[1.23-2.1]

In early 2016, I found myself despairing more every day as the cruelties of the first Trump administration metastasized. I was furious. I was also exhausted from the fury. Maybe six months in, I developed a mindfulness exercise: whenever I began to spiral about the Islamophobic bans or the abortion restrictions or the family separations or the attacks on trans people, I paused to ask myself, Is this actually happening to you right now? Are you personally being harmed by what you’re reading about? The answer was usually no. From the safety of my various privileges, I’d lost perspective and gotten distracted from the task of supporting people who were being harmed. My anger at what was happening to strangers, and my fear that it would happen to me or people I love, were real and important, but entombing myself in anxiety was a myopic waste of energy.

If you found yourself this week in a similar spiral about something that isn’t actually happening to you yet, maybe the exercise will be helpful: pause, grieve, stabilize, act. Or maybe things are already happening to you, or about to, in which case you don’t need me or anyone telling you what to do, and I hope that you have what you need to fight or flee. And remember that the studio is always open to hosting skill shares, organizing meetings, and other useful things.

We are just at the beginning of this chapter, however long it may be. It is tempting and easy to get caught up in every cruelty, every horror. But this is what they want: demobilization by overwhelm. They are inundating us in hopes that we will drown. It’s up to us to stay focused and keep swimming. Yesterday I read a Bluesky thread by Vicky Osterweil, the author of In Defense of Looting, that I think I’ll be returning to. A quote: “There is going to be a huge amount of fucking chaotic noise, hundreds of distressing declarations large and small. Focus on what matters to you and fight where you are on it.”

I’ll add: don’t deprive yourself of joy where you can find it. Here are some suggestions.

NB that there is no Present Sounds this week because it’s too cold in the studio! Instead, pick an album or a mix you love but haven’t listened to in a while, make some tea, lay down in bed, on the couch, or on some pillows on the floor, and let go. DIY all the way!

1.24 Music for Lights

Music for Lights is a showcase of ambient and experimental A/V performances working at edges and intersections, fuzzy in-betweens and connections. The night starts with an ambient DJ set by the Hefker Girl, then a “sonic journey through the skies” from Leo Major and the MaxwellBean Machine, and finishing up with an A/V art/performance piece with Jurrien Kampinga and Sanjay C Note.

1.28 Dance Practice

An experimental dancefloor with a therapeutic focus. Drop into your body and explore sensory awareness with a somatic movement instructor before transitioning into a DJ set that builds an arc of rhythmic intensity for full-body release. The night ends with a gentle sound bath. Arrive before 7:30 to get settled for instruction.

1.29 Lunar New Year Community Acupuncture

Alison Roehs of Modern Tonic Acupuncture sets up for an evening of healing and relaxation to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Rather than offer treatments in isolation, for this night, Alison is taking a community-focused approach that invites guests to stay in the space before and after to sink into ambient soundscapes and sip on hot tea for the post-needle comedown.

1.30 Ka Baird / Camilla Padgitt-Coles and Bryce Hackford / Dominika Mazurová will Present Sounds

On Thursdays at the studio, Present Sounds hosts one or two artists to share music for deep listening. This Thursday, though, we get four, performing in long-running collaborative pairs, which is a rare configuration for the series. Ka and Camilla meld their music and visual art practices into mesmerizing live audio-visual landscapes; I love this one from a while back shot at the big salt depot on Varick Street. Bryce and Dominika have many b2bs under their shared belt, including this very fun mix of vintage and contemporary Slavic tracks.

1.31 UCC Harlo, MFClarke, Matthew D. Gantt, Jacob Becker

This is the big-range night for this cycle of shows—experimental music going all over the place to keep us on our toes. Jacob Becker has prepared a set highlighting his pointilist sampling practice. Matthew D. Gantt is more of a maximalist, adding on kinetic visuals to his compositions. MF Clarke takes inspiration from her time spent in the arctic, creating shards of noise and image. And UCC Harlo, aka Annie Garlid, will play a DJ set touching on everything from contemporary international dance culture to obscure early music.

2.1 Tarka Benefit for Palestine

Tarka is the creation of Zara Dekho and Dynoman, a quieter, live set-focused counterpart to their energetic club sets. For each one, they provide performers with a prompt that resonates amongst diasporic people, who then perform their interpretation. To nourish bodies as well as ears, they cook and serve a “Degh" (huge pot) of biryani. Playing this time around are Amritha Kidambi, Roshni Samlal, Geng PTP, Dynoman, and Zara Dekho.

This night is a benefit for the Sanabel Team, which has supported mutual aid in Gaza since 2018. The UN estimates that it will take up to 40 years to rebuild what Palestinians returning home are describing as an apocalyptic wasteland—and that’s if the ceasefire holds. Solidarity means being in it for the long haul.

-ZB