DeForrest Brown Jr. Premieres New Work in Troy

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS) will present the world premiere of scholar, rhythmanalyst, and music artist DeForrest Brown, Jr.’s new performance piece, Speakers That Speak to You, on April 28.

The premiere follows a week-long residency at EMPAC by Brown and will take place in EMPAC’s Studio 1—Goodman. Speakers That Speak to You makes use of the studio space’s “advanced sonic infrastructure to activate the spatial qualities of techno music, tracing its machine-like aspects to origins in the nexus of Black history, radical politics, and musical landscapes.”



The two-hour listening session doubles as a recording session for Brown’s next album, whose release will follow the forthcoming fall 2023 release of Techxodus on his Planet Mu music label. The audience is invited to move freely through the space as they engage with Brown’s performance.

DeForrest Brown, Jr.’s Speakers That Speak to You will premiere at EMPAC on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Troy, New York, on April 28 at 8pm. Tickets are $15-$20.