“There are of course 99 names of Allah, but there are 52 niggers. So, therefore, I will be playing two of these niggers.” According to the American vocalist and pianist Julius Eastman and that results in the compositions Evil Nigger and Crazy Nigger, from the ‘Nigger Series’. Also to be seen: Gay Guerilla.
This live registration has an outspoken and compelling form with split screens. The three compositions are performed by two actors who recite Eastman’s statement and two grand pianos, each played by two pianists. The titles of his pieces do not beat about the bush: this militant minimalist composition is primarily intended to evoke “the ecstatic aesthetics of this radicalism”. In the artistic signature of The Otolith Group “an experience of watching in the key of listening”.