Today, people around the US are commemorating Juneteenth. Though advocating for Juneteenth to be more broadly revered in mainstream culture has been an arduous struggle undertaken by luminaries like activist and retired educator Opal Lee, since 1865, Juneteenth has been celebrated in the Black American community as a milestone in the abolition of chattel slavery and as an acknowledgement that freedom was further delayed for Africans who were enslaved in Texas. Here at Mirlo, we are taking these histories as an opportunity to reflect on and honor how so much of the most impactful, powerful, and creative music that has come into the world since then can be traced to the Black freedom struggle.
As the historian Robert Farris Thompson put it, Black people in the Atlantic world "have creatively altered the shape of the planet permanently, have created the sounds which have shook the whole of the 20th century by the scruff of its neck." When listening to the music uploaded to Mirlo so far, you can hear remnants or influences of this Afro-sonic cultural world; we hear beats, grooves, and experiments in sound that bear the marks of Black creativity everywhere we tune in. To lift up the powerful impulses to liberation inherent in many Black-founded musical genres, Mirlo will be highlighting Black-led music collectives for Juneteenth and Black Music Month.
Black Techno Matters is a collective and label with a mission to boldly reclaim the Black origins of techno and amplify present day Black musicians, producers, and DJs who are excelling in electronic and techno music spheres. They release playlists and compilations and host events such as TECHNO IN THE PARK.
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