HEVLIGHT = A trio: Crystabel Efemena Riley / Nkisi / Seymour Wright

About

High-Energy Visible (HEV) light penetrates deeper into the skin than UVA and UVB rays, reaching down into the lower layers of the dermis and hypodermis, inducing oxidative stress and breaking down structural protein. During the late noughties Crystabel Efemena Riley toured Japan and Europe using drums, electronics and make-up in power-noise trio Maria and the Mirrors. This was the start of her interest in patterns on skins — human and drum. An interest in dimensional patterns existing on (and off) different skin surfaces, exploring the idea of 'care and uncare': layered skins, recycled drum skins, smetled sculptures, other metallics and electronics. Crystabel has been a long-term collaborator with Sue Lynch who welcomed her into the Horse Improvised Music Club and later played in the London Improvisers Orchestra. She is currently working on the multi-format duo project @xcrswx with Seymour Wright, together they created the sounds for Edward George’s Black Atlas film at the Warburg Institute. Nkisi is the pseudonym of Melika Ngombe Kolongo, whose activities as a producer, live musician, DJ and curator are channels for an ongoing inquiry into sound as a tool of communication beyond the purely lingual. Musically, this manifests in a captivating cross-talk of African rhythms, uncompromising European hard dance tropes, foreboding synth melodies and a relentless, galvanising energy.