Mourning [A] BLKstar

Hailing from Cleveland, Mourning [A] BLKstar functions as a cross-generational ensemble that traverses boundaries of gender and musical style. Their recordings and live presentations merge soul, blues, gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and avant-electronics, pairing acoustic playing with programmed textures while cycling lead and backing duties among three vocalists. RA Washington assembled the project in 2016 after the killing of collaborator Francois Fissi-Bissi Okra Kongo and the passing of David Bowie. Long embedded in the city’s arts scene, Washington had launched Cleveland Tapes in 2001 alongside LaToya Kent; she, James Longs, and Kyle Kidd later supplied BLKstar’s vocal core. That initial quartet produced several 2017 releases—The Possible, BLK Muzak, and the outtakes collection Reflections on the Passing ID—which listed guitarist and keyboardist Pete Saudek as a formal member. The Garner Poems appeared the following year; the band characterized the record as “modern day spirituals of reverence and despair.” It brought trumpeter Theresa May, trombonist William Washington, and drummer Dante Foley into the fold on a lasting basis and incorporated contributions from Andersiin Pyramids and Kafari. After earlier support from Glue Moon and Electric Cowbell, Mourning [A] BLKstar aligned with Don Giovanni Records, the label also home to peers Hprizm and Moor Mother. The group issued Reckoning in 2019 and The Cycle in 2020, alongside singles such as “These Hands Are Up” and “//Juneteenth//.” Revenue from downloads of “These Hands Are Up” went to Ohio Families Unite Against Police Brutality. Wire magazine ranked The Cycle third among its Releases of the Year for 2020, directly behind Moor Mother’s Circuit City.