Dameun Strange 🍉🌌

Spent the Friday in Winona with some really amazing artists and participating on a panel of some of the other artists whose work is being featured. I was only able to capture a little bit of this very large show. I'm looking forward to working with artists Elana Mann as part of my residency throughout the next year. I'm really thankful to Tia-Simone Gardner and Shana M. Griffith for the invitation to be a part of this very important and provocative exhibition. And of course, my sincere gratitude to the MMAM for presenting such a beautifully curated exhibition. I recommend you see it in person, where the book is available for purchase and features the visual work, poetry, and essays from creatives all across the US. Just 2 hours from the Cities and a nice trip to peek at the early fall colors in the next couple of weeks.

OK OK, now I can say more: I was so honored earlier this year to be invited by my friend Kamilla Arku (thanks to Lainie Fefferman for the intro) to join this beautiful celebration of African Art Music on the UK label Nonclassical. It was such a joy working with Kamilla that I am certain that you can expect more music from this collaboration. And for now, you can dig into this one: Outside the Lines, Vol. 6 takes its focus from UK-based artists who are exploring and engaging with the different dimensions of African art music. Combining African instruments, field recordings, electronic music and contemporary Classical music, this EP examines the boundaries of what ‘classical music’ is typically assumed to be. It instead advocates for a more expansive approach, incorporating electronics and non-Western classical traditions. With the piano music of Nkeiru Okoye as a starting point, ‘Sefa’ by Kamilla Arku and Dameun Strange weaves notions of African diaspora and sisterhood into an electroacoustic soundscape. The piece is inspired by the experiences of an imaginary woman who hears the sound of a piano through raindrops. As the sun begins to set, the sound is bathed in golden-hour glow and conjures a cherished memory of dancing barefoot in the rain with her sisters. #BlackComposers #Blackmusic #AfricanArtMusic #PreSonus #StudioOne #AkaiForce

Nice day to don the pink hood!

New post about my experience with Max/MSP for the reworking of my 2017 piece Helianthus! #blackcomposer #afrofuturism #maxmspjitter

New Substack on vision and pushing yourself.

Helianthus_v2, subtitled Sankofa, serves as a profound and expansive reinterpretation of my 2017 work created for the Cedar Cultural Center Commission. The original piece, Helianthus (now retrospectively referred to as Helianthus_v1), took the form of an operetta centered around the potent theme of time travel. This concept was utilized not as a mere science-fiction trope, but as a central metaphor for exploring the deep philosophical and cultural meaning embedded in the Akan concept of Sankofa—the idea of reaching back to the past to retrieve that which is useful for the present. In its initial iteration, the staging was conceptually striking: I served as the personification of the time machine itself. My role involved operating a complex, custom-built rig of electronic instruments—a combination of synthesizers, sequencers, and a drum machine—which formed the essential sonic backbone and narrative-driving pulse of the operetta. Simultaneously, a live, 15-piece orchestra played intricate incidental music, weaving a rich, acoustic tapestry beneath the vocalists as they moved through each scene. The narrative arc of Helianthus_v1 chronicled my journey through time, specifically visiting one of the four essential matriarchs who played pivotal roles in my upbringing and personal formation. Helianthus_v2: Sankofa retains the core thematic commitment to honoring my ancestors, but it fundamentally shifts the mechanism of engagement. Instead of me traversing the space-time continuum to journey to the matriarchs—a concept that emphasized my agency in the past—the new version reverses the flow of time and energy. Here, the focus is on a powerful, internalized ritual designed to draw them into the present moment. The physical embodiment of the time machine is replaced by the activation of a cosmic "vortex" combined with the use of tangible artifacts: photographic images of each ancestor. These photos are not mere static representations; they are essential totems, key components used to initiate and open a portal between worlds. #blackcomposer #afrofuturism #timetravel

A look back at how I got here. #graphicscore #afrofuturism #blackcomposer

New Substack out today about my exploration of graphic scores over the last 9 years.

Wrote a little thing about Victor Jerome Glover, Jr. As a GenXer I felt the urge to wait until splashdown. IYKYK #afrofuturism #artemisii #thevoyageofqu #victorjeromeglover #nasa

Tbakersimmons breaks it down and breaks Hollywood.

Just needed to get something off my chest.

The Journey continues next fall! #becomingdrstrange