from Alternate African Reality – Electronic, electroacoustic and experimental music from Africa and the diaspora, released January 29, 2020
Luca Forcucci featuring Cara Stacey and Mpho Molikeng (Switzerland-Italy-South Africa-Lesotho)

Luca Forcucci (Italy/Switzerland)
Luca Forcucci’s research observes the perceptive properties of sound, space and memory. The field of possibilities of the first person experience is explored as the artwork. In this context, he is interested in perception, subjectivity and consciousness. The works are compositions, sound installations, sound walks, performances, videos, photography and texts. A great influence is the late American avant- garde composer and musician Pauline Oliveros and her concept of deep listening expanded to all what is humanly possible to listen to. Since 2008, he collaborates with scientists in the field of neuroscience, perception and biology, and is particularly fascinated by visual mental imagery as sonic imagination.

Forcucci achieved a PhD in Music, Technology and Innovation from De Montfort University in Leicester U.K. and a MA in Sonic Arts from Queens University of Belfast in Northern Ireland. He studied electroacoustic music with the composer Rainer Boesch and was produced by Al Comet, former member of the Swiss band The Young Gods. His research was conducted at University of the Arts of Berlin, INA/GRM Radio France in Paris (Institut National d’Audiovisuel / Groupe de Recherches Musicales) while investigating at Bibliothèque Nationale de France François Mitterrand. At the Brain Mind Institute in Switzerland he explored cognitive neuroscience of out-of-body experiences. He is regularly invited to lecture at international universities like University of Limerick, USP São Paulo, PUC Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ Rio de Janeiro, UFBA Salvador de Bahia, University of Cape Town, University of California Riverside, Mills College Oakland, Virginia Tech, UdK Berlin, ZhDK Zürich, EPFL Lausanne and SIVA Shanghai. Forcucci won numerous prizes and residencies, and among them Swiss Artists in Lab Residency at Brain Mind Institute in Lausanne, Site-Mapping.ch Swiss Digital Art Award for a research in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest and Djerassi Foundation /Leonardo ISATS scientific delirium madness residency in San Francisco. Forcucci was nominated in the arts at the World Technology Summit in New York. His works are presented since 1997 in Switzerland, Europe, Brazil, Colombia, China, India, Lebanon, South Africa and USA. They are part of art collections such as Swiss National Library, Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai China, Djerassi Foundation in San Francisco USA, Red Bull Station in São Paulo Brazil. His recordings are published by Universal, Subrosa, Cronica Electronica, and Glistening Examples. His writings are widely published.
www.lucaforcucci.com
lucaforcucci.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/lucaforcucci
www.instagram.com/lucaforcucci/
vimeo.com/user40880020

Cara Stacey (South Africa)
Cara Stacey is a South African musician, composer and researcher. She is a pianist and plays southern African musical bows (umrhubhe, uhadi, makhweyane). Beyond her solo work, Cara collaborates with percussionist and drummer Sarathy Korwar in the project Pergola and is a member of the Night Light Collective, and Gold Fox. Her debut album 'Things that grow' features Shabaka Hutchings, Seb Rochford, Ruth Goller, and Crewdson (released in September 2015, Kit Records). Her latest album, 'Ceder', is of her duo project with Peruvian flutist and composer Camilo Ángeles (2018). Cara holds a doctorate in African music, specifically looking at the makhweyane musical bow from eSwatini (University of Cape Town/SOAS). During her PhD, she was an NRF Freestanding Doctoral scholar, a Commonwealth Split-Site scholar, and the recipient of funding from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and the University of Cape Town. Cara holds a Masters in Musicology (Edinburgh), and a MMus in Performance from SOAS (London). Cara studied various African instruments (makhweyane, mbira, uhadi, umrhubhe and budongo) with Dizu Plaatjies, Khokhiwe Mphila, Bhemani Magagula, Tinashe Chidanyika, Modou Diouf, and Andrew Cooke. Cara is currently an ACLS African Humanities Programme Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town. She sits on the executive committee for the South African Society for Research in Music and is the International Council for Traditional Music country liaison office for the kingdom of eSwatini. She is based between Johannesburg and Mbabane.
www.carastacey.com
soundcloud.com/carastacey
www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zgTFRUYZL5bIAMhPj_tQA

Mpho Molikeng (Lesotho)
Mpho Molikeng is a Lesotho born multi facet artist (curator, actor, musician, poet, painter, storyteller, cultural activist/entrepreneur) who trained with Bloemfontein college (Fine Art, 1995), and trained with Soyikwa Institute Of African Theatre (Drama, 1998).
mphomolikeng.weebly.com
www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvso18D6fLoLaEx_IlQlug