Eli Fola
Eli Fola’s FreshGrass residency focus was to further develop his upcoming multimedia project, The Healing Scapes, a concept he first explored at National Sawdust in New York. At its core, the project is an audio visual performance installation exploring the healing potential of ambient and electronic soundscapes, which also utilized our Studio 9’s immersive, Spatial Audio technology.
In Eli’s own words: “As a young African immigrant coming to New York, the discovery of techno changed my life and ever since, I have been exploring the genre in non traditional ways beyond dance clubs and music festivals. The objective with this audio/visual installation is to disrupt the notion and push the boundary of what can be done with electronic music. Over the years I have been incorporating (african percussion) the talking drum into my hybrid electronic music performance, this combination has given me the opportunity to tap into the 432hz healing frequencies. Through this audio/visual installation I hope to explore the power of the 432hz healing frequency through the experimentation of techno, ambient and african percussion layered with afrofuturistic and abstract visuals.”
Check out Eli’s Instagram post documenting his time during this residency.
About the artist
Eli Fola is a Nigerian-American multi-disciplinary sound artist, saxophonist, and electronic music composer working at the Intersection of sound installation, performance, and electronic music. In 2021 Eli spent two months in Dakar, Senegal, at Kehinde Wiley's Black Rock artist residency alongside visual artist and filmmaker Chelsea Odufu, where he helped develop the sound Installation project for the first public installation displayed at Place du souvenir Dakar, the installation explored sufism (islamic Mysticism) and the syncretic nature of senegalese spirituality. In 2022 Eli Fola launched afro techno frequency at Chelsea Factory in New York: a multi- channel, audio-visual installation exploring black Healing through the lens of techno music and afrofuturism.
The audio-visual installation challenged people's common perception of Techno and explored the different stages of healing from the black Millennial perspective. Eli's innovative style and sonic identity Caught the attention of grammy-winning powerhouses Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, who invited Eli to be part of their No Commission series at Art Basel Miami in 2017 and 2018. Eli was also a 2017 Ted Talks speaker and performer, presenting his talk focused on how sound can be used to reconcile and highlight differences in culture and identity.