Sudan Archives And Kamil Oshundara Join BREATHEWATCHLISTENTOUCH: The Work And Music Of Yoko Ono

Sudan Archives and Kamil Oshundara join the artist lineup for BREATHEWATCHLISTENTOUCH: The Work and Music of Yoko Ono at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday, March 22. Throughout this exceptional evening, Ono's art and music will be performed by a diverse group of artists whose work is informed by Ono's legacy in a concert-length celebration of her 60-plus-year career.

The concert is part of the LA Phil's season-long Fluxus Festival. Sudan Archives taught herself to play the violin in elementary school, mostly by ear. After discovering the violin playing style of both Northeast and West African fiddlers and musicians like Asim Gorashi, Ali Farka Tour , and Juldeh Camarah, her eyes opened to new ways of incorporating this instrument into her sound. Fusing folk music and electronic production was the turning point for Sudan. She has refined her early DIY style to a setup that centers on a MIDI violin, and creates most of her songs, synths, and bass lines from the violin synthesizer. She moved to Los Angeles to study music technology at age 19, and signed with the Stones Throw record label in 2017. Now 24 and just beginning her career, Sudan Archives is already winning fans around the world. After releasing her debut EP, she toured the U.S. (both solo and with Tune-Yards) and Europe. Her performances at SXSW 2018 were described by NPR Music, Pitchfork, Chicago Tribune, and more as highlights of the week. Kamil Oshundara is a scholar, queer community organizer, multifaceted artist, and activist who curates inclusive arts-based events in Los Angeles. Oshundara is a writer of prose, editorials, and spoken-word poetry with the aim of bridging gaps between popular culture and legacies of social justice. Her multidisciplinary practice operates under the belief that art can be a legitimate catalyst for systemic social change. Oshundara's performance in BREATHWATCHLISTENTOUCH will be spoken-word.

Special guests for this performance also include singer, songwriter, and former Dirty Projectors member Amber Coffman; Juilliard-trained composer, songwriter, and producer Shruti Kumar; La Marisoul, lead singer of Grammy Award -winning Mexican-American band La Santa Cecilia; electronic music artist and activist Madame Gandhi; Shirley Manson, lead vocalist of the alternative rock band Garbage; choreographer, visual artist, and creative director Nina McNeely; composer, activist, entrepreneur, bilingual singer, and Chilean pop artist Francisca Valenzuela; and We Are KING, who were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2017.

Yoko Ono is one of the most influential artistic figures of the 20th century. Her work as a performance artist and musician is conceptually bold and politically confrontational, but it's delivered with a lyrical touch one informed by her dedication to peace and spirituality giving it a great sense of warmth and humanity. That warmth has inspired an incredible range of artists and musicians, and continues to resound today.

Breathe Watch Listen Touch and move between the Earth. Fluxus was a wily, nebulous and deeply influential anti-establishment art movement that emerged in the 1960s. Comprised of an international collective of artists, composers, and poets, Fluxus aimed to collapse what it considered the false wall between art and life. The LA Phil's Fluxus Festival is a survey curated by Christopher Rountree, in collaboration with the Getty Research Institute, in which the often humorous, frequently challenging music and performances of Fluxus will be presented on and off-site. This exploration will include a combination of live events, printed materials, and symposia, including surprise appearances, installations, and performances throughout the LA Phil's 2018/19 Centennial season.

For more information about Fluxus Festival please visit: laphil.com/fluxus,

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