Saturday, February 18
1–2:30pm PST on Zoom
(Link sent after registration)
$10: No one turned away for lack of funds. Please reach out if cost is inhibitive.
Register here
In this exploratory workshop and Q&A, YATTA will walk you through the basics of working in Ableton session mode, focusing on making music using looped beats and samples. Session mode is a place for improvisation, play and experimentation, and we’ll be learning how to use it for sound design, live performance, and generating ideas.
In preparation for this workshop, please download a free trial of Ableton Live.
This event prioritizes all marginalized genders, including but not limited to trans women, cis women, trans men, non-binary, intersex, gender nonconforming, two-spirit and questioning folx. We ask that our cis male allies and friends respectfully do not sign up, as we recognize that electronic music is overwhelmingly dominated by cis men.
YATTA is a Sierra-Leonean vocalist, producer, and composer. Their debut EP, Spirit Said Yes! (2016) was released on New York label PTP (Purple Tape Pedigree) and planted their stake in the city’s underground music scene, where over the years they’ve shared stages with a range of artists from Dreamcrusher and Beverly Glenn-Copeland to Cardi B and The Sun Ra Arkestra. The New Noise described Spirit Said Yes! as “a gem of electro-fi-soul-rock,” and Tiny Mixtapes described the songs as “balms for roving spirits… folding jazz vocals and pastoral ambience into fragile, steely structures.” YATTA’s second release, WAHALA (2019), served as the foundation for An Episode: Ricky’s Room, a self-written and performed theatrical production commissioned by New York cultural center The Shed.
Released to critical acclaim, the record earned a feature in Bandcamp Daily, and was named one of Fact Magazine’s 25 Best Albums of 2019 and one of Pitchfork’s Best Experimental Albums of 2019. YATTA’s most recent release, DIAL UP (2020), is a collaborative album with poet, musician, and frequent collaborator, Moor Mother. Moor Mother, Mental Jewelry and YATTA co-run boutique label, Blk Mas5.
Over the years, YATTA has performed in and presented installations at MOMA PS1, MOMA, MOCA, New Forms Festival, and Late Nights: Tate. Their music has been reviewed in magazines like Pitchfork, The Quietus, Nylon, and The Wire.