DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLER (PART TWO) [FULL FILM]

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Drummer Warrior Storyteller is a living visual album striving to embody Nigerian author Chinua Achebe’s perception of storytelling; the Drummer calls the people, the Warrior fights the war, the Storyteller recounts the events, creating history, forming memory and giving meaning to the survival of those who endure. 

 

Centring African Caribbean perspectives, the album explores personal experiences of oppression and liberation of diasporic, migrant and marginalised people in London and beyond through music, film, dance, photography, painting, listening experiences and live performance.

 

With the help of many collaborators, Drummer Warrior Storyteller focuses on the frustration, anger, alienation and awareness caused by racism, its embedded structures, police/state violence and denial of opportunity, whilst also striving to break from the image of the ‘struggling’ Black figure, exploring joy, love and aspirations to live and grow despite society’s obstacles.


Supported by Arts Council England.

DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLR (PART ONE)

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DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLER LIVE

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On Oct 29th 2022, we brought Drummer Warrior Storyteller to life at Rich Mix, as part of ‘Legacy 101: Spirit of the Village’ Festival 2022. In its most complete form yet, the visual album was presented as an engaging installation exhibition and an immersive live theatre show.


The exhibition was curated with artists Ekua McMorris, Kyung Hwa Shon & Kyungmin Son. The exhibited work included two collaborative short films - Drummer Warrior Storyteller (Parts One & Two) - built around the album’s music, as well as photography by Ekua McMorris, expanded painting by Studio Godson and the film crew, live painting by Dora Lam, metalwork by Roxanne Simone, Gregory & Tesseras Blacksmiths Ltd and Lucie Gledhill, and outfits designed by Charlita Hall and made by Honey Malalou. Each piece interprets the music and themes of the album or were created through the filming process. The films, the first of which recently won an Audience Award at the Short Focus Film Festival 2022, were shown on The Stage’s main screen, followed by panel talks with the artists and curators.


As well as those mentioned above, the exhibition features work made in collaboration with Steph Be, Theo 'Godson' Oloyade, Alethia Antonia, FUBUNATION, 3000CeanHill, Chiba Visuals, Alicia Warner, Informotion Worldwide, Village 101, GlobalFaction, Breakin' Convention, Slim Yearwood, Anna Beel, Akil Wilson and Ukombozii Ancestral Drums.


Event link:

https://richmix.org.uk/events/apez-zero-drummer-warrior-storyteller-daytime/

Drummer Warrior Storyteller was then presented for the first time as an immersive live theatre production crafted with creative director and choreographer Muti ‘Mutivation’ Musafiri. Using live music, dance, spoken word, visual effects, projection and sound design, audiences were welcomed into the universe of the album and guided through its multidimensional story. The performance explores African Caribbean storytelling, Spirituality and political traditions. The cast and crew process and interpret their own and collective experiences of the infinite interwoven stories of home, diaspora, displacement, migration and more that are central to that which is labelled ‘Black Experiences’.


The immersive live theatre production is a collaboration between Apex Zero, Muti Musafiri, Daniel Oluwasayo Olabode, Kitmapper, Tilé Gichigi-Liperé, Poetikah, Guy Kelton Jones Sr., Moussa Dembele, Dembis Thioung, Ukombozii Ancestral Drums,  Corrie Onyx David King, Grace Ogundipe Akinbode,

Andre Bright, Charlita ‘Lita-Styles’ Hall, Honey Malaolu, and features music made by Micall Parknsun, Al Lawson, In:Theory, RU1 Fam, Isatta Sheriff, Logic, Renee Soul, Big Cakes, Jazz T, Crazy Haze, Mazzi & S.O.U.L. Purpose, Elia-Naa, Nilotika Cultural Ensemble.


Event Link:

https://richmix.org.uk/events/apex-zero-drummer-warrior-storyteller-evening/ 
 

The night ended with a beautiful afterparty, with DJ Chantz Dee spinning a wide range of local and global Black music and Mas Law holding down the mic. The dance cyphas were off the chain.


EXHIBITION PIECES

EKUA McMORRIS - PHOTOGRAPHY

ROXANNE SIMONE - METAL WORK

DORA LAM - LIVE PAINTING

LUCIE GLEDHILL - METAL WORK

(PHOTO BY EKUA McMORRIS)

ALICIA WARNER - FILM

AKIL WILSON - PHOTOGRAPHY

EXPANDED PAINTING - APEX ZERO X STUDIO GODSON

PREVIOUS EVENTS

BLACK PROJECTOR: DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLER

Visual Album Screening, 6.30pm-11pm - 1st March 2023, Hoxton Cabin, London

On March 1st 2023, BMT x BWT launched 'Black Projector', a monthly meet up celebrating the power of film, inspirational shorts, the kind of music videos that spark discussion...and free popcorn!


The premiere event featured an installation of Drummer Warrior Storyteller, with images and music from the project, followed by film screenings of Part One and Part Two. Apex discussed the album's creation journey with BMT's organiser Fusion, producing an intimate, powerful conversation with the host and audience, before ending with a spoken word performance.

CRUCIBLE: Earthseed

Exhibition

 14th-20th November 2022

Stuben Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NYC


Drummer Warrior Storyteller (Part One) was selected to be part of ‘Earthseed', CRUCIBLE’s show at New York Jewelry Week 2022. The film was shown as a large projection at Pratt Institute's Stuben Gallery at their Brooklyn Campus, and screened on repeat for the duration of the exhibition.


https://nycjewelryweek.com/events/on-going/exhibition/crucible/


DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLER

Visual Album Screening / Exhibition

7pm-9pm - 24th June 2022

Bernie Grants Arts Centre, London


We were blessed to SELL OUT  another installation of Drummer Warrior Storyteller this time at 'Simmer Down Fridays', Bernie Grant Arts Centre. The event included film screenings and artwork created through the filming process, including portrait photography by Ekua McMorris and live painting by Dora Lam.


The night was intermixed with a drum circle led by Ukombozii Ancestral Drums, live dance from Muti 'Mutivation' Musafiri and spoken word from Apex Zero. The commuity turned up to drum, dance and flow with us - footage coming soon.

DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLER

Visual Album Screening / Exhibition

6pm - 22nd August 2021

The Hackney Social, London


We SOLD OUT The Hackney Social for the first installation of Drummer Warrior Storyteller, sharing a powerful experience with friends and family, new and old, on the 230th anniversary of the start of the Haitian Revolution. The ancient riddims channelled by the Djembes of Ukombozii Ancestral Drums, the Libation by Orisha Priestess Osunyemi and the performances from Apex Zero, Isatta Sheriff and DJ Steaz cultivated an electric, moving energy felt by all.


We held an insightful reasoning session, facilitated by Victoria Nzeribe of 'Love of Culture' where Apex, Steph Be, Ekua McMorris, Dora Lam, tyroneisaacstuart, Priestess Osunyemi, Jonzi D, Muti Musafiri, Omowale Pert-Hru, Shezal Laing and numerous audience members expressed their views on the processes, emotions, meditations, reactions, interpretations and messages of the project. 

BREAKIN' CONVENTION 2021

Visual Album Screening

3rd & 4th July 2021

Sadler's Wells


The premiere screening of the first film element of Drummer Warrior Storyteller was at the sold out Breakin' Convention 2021 festival, featured as one of a number of projects supported by Jonzi D's legendary Hip Hop Dance Theatre platform during the Covid-19 pandemic.


The R&D for the project's choreography was worked on throughout Breakin' Convention's Open Art Surgery initiative, with mentors Jonzi D, Jade Hackett and Ivan Michael Blackstock giving valuable insights and guidance throughout the process.


The R&D gave space for Studio Godson, Alethia Antonia and FUBUNATION to work with Apex and Steph to interpret and elevate the vision of the project as artists in residence at Muti Musafiri's Village 101.

REACTIONS

“It had dance, it had abstraction...the lyrics was always gonna be Fyah. I just think the whole vision was beautiful”

Jonzi D (Breakin’ Convention)


“The energy, passion and commitment to our community gives me hope and confidence for our future. I can't wait to get a copy of the album”

Dr Toyin Agbetu (Ligali / UCL)


“Deeply powerful work that really captures how I feel about the situation we as a people are in, and highlights some real solutions”

Shezal Laing (Slavery Remembrance / Sankofa Day)


“One of the dopest things I’ve experienced...I haven’t felt that way about music and film in a long time. What the collective has put together is something else; drummers, paint, photographs, rapping, the Libations...it came together beautifully”

QBN Blue


This was a brilliant, highly emotive and powerful look at police brutality beautifully shot, edited and scored...I would certainly like to see this extended with a bigger budget to see how Apex could expand on this concept.

Skandouz (Frshrz / Connoisseurs of Hip Hop / I Am Hip Hop Magazine)


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