Shot across three continents, A Story of Sahel Sounds follows Christopher Kirkley’s multi-disciplinary project to explore the arts and music of the Sahel region through non-traditional ethnographic fieldwork. Parts road-trip movie, portrait and music documentary, A Story of Sahel Sounds follows Chris from Portland to Niger, on the road from the capital to Agadez – the gateway to the Saharan Desert – as he meets with long-term collaborators and new artists.

Visa calamities, hair salons and a European tour intersect with dreams of America, where cellphone recordings are pressed onto high-fidelity vinyl discs for audiences of the future. Amidst asymmetrical power differentials, expanding globalism and new possibilities to claim musical and artistic independence, the artists try to reach for success – on stages and on cellphones.

A Story of Sahel Sounds is screened as part of the exhibition Sounding the Void, Imaging the Orchestra V.1, curated by Bhavisha Panchia.

Music performed by: Talia, Takamba de Niambey, Mona, Hama, Fatou Seïdi Ghali, Les filles de Illighadad, Mdou Moctar, Mamman Sani, Lakal Kaney, and Etran de L`Aïr.