NEW YORK, NY – June 6, 2024 – On June 14, Aki Rhythm Press will release the world premiere recording of five-time GRAMMY® nominated composer and steel pannist Andy Akiho’s 2022 work, BeLonging, performed by Akiho and the GRAMMY® award-winning wind quintet Imani Winds. Inspired by the sounds and protests of immigrants held at a Brooklyn detention center, BeLonging features a series of highly choreographed music for wind quintet and steel pan that speaks to the universality of humanity, even (especially) when that humanity is bound. Originally workshopped at Rikers Island, this message is carried by performances of both the quintet and composer, as well as their own spoken words. Andy Akiho and Imani Winds were searching for inspiration when, in 2019, they heard the sounds of immigrant detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The facility lacked heating, even in the dead of winter, and people were pounding so loudly on the windows and walls that it was audible from the street. The artists recall, “As musicians, we couldn’t hear such rhythmic sounds of protest and NOT be moved by them.” Initially, Imani Winds commissioned Akiho to write BeLoud, BeLoved, BeLonging, a 20-minute, three-part work, but the project quickly expanded. Akiho added several more pieces — including two powerful interludes featuring the composer himself on steel pan. An early visit to Rikers Island was particularly instrumental. “We drummed on books, trash cans, and tables,” explains Akiho. “The music and camaraderie from this visit were deeply moving, and served as the initial inspiration for much of the album.” The final work, BeLonging, unfolds in seven parts, and features music for wind quintet and steel pan, interwoven with powerful collages of electronics, prepared piano, and spoken word. Loud, which begins the album, tells the project’s origin story using actual audio footage from the 2019 protest – the words shot into and out of a vacuum chamber. BeLoud follows, opening with a unison, meandering loop, interspersed with a repetitive clanging from the lower instruments that evokes the sounds of protest. Next are Loved and BeLoved, offering a moment to breathe before Longing, a powerful, extended steel pan solo by Akiho. BeLonging builds on the theme, opening with percussive motives and adding successive layers of virtuosity as it drives forward. Finally, Being closes with a mix of prepared piano, circular electronic samples, and recordings of the musicians themselves speaking to the humanity of those most marginalized in our country. Imani Winds and Akiho have received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to present five performances of BeLonging in prisons, detention centers, or juvenile facilities over the next two seasons. “The overarching goal of this project is to penetrate the walls of places of detention and incarceration across the country with positive musical intent, and to highlight, empower, and uplift people who have been incarcerated,” says Imani Winds oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz. “This piece is born of protest. But our protest has to be beautiful. This protest is a declaration that is meant to bring people together.” Tracklist
- Loud
- BeLoud
- Loved
- BeLoved
- Longing
- BeLonging
- Being
Music by Andy Akiho Performed by Andy Akiho and Imani Winds Andy Akiho: Steel Pan Imani Winds: Brandon Patrick George, Flute | Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Oboe | Mark Dover, Clarinet | Kevin Newton, Horn | Monica Ellis, Bassoon Producers: Andy Akiho, Sean Dixon, and Mark Dover Engineers: Chris Gilroy and Sean Dixon Mixed by Sean Dixon, Andy Akiho, Chris Gilroy, Mark Dover, and Jon & Yoko Greeney Mastered by Adam Ayan Executive Producers: Imani Winds Media, Aki Rhythm Productions |
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