Brighter Sound hosts an electric night of East & Southeast Asian music & film

Brighter Sound, the organisation dedicated to championing and developing musicians, brings a night of film and music dedicated to exploring the East and Southeast Asian experience to Northern Quarter stalwart SOUP this November.

Here to Remember Live, curated by multidisciplinary artist and composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman (Co-Artistic Director of Manchester Collective), and produced in partnership with esea contemporary, will feature brand-new works by three commissioned artists, each of whom has delved into their heritage, relationships and memories to shape the night’s programme.

Kai Chareunsy presents a live piece, weaving khaen, field recordings, and family testimony to resurrect his feeling of exploring Laos as someone from the diaspora, whilst also highlighting the histories of Laotian refugees.

Katherine Lee leads an immersive performance that transforms Hong Kong’s WWII-era Nam Koo Terrace ghost myth into a sonic ritual of bowls, rice, and live electronics, revealing how shared superstitions and heritage continue to shape East/Southeast Asian identity.

Finally, Kyami Mitsui Russell turns the untold love story of their migrant parents into speculative fragments, using absence itself as material to explore how missing family memories become the mythology that shapes ESEA identity. The music will be created alongside animation using AI to generate its movements.

The night will also feature a discussion about the relationship between music and archives, and a special screening of the short film Midnight Rising by filmmaker and visual artist Aileen Ye. Winner of Best International Short Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival, the film investigates the hidden world of East and Southeast Asian raves in London.

Here to Remember Live coincides with Brighter Sound’s 25th anniversary, and comes to SOUP on Sat 15 Nov. Tickets are on sale now. Grab yours using the button below.