​King Britt to host first-ever Blacktronika festival in New York next month

Philadelphia’s King Britt is set to host the first-ever Blacktronika festival featuring DJ sets, panel discussions and live performances in New York City at the end of July.

The one-day event will take place at Brooklyn-based music and social space Public Records and its new outdoor venue The Nursery neighbouring the space, running throughout the day of Sunday, July 30.

“We are proud to present the debut of Blacktronika : Brooklyn edition at the iconic Public Records / The Nursery,” King Britt announced on Instagram last month. “For this edition of the festival we are honored to have a stellar line-up.”

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The line-up for Blacktronika’s debut edition includes live performances from Antipop Consortium to mark 50 years of hip hop, and Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Tyshawn Sorey who is slated to play alongside King Britt. Others on the line-up include Maria Chavez, Charlie Dark, Vikter Duplaix, and Orion Sun.

Blacktronika takes its name from King Britt’s college course of the same name which he teaches at the University of California.

“Blacktronika : Afrofuturism in Electronic Music is a college course, created by King Britt for the University of California San Diego, that honors all the pioneers of color that continue to contribute to the advancement of electronic music,” reads a post from King Britt’s Instagram.

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“The class has included everyone from Herbie Hancock to Moor Mother to Flying Lotus. The etymology of the word Blacktronika stems from the original Blacktronica events of the early 2000s curated by London’s Charlie Dark.”

“With his blessing we utilized the name for the permanent course which has turned into a festival as of last year, with events at UC San Diego and MoCA / Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles.”

Find tickets for Blacktonrika’s debut event here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter