The Politics Of Breathing

The Politics of Breathing features Elaine Mitchener and Dirar Kalash performing works that combine live electronics, the voice and the breath as a powerful singular force that transcend the individual body—channeling collective will toward freedom and justice.

'When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.' -- Frantz Fanon

Dirar Kalash is a Palestinian musician and sound artist whose work spans a wide range of musical and sonic practices within a variety of instrumental, compositional and improvisational contexts. He is mostly known for his politically driven soundscape / electro-acoustic project "The Sonic Front", and the compositions "we can't breathe (for Eric Garner, George Floyd, and Frantz Fanon)" and "By Any Means Necessary (for Malcolm X)"

Elaine Mitchener is a British Afro-Caribbean vocalist, movement artist and composer working between contemporary/experimental new music, free improvisation and visual art.

She is currently a Wigmore Hall Associate Artist, also an Artist Associate with ENSEMBLE KLANG and a NEEDCompany Fellow. Elaine was a DAAD Artist-in-Berlin Fellow (2022), an exhibiting artist in the British Art Show 9 (2021-22) and in 2020 a selected artist for the Rauschenberg Residency,

In February 2022 Mitchener was awarded an MBE for Services to Music. Her debut album SOLO THROAT was released in May 2024 under Café Oto’s OTORUKO label.

As a guest curator Elaine developed and presented Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery’s Deep Time Festival (Basquiat&Cage 8424) and Politics of the Voice for Courtisane Festival (Ghent, Belgium).

She has worked and collaborated with George E Lewis, Jennifer Walshe, Tansy Davies, Rolf Hind, Laure M Hiendl, Matana Roberts; visual artists Sonia Boyce, Christian Marclay and The Otolith Group; chamber ensembles Apartment House, London Sinfonietta, Ensemble MAM, Ensemble Klang, Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble ICE, and Klangforum Wien; choreographer Dam van Huynh and experimental musicians such as Moor Mother, Joelle Leandre, Saul Williams, Pat Thomas and David Toop. Elaine is founder of the collective electroacoustic unit The Rolling Calf.