'Submerged in Sound' Immerses its Denver Audience in the Lineage of Black Music as a Form of Liberation
April 29 | Helen Yoseph
On April 18th, at Denver’s Union Hall, a new kind of cross-creative, collaborative, immersive, and educational experience brought to life a modern extension of a very old history, albeit a specific thread of which – among many equally deserving – that calls for further attention and dissection. Submerged in Sound – led by the founder of Asé Aperture and creator of the Dem Deya Sound System, Darrien Williamson, featuring legendary Detroit artist Sinistarr, and hosted and curated by Sierra Jeter – guided a sold-out audience through a one-of-a-kind evening. A deeply researched, experiential exploration of rare and historically significant records examined how bass, sound system culture, Black electronic music, and Black musical futurism have shaped global music movements. The evening’s central theme – sonic legacy – emphasized how artists create with intention, shaping more liberated futures through sound.
‘Time and time again,’ details Sierra Jeter while deep diving into the roots of her curation, ‘Black people – we've had to find a way to survive these systems that seek to keep us small, keep us disempowered, and seek to take so much from us. And so – as a way to heal, as a way to take our power back – there is a trend of new genres coming about during these times of social unrest. And I believe we're in one of those times now.’
The evening was woven into a larger and (at the time of this story) ongoing exhibition, at Union Hall, where the gallery’s anchoring program, Rough Gems was launched in 2019 as a pathway for emerging creatives in the Denver area to cultivate curatorial leadership and first-hand experience organizing an exhibition from concept to execution.
For the larger weeks-long Rough Gems exhibition inside of which Submerged in Sound was nestled – brought to life by the same team as Submerged in Sound itself, but built on further by a guest list of talented artists and storytellers including Ehime Ora, Johnny Draco, Kimber Greenwood, and Yasmin “Yazz” Atmore. – was Drexciya: Into the Deep.
Originating from the Detroit techno duo, Drexciya and their 1992 album, Deep Sea Dweller, the Drexciya mythos unfolds through aquatic soundscapes, album art, and speculative narratives that reimagine survival beyond historical violence. At its core, Drexciya offers an alternative framework to confront the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade – transforming erasure into expressions of joy, resilience, and liberation through artwork and immersive installations.
‘Music and sound and innovations in sound,’ continues Jeter, ‘especially when we look at the Blues, hip hop – all of these innovations in music genres – came about during times of social unrest, and especially within the black communities in America.’
As guests entered Submerged in Sound, there were individual records placed on each seat, welcoming everyone to a wide-ranging, yet connected web of selections ranging in epoch and stylistic direction. ‘Sinistarr was a part of the beginnings of techno music in Detroit,’ begins Jeter on the presence of her accompanying artists and orators. ‘Being in the game for so long, it was really an honor to have him to speak on the collection of Detroit techno records we had. And then Darrien was really representing sound system culture, dub, bass, electronic, and brought more of a multi-genre lens to the listening experience.’
Throughout the night, as it was time to put on the next record in what Jeter delineates as the Afrofuturist Sonic Legacy timeline relating to the ongoing exploration, the specific attendee whose record was due brought theirs to be played, making the whole evening collaborative on a dimension that broke the fourth wall. Immersion and collaboration ensured that each guest felt not only included, but also necessary in the event’s progression.
‘Taking up some of those spaces within the arts, within culture, within music especially,’ continues Jeter as she explains her impetus for the exhibition and event in the first place. ‘Because there's so much erasure when it comes to the black origins of so many of these modern genres of music. Techno and house, the blues, hip hop, rock – all of these genres were created by black people.’
When discussing how the event not only had a need to remove itself from the throes of modern music culture, but also how it intended to tie itself back to its roots where there was more intention behind how sound and space were used to infuse it all with interaction and enjoyment, Jeter explained that ‘it was really important for us with this experience – this being an art exhibition, too – that the art, the artwork in the space, and then of course the sound system itself – the music – were the center of the party. A lot of times – especially in modern DJ culture – the DJ is the center of the party, and one thing that Darrien and I’ve talked about a lot is how having the DJ at the center is very egocentric. For Submerged in Sound, we wanted the sound system, the records themselves, the music itself to be at the center.’
Check out the full gallery from the event here:
