Calm Roots Live in Chicago
Presented by Alex Rita, International Anthem, Sonorous Somatics and Lumpen Radio
Featuring Tomin, BSA Gold, Rohan Ayinde
Alex Rita debuts Calm Roots in Chicago with an evening gathering of live performances in collaboration with International Anthem and Sonorous Somatics at Blanc Gallery, generously supported by Lumpen Radio.
The programme features Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and poet Tomin alongside Chicago flutist and producer BSA Gold, whose practices both bridge acoustic instrumentation with expansive, spiritual and exploratory approaches to sound. Alex Rita is also joined by longtime collaborator, poet and anadisciplinary artist, Rohan Ayinde.
Their performances sit in dialogue with 'Sonorous Somatics: The Worlds Beyond', a wider curatorial framework positioning sound as a means of reimagining perception beyond the visual.
Doors: 16:00
Finish: 21:00
PLEASE NOTE:
Bring your own blankets or deck chairs to the courtyard (Blanc has limited outdoor seating). This gathering is centred around communal listening. All ages welcome. Food will be available to purchase all day
About
CALM ROOTS is a subtle practice by Alex Rita centring introspection and rest through intimate performances, DJ sets and holistic health. What started in 2019 as a two-hour NTS Radio exploration of the meditative corners of her collection, has expanded into in-person gathering across three continents. The live iteration acts as an extension to the radio, inviting artists featured on her show to perform.
Calm Roots has also presented commissions for Lisson Gallery (OJAS/Devon Turnbull: HiFi Listening Room Dream No. 1), Royal Academy Of Arts (Music for Kerry James Marshall), White Cube and We Out Here Festival, as well as collaborations with Carlos Niño, Nala Sinephro, Saul Williams, sound therapist Rahel Debebe-Dessalegne and on this occasion, longtime co-creator, Rohan Ayinde.
TOMIN
Tomin is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, bioinformatician, and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His primary instruments are the flute, trumpet and alto clarinet, and he participates in the creative music scene as a performer, improvisor, composer and fan. Outside of music, he works in computational genetics, with a focus on oncology.
Among other accolades for his debut album, A Willed and Conscious Balance, The New York City Jazz Record awarded Tomin "Up-and-Comer' of the Year", "Best Debut", and "Best New Release of the Year, Honorable Mention". Downbeat Magazine said of Tomin's music, "Tomin-Perea Chamblee's debut is an intimate dialogue between past and present, loss and life, woven through a deeply personal and richly layered musical tapestry."
BSA GOLD
(she/her)
Flutist and producer exploring sound, spirituality and self-understanding through electronics and acoustic instruments. Inspired by Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, Ras G and countless other pioneers in music, she experiments with synths/electronics and acoustic instruments, exploring the possibilities for composition as a producer and songwriter.
Collaborations include filmmakers Dominic Yarabe and kelechi agwuncha, designer Tolu Coker, Shabazz Palaces, Semiratruth, and more.
BSA Gold has opened for John Carroll Kirby, Theon Cross, Allysha Joy, and Ibibio Sound Machine, and has performed internationally as a member of Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble.
ROHAN AYINDE
ROHAN AYINDE (he/they) is an anadisciplinary artist and poet working across film, performance, poetry, installation and sound. Through an entanglement with the phenomenon of the black hole, his practice attempts to excavate an architecture of ideology through the analytical framework of black feminist thought. Using language as a starting point, Ayinde’s work seeks to translate and construct landscapes built from freedoms best described by writers like Octavia Butler, Ursula Le Guin, Lola Olufemi, Edouard Glissant and Fred Moten.
Ayinde is one half of the collaborative duo i.as.in.we with Yewande YoYo Odunubi. Together they have presented work at the Barbican, Whitechapel Gallery’s London Open Live (2025), Bastard Festival (Trondheim), Art + Public Life (Chicago), The Sainsbury Centre and more. Ayinde also has a shared practice with friend and filmmaker, Tayo Rapoport. Their debut work, iwoyi: within the echo, was commissioned for Beyond The Bassline: 500 Years of Black British History at The British Library (2024) and they were finalists for the 2024 CIRCA Prize. Their most recent commission, ęmí: freedomsong, premiered as a special project at 1-54 African Contemporary Art Fair (2025)
International Anthem
International Anthem is a Chicago-born recording company that produces and promotes progressive media.
Founded in 2014, the IARC label has grown to embody a global community of like-minded artists, musicians, and cultural workers dedicated to craft as a means of discovering truth and celebrating humanity.
SONOROUS SOMATICS: THE WORLDS BEYOND
A companion series to Blanc Gallery’s 2026 visual exhibitions, curated by Barédu Ahmed. The program pairs music events with each exhibition, centering sound as both medium and method, challenges the primacy of the image, and proposes an alternative sensory experience.
Lumpen Radio
Lumpen Radio is a community radio station located in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. Lumpen Radio is committed to the spread of knowledge and positive vibrations on the public airwaves. Broadcasting at 105.5FM, you can hear our radio signal throughout Chicago and tune-in anywhere from our website or app.