,,, so thee
lilac never
wilt alone ,,,
an auspice now production
7531 n. willamette blvd. portland, or 97203
630-441-6520 // elijahjamalasani@gmail.com
,,, so thee lilac never wilt alone ,,,
directed by elijah jamal asani
2023//14 minutes//chicago//english
camera // editing // vfx
jonathan woods
original soundtrack // score
ephemerals’ forever(s) by ẹ̀bà
logline
under every garden lies a ritual.
within this ritual,
a blaq flora grieves for their long lost flowers &
a desire to create forever blooms.
synopsis
as a blaq flora grieves the death of their long lost flowers, they labyrinth through journey and ritual
in order to create forever, & each footstep they take summons them closer to the garden that they desire.
like a Plantae deeply rooted within damp soil, this cross pollination of natural ambiance , wet jazz & ancestral calling is
an afro-surrealist accompaniment to the album “ephemerals’ forever(s) by ẹ̀bà,
sometimes we plant flowers in order to honor loved ones & sometimes flowers are the loved ones that deserve to be honored.
how close to the sky shall we plant a seed on its last breaths?
elijah jamal asani ~ director // alchemist
elijah jamal asani is a nigerian-american anti-disciplinary artist,
the òrìsà of longing & son of the river wimahl \\
... as an afro-surrealist, elijah navigates soft nuances through new colours and infinite ((sweet))nothings.
Jonathan Woods
~ camera operator // editing // vfx
Jonathan Woods is a Chicago-based artist specializing in film/animation direction, improvised visual projection and music production. His early fascination with both surrealist and African means of expression has fueled a wide variety of unique partnerships and projects for over 30 years. His frenetic, rainbow eucalyptus sonic explorations have been known to move booties in numerous films, plays and dinner theaters. On occasion he’s been spotted performing with other tuneful rabble-rousers such as Hieroglyphic Being, Angel Bat Dawid and the late composer Saalik Ziyad. He is a proud member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) co-creator of Elastic Arts Foundation's Dark Matter Residency Program & Co-founder of Auspice Now, a music centered social practice artistry organization.
Angel Bat Dawid ~ musician // oracle
A soul-stirring performer and ascendent force in Chicago’s avant-jazz and improvised music milieu, Angel Bat Dawid charged onto the scene with her widely acclaimed debut album The Oracle (International Anthem, 2019)—recorded on a cell phone and performed and mixed entirely by herself. Dawid is a classically-trained clarinetist, pianist, vocalist, and composer rooted in the rich sonic legacy and experimentation of Chicago’s South Side, from its renowned Black jazz coalitions of the late twentieth century to the impromptu jam sessions and free-form collaborations that cultivated her revelatory sound. Her full-throated and interdisciplinary stylings—drawn from cosmic jazz, gospel, operatic contralto, spoken word, and samplings from Black cultural icons and personal field recordings—have been celebrated by critics and peers alike, and stand as testimony to the beauty and resilience of Black life and the music born of it. In her electrifying performances and recordings, Dawid croons, shouts, chants, screams, and cries, her booming and incendiary presence often backed by the rhythmic interplay of her band, Tha Brothahood.
Brandon Markell Holmes ~ musician // emperor
Brandon Markell Holmes, a "slow-burning vocal-house juggernaut," (Rolling Stone), is a formally-trained theatre actor and self-trained vocalist that works within themes of social observation and the symbiotic relationship between art and history. Described as an "invigorating artist’s artist," (Chicago Tribune) and a vocalist that can go "from a low simmer to a boiling passion," (Billboard) he’s also a musician working his own art into history, having appeared as a vocalist on the GRAMMY-nominated Gorillaz album ‘Humanz’, as well as being featured in Afropunk for his visual EP ‘Inertia’. Born and raised in Chicago, but now living in Brooklyn, Brandon has brought performance art to the club, becoming a go-to vocalist for the house music underground. He's a social butterfly, known for dropping in and doing impromptu performances with friends and collaborators (musclecars, JKriv, Robert PM). In the studio, Brandon has worked with musical luminaries, Mauro Refosco, Joey Waronker , Anthony Nicholson, with mentions on the BBC, NTS, Rinse FM, Lot Radio, and more. In Brandon’s words, “My prayer is to always create, speak and express with an authentic understanding of what I’m saying and why I’m saying it.”
ephemerals’ forever(s) by ẹ̀bà
~ original score
birthed in Chicago where the dark matter resides, the black flowers of elijah jamal asani, Brandon Markell Holmes, and Angel Bat Dawid find their wings as they converge into an ephemeral trio whose soul intentions are to summon new ancestral lineage to the Orisha of music, Ayan. Named after the traditional Yoruba term for fufu, each member of ẹ̀bà has grown solo reputation as composers in their respective artistic communities; though the prowess of each artist blossoms when combined, even with only a pair of improvisational performances as a troupe. With elijah's experimental production overseeing the helm of sound, Angel unforgivingly blesses the air{s} and the ethers with her avante garde spirit & clarinet, and Brandon levitates over the waters with buttery vocals from the soul. However ephemeral forever may be, ẹ̀bà is an entity beyond.
“ephemerals’ forever(s)” is an afro-surrealist telling of a black flower’s labyrinth to create forever within infinity temporary moments. as each track lives to summon a new ancestor within the lineage of Ayan, the Òrisha of music, each track also brings us closer to the end of the beginning.
Auspice Now ~ production
AUSPICE NOW is an Independent Social Practice Artistry Exhibition designed to curate the human experience in an entertaining and informative way. We are a catalyst for timeless stories that touch people who live to the fullest extent of their humanity. Heart centered entertainment which challenges the boundaries of traditional media both in how they are presented and experienced.
Our original content is centered around the creation, experience & distribution of music. This also involves short films, animation, webisodes, podcasts & projects focused on current events from the world of entertainment news, style, and other forms of creative arts (design, photography, dance).
Based in Chicago, & Minneapolis the mission of AN is producing, distributing, and exhibiting skillfully crafted, fun, eclectic and aesthetic audio/visual projects primarily from Social Practice Artists of Color, with a strong focus on unique collaborations internationally. We want our audience to experience original content that captures the infinite possibilities of human nature in all its manifestations. Every project is carefully developed around universal and impacting themes that evoke both a sense of what has come before and inspiration of what is to be. This is the core of Auspice Now and what we offer to the world.
