter Culture: Speaker Music and Made By We

An evening of performance featuring Speaker Music (pseudonym of rhythmanalist, media theorist, writer, and curator, DeForrest Brown, Jr.) and MadeByWe (DJ collective of Hafiz Akinlusi, Mada Phiri and Vanessa Fajemisin). Sets will be followed by a brief talkback exploring key themes in Brown’s debut book, Assembling a Black Counterculture. This event is free and open to the public.

DeForrest Brown, Jr. is an Alabama-raised rhythmanalyst, writer, and representative of the Make Techno Black Again campaign. As Speaker Music, he channels the African American modernist tradition of rhythm and soul music as an intellectual site and sound of generational trauma. On Juneteenth of 2020, he released the album Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry on Planet Mu. His written work explores the links between the Black experience in industrialized labor systems and Black innovation in electronic music, and has appeared in Artforum, Triple Canopy, NPR, CTM Festival, Mixmag, among many others. He has performed or presented work at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Camden Arts Centre, UK; Unsound Festival, Krakow; Sónar, Barcelona; Issue Project Room, New York; and elsewhere. Assembling a Black Counter Culture, Brown’s debut book, presents a comprehensive account of techno with a focus on the history of Black experiences in industrialized labor systems—repositioning the genre as a unique form of Black musical and cultural production.

Made By We (Hafiz Akinlusi, Mada Phiri and Vanessa Fajemisin) is a black-owned and operated community-centred creative project focused on ideas, sitting at the intersection of creativity, culture and community. Made up of artists, consultants, cultural curators and producers, MBW uses a variety of creative mediums, including events, to tell stories that centre the experiences of BIPOC and Queer communities. Through design, images, objects and experiences, MBW celebrates innovation, collaboration and community. Everything we do starts with intention, and is rooted in our unique histories, perspectives and values.