For the final MELT Event of the summer, Movement Research is excited to host a Listening Session of Angie Pittman’s first album, Holy Defiance. In June 2024, Pittman’s Bessie award-winning multidisciplinary performance project, Black Life Chord Changes, premiered at The Chocolate Factory Theater (NY). The research around this performance work continued into a vinyl album that was released in October 2025.
Holy Defiance is a pagan gospel blues album that is grounded in the belief that Black resistance is sacred, and acts of defiance are holy. The work explores the transformative power of embodied resistance and features recorded songs from various Pittman performances (from 2020-2025) and field recordings of improvisational scores, remixed to offer a durational listening experience as a form of meditation, honoring these rich traditions.
Executive Producer: Angie Pittman
Producer: Cody Jensen
Engineering, Mixing, and Mastering: Cody Jensen
Research Assistant: Talia Bartley
Insert Design: Angie Pittman and Jessie Young
Cover Art: Katie Dean
Special thanks to contributing artists: Myssi Robinson, Lola Honeye, Cody Jensen, Carla E. Jones, Tiffany Williams, Aaron (A+) Wilson, and Iris McCloughan.
For event-related questions, please email programs@movementresearch.org.
Accessibility Notes
- This event includes auditive guidance.
- This event will include text/images/video shared on a large screen tv.
To request ASL interpretation or Audio Description, please email accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “ASL/Audio Description Request, MELT event ” at least three (3) weeks prior to the event date.
For access-related questions and requests, please contact accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “MELT Event.”
