kimya


Email:
soundbykimya@gmail.com

Instagram:
@kimya_sound





(it means peace)

A series of deep sonic and textual experiments inspired by the music of the black diaspora.

kimya is a softly curated space for reading, gathering, and listening. Drop in to immerse yourself in a selection of music and books inspired by the warmth and refusal expressed through Congolese rumba.

I turn toward sound because this is where my connection to my family’s homeland began: in my grandmother’s steady voice. Long before I learned she sang in the choir, her prayers and our brief conversations held me through the telephone, a sonic presence despite the barriers of language and the Atlantic Ocean. Toni Morrison writes, “all water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.” Like the water that both separates and connects our lives, I am often searching for an origin point. Books and music have become way-finding tools as these things hold memory, too. Though it is an archival project, kimya is uninterested in lingering in nostalgia. Inspired by Pauline Oliveros’ theory of deep listening, it is an invitation enlivened by community engagement, dialogue and experimentation

Visit us at Whippersnapper Gallery in Toronto from Mar 7 to Mar 29:

Listening session:
Friday, March 7 / 6-8 pm
Visting hours: Friday + Saturday / 3-7 pm
Closing reception: Saturday, March 29 / 6-8 pm
Closing Reception

listening room — 💿

guest mix: Fataba



Available to listen to on Soundcloud or you can experience these mixes in-person at our listening and reading room at Whippersnapper Gallery until March 29 (Friday and Saturday, 3-7 pm, closing reception on Saturday, March 29 from 6-8pm).




Mursiik is the sonic limb of Fataba's interdisciplinary artistic practice. Interested in exploring sonic work rooted at the altar of grief and joy, Mursiik considers the echo geolocation practice of body and spirit as a technology attendant to homemaking. Fataba is an artisan, writer, altar-adorner, movement and sound artist based in Tkaronto with roots in Kenya and Sierra Leone. Their work has been exhibited at 198 Contemporary Arts, Its OK Studios, and published in Down River Road Magazine, Jalada Africa, Burning House Press and Stedelijk Studies Journal.

Listen to Fataba’s heart-stirring + grounding mix here.

guest mix: La Sappe



La Sappe is a DJ, event organizer and overall (art)chitect who embodies the spiritual sense of being sapé, a well-dressed ambianceur, no matter the circumstances. Having worked with arts organizations such as the Toronto International Film Festival and Nia Centre for the Arts, along with the music collectives she runs (Where People Stay At and Pata Pata), La Sappe understands what it takes to build community within the arts and celebrates the unique contributions of Afro Diasporic artists in everything she does. Her various mixes and countless sets often serve as love letters or dédicaces to the infectious bantu beats that raised her: congolese rumba, sokouss, ndombolo
, batida and more.

Listen to Rika’s sonic journey through various registers and genres of Congolese music here

reading room —  📚




A preview of some of the titles that will be available for reference @ Whippersnapper Gallery from Feb 28 to Mar 23.

 

pdfs + online resources — 

Click to access.




Closing eception: March 29