Global Musical Group Brings 'Sound Of The 21st Century' To NYC

NEW YORK — It's been more than 40 years since the Voyager spacecraft were launched carrying a sonic time capsule of humanity on golden records. But what might those records sound like if they were reimagined for the 21st century?

That's the question a group of musicians from more than a dozen countries has sought to answer in the weeks leading up to its closing performance in Brooklyn on Saturday.

Now in its seventh year, the OneBeat music exchange program brings together artists from across the world to create original work in collaboration with each other.

Through a residency and a tour along the East Coast, this year's class of 24 artists — including two from New York City — has worked to identify "the sound of the 21st century" using the Voyager records as inspiration, said program manager Kyla Smith.

"We’re not sending an exact replica or a musical copy of one tradition, but in this process we’re kind of reimagining or expanding on what our collective consciousness could be as a musical output," Smith said.

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs that's run by Found Sound Nation, the social engagement wing of the Brooklyn-based nonprofit Bang on a Can.

The program, making its third appearance in the city this year, seeks top-notch musicians from more than 40 eligible nations who are "interested in the use of music as a tool for community-building," Smith said. Among those making the cut this year were New York-based percussionist Dylan Greene and the Queens rapper and singer Akinyemi.

"It would be very rare to ever see this combination of artists on one stage together," Smith said. "The fact that we’re putting together a kind of traditional instrumentalist from Mongolia with a beat-maker from Pakistan — I don’t think anywhere else you would see this combination of artists."

The OneBeat artists created original music from scratch last month during a two-week residency in Florida. This year's project sought to revisit the Voyager records, which were launched into space in 1977 with recordings of languages and music from across the world, as well as other audio relics of Earth such as laughter, whale songs and even brain waves.

The OneBeat group will end its roughly two-week tour with a four-day series of events in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx, capped by a final performance at Murmrr in Prospect Heights on Saturday.

The OneBeat artists will build on the work they've created "in conversation with communities of those boroughs" by collaborating with local arts and youth organizations, Smith said, such as the Queens-based Topaz Arts dance company and Bronx Speaks, an initiative that aims to highlighting immigrant stories.

"Everyone is kind of elevated to the stage as a performer, as an artist, in their own right, no matter if they are a 13-year-old kid or they’re a 25-year-old musician who’s been doing it for 10 years," Smith said.

New Yorkers can catch OneBeat artists at one of the following events around the city this week.

Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
"Bronx Speaks: Dreamers - Melodies & Migration"
Eddie's Place African Market, 5 E. 167th St., The Bronx

Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
Performance at the Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse, The Bronx

Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
Performance at the Queens Museum
New York City Building, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
Final performance at Murmrr
17 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights

(Lead image: The 2018 OneBeat musicians will close their tour with a series of events in New York City this week. Photo courtesy of OneBeat)