abo ibawi (2019)
Instrumentation: Guitar, Live Electronics (MaxMSP)
Duration: 7’
Inspired by Audre Lorde’s proclamation “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing,” abo ibawi (the divine feminine) is a meditation on the foundation of womanhood. Referencing Ìyàmi Àjẹ́ or “The Divine Mother” and Yorùbá Orisha Yemaya, this meditation is expressed within the intersection of the Black femininity. Written in ABA form with an intro, abo ibawi begins with a building rhythmic counterpoint between electronics, spoken text, the body of the guitar, and plucked strings arising out of silence. The rhythm that unfolds is derived from the Gadzo dance music of the Ewe tribe. It grows increasingly complex before drastically fading away, making way for a guitar solo constructed of angular gestures. The solo leads down to a low E, marking the beginning of the B section. The B section is slower than the preceding material. Here, ethereal, spatial fragments in the guitar are juxtaposed against thick, dark pads of sound and spacious repeated utterances of the piece’s text in the electronics. As these textures converse and eventually converge into a singular texture, subtle references to the A section’s Gadzo rhythms begin to appear. These references begin to shift into the forefront, returning the piece back to the A section before it ends.