Listening Hymns | ILYICH

Listening Hymns is a performative spoken word archive that invites you to explore the practice of listening through the voices of artists, musicians, poets, writers, educators, athletes, meditators, and activists. Listening Hymns celebrates the worlds of listening through sonic and somatic practices, culture and politics, anti-fascism, critical practice/theory, spirituality, intersectional feminism, and community building, among other disciplines. The archive is shared through radio shows, university lectures, sound meditations, listening sessions, exhibitions, and musical performances under the many names of the artist. The ever-growing choir of voices is playfully performed at Refuge Worldwide through ILYICH's artist residency, interwoven with live DJ performances augmented by samplers, sound modules, percussion, readings, and occasional guests in the radio booth.

This episode is special in that it features the voices of recently ascended poet, writer, and goddess Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr; bassist Oteil Burbridge; poet David Whyte; journalist and author Krista Tippet; anthropologist, feminist, queer and race theorist Roshanak Kheshti; saxophonist and composer Brandford Marsails; mixing engineer Andrew Sheps; and last but not least, legendary athlete and underrated contemporary philosopher Mike Tyson.

This show reminds us of the art of generous listening, of the presence of race and gender in the listener's imagination, of infinite attention, and shares a clear direction when you feel lost in the woods.