“Music is a spiritual thing”, said Fela Kuti, “…you don’t play with music.”. 

These words allude to music and its place in the human migration across time and space, through darkness and light. Its form nowhere near as important as its presence. 

Music renders us human. The use of intentionally created sonic harmony to worship, celebrate, convey meaning and emotion, is integral to our experience on this planet. At once ordinary and extraordinary, music mirrors the metaphysics of the human experience.

Music is a technology. One conceived of self-awareness, the simple recognition of our voice is the inherent recognition of our divinity. This technology accompanied us out of caves, through the villages, beneath a master’s yoke, through the factories, over the heads of chain gangs and into the multiplicity of the information age.

East Coast versus West Coast. Old school versus new. My fave versus yours. Humans are tribal after all. But these oppositions serve a purpose beyond simple debate. They are also a means to streamline ever-increasing glut of choice and solidify our worldviews. But, our innate tribalism denies the fullness of existence and experience.

What if we didn’t need to make choices? What happens when we step away from either/or and lean into both/and? Could it be possible to view music as one singular spectrum of experience? Is it possible to see Future as a modern bluesman; to understand house music as in-keeping with traditions of sonic worship; or find the through line that connects Bessie Smith, Li’l Kim and bell hooks?

Of course. In fact, this is how we step into the other side of sound.

Through consistent and intentional interventions, The Other Side of Sound creates the space to reframe music as a continuum. The Other Side of Sound is more than music. It’s a journey, a philosophy, a portal beyond genre and rhythm. It’s where sound becomes language, memory, and ritual. This movement consists of a curated series of sound-forward experiences, each one unique in form but unified in feeling. 

Envisioning this world beyond sound comes with a line of inquiry as old as the human mind itself. “Where have we come from?”; “Where are we going?”; “What will guide us?”.

Answering those questions forms the next leg of our collective journey.