Photo series: Hannah Elsisi presents Chromesthesia at LGW24 by Juri Hiensch

Hannah Elsisi presents Chromesthesia Photo

From Rio to Cairo, Miami to Kampala, Chromesthesia tracks Afro-diasporic rhythms and explores the history that undergirds Afro-descendant electronic music. At Le Guess Who? 2024, British-Egyptian award-winning social and intellectual historian Hannah Elsisi presented the 13-hour durational performance of Chromesthesia.

Our residential photographer Juri Hiensch was present to capture the project and the special moments surrounding it, both backstage as well as on stage.

Two photos. The first photo shows Hannah Elsisi. She is standing in front of a wall in a black dress with her hands in the air. She's smiling and dancing. The second photo shows two dancers on stage. On the background you see musical performers.

The popular music of the 21st century is virtually impossible without shared global experiences of migration and displacement. From Electro-Shaabi to Amapiano, from Raptor House to Reggaeton, the global rhythms of our times archive over a millennium of African and Afro-descendant musicking on the move.

Aptly named “the colour of sound”, Chromesthesia aims to map centuries of movement and resistance as they have been inscribed in sound.

This photo shows two people smiling and hugging each other. On the left you'll see a woman, Betsayda Machado, and on the right a man, DJ Babatr.

This photo shows two people holding each other. On the left you see a woman with her eyes closed holding the shoulders of the other woman. She is wearing an ornament on her head. On the right, you see a woman with a headscarf and an ornament on her nose. She is looking at the women on the left and holder her arms.

On Saturday, November 9, Hannah Elsisi's Chromesthesia featured the choreography of Congolese performer Natisa Exocé Kasongo combined with live visuals by GKZ Studio and with performances by a.o. South Africa’s Sho Madjozi, who seamlessly blends Tsonga, English, and Swahili with genres such as gqom, Afro-pop, and hip-hop; New York R&B vocalist Yaya Bey, who incorporates her Caribbean roots; and Lamin Fofana, who explores questions of movement, migration, alienation and belonging.

Two photos of a live performance. The first photo shows Maurice Louca playing the violin. The second photo shows a woman playing the piano.

Furthermore, performing as part of the program were DJ Babatr, considered the Godfather of Raptor House, in collaboration with singer Betsayda Machado, who grew up in El Clavo, Venezuela, where the roots of her ancestors–slaves who had freed themselves–still resonate in the music that is made there; and Maurice Louca, one of the most adventurous figures in Egypt’s thriving experimental arts scene.

Berlin-based transdisciplinary, diasporic-futuristic band Sonic Interventions kicks off the project in TivoliVredenburg. “Twelve more hours will follow as Elsisi dances her audience past a thousand years of music and migration from Africa.” - NRC

Liliane Chlela, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and the members of Flare Quartet sitting or standing next to each other

View the full photo series

Chromesthesia: The Colour of Sound, Vol 1, recorded in Cape Town, Miami, Ramallah, Tunis, Los Angeles, London, Cairo, Paris, Johannesburg, Caracas, Amsterdam, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, Hurghada, was released on 8 November 2024.