Futurhythmachines:

Infopoiēsis

Colonial Science brutalizes us into bits of data to be collected and analyzed, seeking to rationally represent phenomena by reducing our complexity to visual and symbolic abstractions.

Drawing upon the (re-)creative methodologies of Black electronic dance musics, this workshop invites participants to experiment with decolonial practices of signal sampling and synthesis—methodologies that run counter to colonial practices of data extraction and analysis. The aim is not to represent phenomena through reductive models but to intuitively sense phenomena that elude representational and analytical frameworks. Using the layered polyrhythms and participatory antiphonies characteristic of Black electronic dance musics, the practices of sampling and synthesis we will explore today engage with phenomena dynamically, attuning to their resonances and relational patterns.

Participants will explore how the break beat, the blue note, and the ring shout offer sonic paradigms for rethinking knowledge production beyond colonial control. The polymetric break beat resists the monometric, affirming the generativity of dissensus. The polyphonic blue note bends the boundaries of correctness, challenging the symphonic demand for harmonic unity. The improvised participatory antiphonies of the ring shout dissolve the authority of the composer and conductor, transforming knowledge into a participatory, call-and-response practice.

Run of Show

Opening Lecture: “Black Arts & Decolonial Sciences” – 45 minutes (30 minute talk + 15 minute Q&A)

Workshop Part 1: “Make Some Noise” (Signal Sampling & Synthesis) – 30 minutes

BREAK – 30 minutes

Workshop Part 2: “Break the Beat” (Polymetrics and the Generativity of Dissensus) – 45 minutes

Workshop Part 3: “Drift into the Blue” (Polyphonics and the Expressivity of Errantry) – 45 minutes

Workshop Part 4: “Enter the Cypher” (Participatory and Improvisatory Antiphonies) – 45 minutes

TOTAL RUNTIME – 4 hours