The Magical Slickness of the Myth of Black Oil, Movement Suite

Abstract

The Magical Slickness of the Myth of Black Oil, Movement Suite explores the subversive and disruptive slick nature of a concept I am developing called chaos force. The three-piece Movement Suite consists of a short written poetic manifesto contextualizing the current of chaos force as it exists in black sonic temporality as the first movement, then transitioning into a recorded two movement sound piece that spans 20 min. 

I have been exploring mythbuilding & worldbuilding, memory, rhythmanalysis, and vocal & movement-based improvisation as a generative tool to harness and disperse a concept which I call chaos force. Chaos force is a current which sits between two polarized magnetic forces and propels matter outside of its orbit, into the void, towards endless potentiality. This current can then be transformed into subversive material which problematizes, interrogates, and disrupts duality and oppositionality. Within this black sonic temporal performance, I use amorphous structure and improvisation to imagine anti-colonial post-modern sonic futures integrated into worldbuilding, social refusal, and political fugitivity.

The sound piece is loosely devised for piano, voice, and synth, with the addition of horn and percussion as the third instigating force. This work aims to actively create, swallow, and destroy structure in real-time using both contradiction in rhythm and harmony, counter-force, and spontaneity. Spirit inhabits this sonic world and speaks in tongue–devouring at its own pleasure and desire. Its landscape is both a love poem for the black imagination, a travel through planetary orbits, and sex with the slickness of oil.

Notes on Contributor

Jordan Deal (they/them) is a Philadelphia-based multidisciplinary artist whose work defies conventional boundaries. Using their body as a conduit, Deal navigates the intersections of performance, sound, and film to explore the forces that shape socio-political structures and mythologies.

Deal has presented performance work internationally, such as at Radialsystem (Berlin) as part of CTM Festival, Cafe OTO (London), ZDB (Lisbon), Performing Arts Forum (France), Performance Mix Festival (NYC), Judson Memorial Church (NYC), and Icebox Project Space (Philadelphia), amongst others. They have exhibited sculptural and sonic installations throughout Philadelphia and New York and have recently been selected as a 2023-2024 Artistic Fellow at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art. They are currently a 2024 recipient of the MAPFund Grant. 

Deal recently released their new full LP titled Seas of Triple Consciousness with London-based record label Horn of Plenty Records this past September.