Union Pool was filtered with a buzzing moodiness on the evening of May 11. There was an unshakeable feeling of “in media res” – that we had walked into things that had long been set in motion. The backyard was already full and lively, with tacos twinkling under string lights, and hearty laughs ringing in the almost-summery air. Indoors, the swanky dark wood, hushed gathering of friends (and friends of friends) around the merch table, and modest stage packed with instruments offered a uniquely contrasting vibe. We were present for the release party for Root Systems, the new album from History Dog, Brooklyn’s all-star improvising quartet of Shara Lunon, Chris Williams, Luke Stewart, and Lesley Mok.
“This is for the people of Palestine who are starving to death because of this country, Israel, and the entire world.” Elder Ones vocalist and bandleader Amirtha Kidambi set the tone for the show in announcing their first song, “All Empires Fall.” The five-piece ensemble – comprised of Kidambi, saxophonists Matt Nelson and Alfredo Colón, drummer Jason Nazary, and bassist Lester St. Louis – shaped time as though one mind. The reedy sustain of Kidambi’s harmonium intertwined with her vocalizations. Other members layered pitches just barely below hers to create a fuzzy aural beating. Their songs grew exponentially until they could no longer be contained, washing the entire room in massive sound – until they’d crack open with percussive grooves and Kidambi wailing atop it all.
Elder Ones’ performance was unrestrained, but distinct in its direction. Colón’s solos were a highlight of the set, as he tore into the room with urgent squeals and distressed warbles. Their song “Loot the Future” was written about the 2025 LA wildfires – but also tied to the housing crisis and rent hikes; with connections to “folk hero” Luigi Mangioni. “None of our systems deliver justice, so what do you expect?” The group bustled with chaotic energy that aimlessly pushed forward. The rhythm section suddenly locked into an off-kilter 5/8 groove, with Kidambi singing “our world is burning” over and over. Diverging from active density, the final song harbored around a solemn and weighty drone. A thread of political histories and ongoing struggles anchored the performance by way of lyricism and free-flowing compositional form.
Most of us missed the beginning of Qasim Naqvi’s set, lingering too long in the yard before trickling into its quiet start. The Pakistani composer gently placed the cables of his analog synthesizer, creating mellow and rounded single-line melodies. He maintained a delicate soundscape – occasionally so quiet we could hear chatter from the other sections of the venue. The electronic ambient set would have benefited from a more present sound in the room, and more definitive arrival points in moments of change – but offered brief mental reprieve from the tumultuous opening and closing acts. The music looped hypnotically and repetitively, the most captivating sounds being an ascending ghostly squabble, and an emotive digital cry.
History Dog barreled into their performance with drama; vocalist Lunon and trumpeter Williams howled half-hidden offstage while Mok and Stewart played textural and skittish asymmetrical rhythms. As the pair walked into frame, the song took a menacing descent – “How are you gonna be so fuckin’ funny?” Lunon asked redundantly. They held tight to uncomfortable dissonances, played confidently with microphone feedback, and skirted sonic limitations. In a striking act, the group allowed the music to fall away to barely a whisper. Stewart’s fingers flickered across bass strings inaudibly. Mok used brushes tenderly on cymbals, and muttered on toms with their fingertips before rebuilding the sound through a plush drum solo.
The quartet extended the squall against injustices raised by Elder Ones. “Our fight is a fight for love… A fight for humanity… Justice is inevitable.” Lunon electronically looped and fragmented spoken samples, while screaming her own charged poetry into the mic. Freaky yelps and vocalizations were mirrored by Williams’ clicks and sputtering, both seeming desperate to be heard. At times, a sillage of distant police sirens could be plucked out of the soundscape. The power in the live presentation of Root Systems lay in History Dog’s ability to collectively nurture tension through freely improvisational structures. Their arsenal of sound is equipped with Afrofuturism’s call to Black traditions and non-white (re: non-imperialistic) reimaginings of the present and future.
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