It is with great anticipation that we bring together sound artists from Montreal and Beirut for a night of powerful sonic compositions that point us towards liberation and new ways of activating music. Using archives and field recordings predominantly from Palestine and various countries throughout the Arab world, Checkpoint 303 constructs soundscapes that weave cinematic audio with experimental sound processing, breakbeats and glitch. Jad Atoui will be performing "Purge", a solo piece that reflects on his recent experimentations with modular synth, waves of galactical pads driven by distorted rhythmic bass engines and energetic noise.
Checkpoint 303 is an avant-garde activist sound art project that creates experimental electronic music raising awareness about the struggle for liberation, justice and self-determination, and against settler-colonialism, occupation and apartheid. Checkpoint 303 is led by Tunisian producer SC Mocha and has numerous collaborations with Palestinian artists including Rim Banna, Jawaher Shofani, Ministry of Dubkey, Walaa Sbait and more. Checkpoint 303 has performed shows in Palestine, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Europe, Australia, USA, Canada, Japan, Chile, etc. Checkpoint 303 was also invited by the British trip-hop band Massive Attack as supporting act for several shows in the UK and France.
https://checkpoint303.bandcamp.com
Jad Atoui is a Beirut-based sound artist and improviser whose work spans through live performance, compositions, installations, and workshops. He composes and performs electronic and electro-acoustic music. Atoui has performed with musicians like John Zorn, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Anderson, Chuck Bettis, Tarek Atoui & Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. He has also given and co-directed workshops at Marfa Sounding, Ashkal Alwan & Beirut Synth Center. Commissioned work folio includes residencies at The Stone (NYC), The National Sawdust (NYC), Beirut Art Center, Arab Image foundation & The Sharjah art foundation. In 2015, Atoui spearheaded the “Biosonics” project in collaboration with scientist Ivan Marazzi in order to incorporate bio-sonification of behaviors as compositional tools.
https://soundcloud.com/jad-atoui
Leyya Mona Tawil is an artist, curator, and cultural activist. She has toured the states, Europe and the Arab region with her sound, dance, and hybrid performance projects. Tawil is a Syrian, Palestinian, American engaged in the world as such. She is the director of Arab.AMP - a platform for experimental music, live art, and ideas from the SWANA diaspora and our allied communities. Tawil is on the curatorial team of the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn), Southern Exposure Gallery (San Francisco), Al Bustan Seeds of Culture (Philadelphia) and is Director of TAC Temescal Art Center (Oakland). She was the ISSUE Project Room Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow 2020 and is now a member of the Artistic Advisory Council.