HP Community Pick is a semi-regular blog series where community members have the chance to highlight a show they’re stoked about. This pick is brought to you by M Jiang (Exhibition ⁠curator, current Gallery Manager, and artist extraordinaire.) They had put together an incredible exhibition at Holland Project’s Gallery in the summer of 2023. As part the exhibition, they had hosted a very special event full of unstoppable talent ~ which featured performance by Cities Aviv, Rhamier Balagoon, Mon1k3r, Brandon T. Nguyen, and M+***X. This Performance was scheduled for Saturday, June 10, 2023. Read all about it below!

Sampling in music is one of the inspirations for me and ***X’s curatorial project- the directness of sampling extraction creates throughlines in time, and can be cut, looped, warped, and recontextualized into a contemporary sound. We wanted to sample physical fragments to map out an image of the present build from a contemporary aftermath. The show exists in 3 Configurations, starting out whole and drifting apart like dust.For Synchronized Mapping of Ghosts, a performance extension of our Something Unfinished About Us, we invited friends who will be traveling a great way, Cities Aviv + Rhamier Balagoon, to come fill the gallery and showspace with their noise. Cities Aviv is soulful, ambient, and textured with layers of sounds from songs he’s soaked up and repurposed, overlaid with stream-of-conscious vocals that don’t abide by any supposed structure. Don’t miss his rare Reno appearance! Rhamier? Pure funk. Dragging, dancing feet. Dub sample flips that fluctuate from laid back, dirty grooves to militant Pan-African marching to beat down Babylon. Sets from our special guests will be paired with local weirdos M0n1k3r (touch-sensitive, silly, literally messy, sharp like a beloved letter opener) + Brandon T. Nguyen (wirey, live improv modular) Oh and me +***X will be in the mix too with our samplers. You’ll just have to come see what we got planned.Don’t come expecting a regular show – some sets will happen simultaneously, or overlap. You are a particle that’s drifted in the door, compelled to follow the magnetic lull of noise and ghosts (what is there but cannot be seen.) Some moments will be synchronized, but it will be serendipitous. I seriously can’t wait for this show- don’t miss it dummies.”
-M