send + receive v26: Dawuna, Niecy Blues, Mark Templeton

Our open­ing con­cert tra­vers­es gen­res and traces of song, with per­for­mances from Dawu­na, Niecy Blues, and Mark Tem­ple­ton. Dawu­na is the moniker and mid­dle name of mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary artist Ian Muger­wa. Using music as his pri­ma­ry medi­um, Dawu­na’s works span many dif­fer­ent styles of exper­i­men­tal black music, with influ­ences span­ning from Prince and D’Angelo to Jim O’Rourke and George Gersh­win. South Car­oli­na singer and pro­duc­er Niecy Blues cap­tures a sense of deep-root­ed div­ina­tion, cycling between sim­mer­ing bal­lads, ghost­ed R&B, down­tem­po gospel, and looped vocal impro­vi­sa­tions – often with­in the same track. Mark Tem­ple­ton’s audio com­po­si­tions are con­struct­ed from reel-to-reel tape loops and sam­pled cas­settes that are con­trast­ed with con­tem­po­rary sound tech­niques, and his per­for­mances uti­lize dig­i­tal instru­ments along­side pro­ject­ed pho­tographs, VHS footage, Super 8 film, and sam­pled video.