Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends featuring Surya Botofasina and Aaron Shaw

About the event

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">This marks the Australian debut of Saul Williams meets Carlos Ni&ntilde;o, a live collaboration that sits between concert, ceremony and collective listening.</p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Conceived as a live, improvised work, the project brings together spoken word, ambient jazz and experimental sound in a form that rejects fixed structure. Described as a sound ceremony, it unfolds organically, shaped by environment, musicians and moment rather than setlist or song.</p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Carlos Ni&ntilde;o is a percussionist, producer and composer whose work is rooted in collaboration. His approach centres improvisation, space and collective responsiveness, favouring texture and feeling over resolution. His musical history includes work with Andr&eacute; 3000, alongside a wide network of artists across spiritual, jazz and experimental music.</p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">At the centre of the performance is Saul Williams. Poet, writer, actor, filmmaker, activist and musician, Williams leads the work through spoken word rather than song, using language as both resistance and invocation. His delivery is direct and unguarded, moving through political reflection, history and spiritual inquiry as the music shifts around him. Shaped by more than two decades of work across poetry, alternative hip hop and interdisciplinary art, his voice does not sit above the music but within it, responding in real time.</p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">The sound world is expansive and restrained. Hand percussion, gongs, chimes and cymbals move beneath breathy flutes, looping saxophone lines and soft electronic tones. The original performance was recorded outdoors at Coldwater Canyon Park in Los Angeles, with a seven piece ensemble that included Nate Mercereau and saxophonist Kamasi Washington, placing musicianship fully in the open.</p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Together, Williams and Ni&ntilde;o create a space that prioritises presence over performance. This is not a traditional concert but a shared experience, asking for attention rather than applause.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">____________________________________________<br>We acknowledge that this event is held on the stolen lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.</span></p>

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