Super excited to announce my participation in the Boccaccio Project! I’ve composed a piece for my Flutronix partner, Nathalie Joachim entitled, Have and Hold. Watch video of the performance here. Read for more details about the project from The Library of Congress:
A Series of Musical Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the mid-14th century Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) wrote the Decameron, a collection of 100 stories shared between a group of 10 acquaintances who had removed themselves from society during the darkest period of a plague. This early artistic response to an outbreak provided context and a means of expression, and the parallels to the quarantine and social distancing phenomena we have been experiencing worldwide in these difficult past few months resonate with us.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we draw on Boccaccio’s example to offer some musical responses. We have asked 10 pairs of composers and performers to write and perform brief solo works to be premiered online over the course of 10 weekdays in June.
About
Have and Hold reflects the desire to be near others during an extended period of social distancing and isolation. Personally, I have realized that being around people and experiencing life with them not only brings me great joy, but fuels my energy, creativity and spirit. This piece is truly dedicated to all of the people in my life who I miss dearly and long to be near again.
I had the immense pleasure of co-producing Nathalie’s new album “Fanm d’Ayiti” and it has finally arrived! It’s like Christmas in August! Read the full press release below, and get ye to Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, or your preferred digital platform to buy and stream the full album today. For all of the audiophiles out there, the album is also available on vinyland sounds simply delicious. Thanks for supporting, and enjoy the music!
“a unique mixture of classical music, electronic programming, hip-hop, neo-rhythm & blues and folkloric elements rooted in the Haitian cultural heritage.”
– El Intruso
“For a very long time I didn’t feel comfortable calling myself a composer, because the people for whom that title was reserved did not look, or live, or create music that was anything like mine.”
– 15 Questions with Nathalie Joachim
New Amsterdam Records is excited to release Fanm d’Ayiti, the debut solo album fromHaitian-American composer, flutist, and vocalist Nathalie Joachim. The album, which translates to Women of Haiti in English, shows Joachim exploring her Haitian heritage and celebrating the songs and stories of some of Haiti’s most iconic yet under-recognized female artists. The songs on Fanm d’Ayiti were all written or arranged by Joachim and feature her performing on vocals, flute, and electronics alongside the Grammy-nominated string ensemble Spektral Quartet.
In addition to Bandcamp, the record is now available on all digital platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, andAmazon. The record is also available on vinyl here.
You can watch I Care If You Listen‘s track premiere of “Alléluia” from Suite pou Dantan off the album here.
Fanm d’Ayiti features the powerful Haitian female voices from yesterday and today, including the recorded voices of Joachim’s grandmother, the girls choir of Joachim’s family’s home farming village of Dantan, and conversations with Emerante de Pradines, a prized voice of Haiti’s Golden Age; Milena Sandler, daughter of the late, famed chanteuse Toto Bissainthe; and celebrated vodou songstress Carole Demesmin.
Fanm d’Ayiti began in 2015, shortly after the passing of Joachim’s maternal grandmother. Joachim explains:
“She and I spent many a cherished moment underneath the mango and coconut trees in her yard in Haiti – and in my childhood home in America – singing songs with one another. It was our way of telling each other stories, and her way of passing on a centuries-long cultural practice of oral history. Her absence ignited a deep desire for understanding in me. In what ways did our voices connect with the voices of other Haitian women? What did our songs tell us about our past, and what might they mean for the future? The foundation of Fanm d’Ayiti began to reveal itself readily through conversation: with my family, and with others willing to share their piece of our cultural puzzle.”
These exchanges led Joachim to learn about and honor the dozens of Haitian female artists who were each committed to carrying forward the story of the first free black republic, who used their voices to uplift future generations by celebrating the nation’s strength.
“I feel lucky to be joining my voice with theirs,” continues Joachim, “and bringing listeners a sonic portfolio of my originals and arrangements of historic Haitian songs, woven together in a musical celebration of activism and hope.”
09/13/19 — Chicago, IL @ Black Ensemble Theater (Chicago premiere and album release) LINK
10/26/19 — New York, NY @ Kaufman Music Center / Ecstatic Music series (NYC debut and album release) LINK
01/10/20 — Chapel Hill, NC @ Carolina Performing Arts at UNC LINK
02/19/20 — College Park, MD @ Clarice Smith Center at UMD LINK
The Momentary just announced that Flutronix will be featured as one of the Artists-in-Residence for their spring program! The Momentary is a brand new multi-disciplinary arts space, created by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. As a part of Flutronix’s residency, they will partner with local organizations for their project, Discourse, to create work that is unique to the Bentonville community. Director of the Momentary, Lieven Bertels says that “One of the goals of the Momentary is to bring multiple contemporary art spaces together for cultivation of new ideas based on current topics.”
In 2017, both Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull were commissioned to write pieces for Amanda Gookin’sForward Music Project. These pieces will be performed again in a second iteration of the project, presented by National Sawdust, as a part of the Kennedy Center’sDIRECT CURRENT Festival, which is a two-week celebration of contemporary culture. Forward Music Project is an exploration of women’s experiences; highlighting LGBTQ+ issues, reproductive rights, and human trafficking. Forward Music Project 2.0 will premiere at Dupont Underground, March 29th at 9:00pm.
Flutronix had a great time chatting with Caity Massoud at the Flute Center of New York for the Flute Unscripted Podcast. They recalled how they first met, and their fond respective memories as faculty at the Juilliard Music Advancement Program. They also discussed Flutronix’s most current project Discourse. As a part of their residency at University of North Carolina, Discourse is a social change initiative aiming to engage communities to create conversation around personal experience. Nathalie says that the project is “about tying people together” and “once you hear someone’s story it makes you see them in a different way.” To which Allison responds that “once you see the human experience behind what someone is talking about, you can actually start to see each other’s point of view.”
