Between December 2020 - February 2021 we aired the Black Reverly Quiet Storm, a three-part radio show by Derrais Carter as part of his commission with If I Can’t Dance that explored different modes of storytelling, placing Carter himself in the role of the late-night DJ. The Black Revelry project takes up the detail—or “the sample”—as a method for reading the iconic 1976 painting Sugar Shack by Ernie Barnes, a painting that has circulated widely within Black popular culture (for example, as the cover art for Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You) across over four decades.
In celebration of the launch of Derrais Carter’s Black Revelry publication – a hybrid book and LP album – the Quiet Storm returns with a 7-hour Reprise featuring all three original shows and concluding with Late Night DJ 1980, a very special guest set from DJ Lynnée Denise. Recorded live on-site in Amsterdam, the Reprise includes the original radio shows with new commentary from Carter reflecting on the publication and the new sets of relations generated within its pages, as well as gracing us with an impromptu new song selection or two for your listening pleasure. Copies of the Black Revelry publication available via ificantdance.org from January 2022.
Marathon schedule:
2.00 – 4.00
GATHERING
An invitation for now and maybe tomorrow.
Episode one of the Black Revelry Quiet Storm (aired 16 December 2020), which anticipated the winter solstice, offering a rumination on ‘coming together’ from whatever distances are between us.
4.00 – 6.00
DISPERSAL
This groove is long, slow, and winding. Stretch expand and linger.
Episode two of the Black Revelry Quiet Storm (aired 20 January 2021), which presents a playlist built around ‘the stretch’ of time, of energy – collective and personal – and, most basically, of song length.
6.00 – 8.00
FREQUENCY
Return. Repeat. Replay. This set is inspired by the atmosphere of ‘Let’s Do It Again’ by The Staple Singers.
Episode three of the Black Revelry Quiet Storm (aired 17 February 2021), which shares songs and rhythms that just keep coming back, whether as remakes and remixes, or as embodied memories.
8.00 – 9.00
Late Night DJ 1980
A very special guest set from DJ Lynnée Denise created in response to Carter’s Black Revelry Quiet Storm series and featuring all women songwriters, musicians and producers—women who had the full agency to create their sound.
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Derrais Carter’s Black Revelry project is curated by Megan Hoetger as part of the If I Can’t Dance finale programme of Edition VIII – Ritual and Display, running between October 2020 and December 2021. The live on-site broadcast of Black Revelry Quiet Storm Reprise is realized in partnership with Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee and Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam with the book launch co-produced by Sandberg Instituut. Later Reprise broadcasts realized in partnership with dublab, Los Angeles and reboot.fm, Berlin. The Black Revelry project is supported by the Netherland-America Foundation. Special thanks to UTA Fine Arts and the Barnes Foundation.