Black Obsidian Sound System Decks Fundraiser

Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) is a Black led sound system collective established in the summer of 2018 with the intention of bringing together a community of queer, trans and non-binary black and people of colour involved in art, sound and radical activism. Following in the legacies of sound system culture we wanted to learn, build and sustain a resource for our collective struggles.

After four years of renting equipment, buying our own will allow us greater freedom to facilitate teaching and skill sharing within our communities, and more widely with young people in London and around the UK.  It will enable B.O.S.S members to grow their DJ skills within the collective and for us to add the full set up to our hire offering. We will be able to offer free/low-cost DJ practice sessions to our community and to throw more QTBPOC led parties where we can rejoice and be held through music. We do not run for profit and appreciate all the generous support we hope our wider communities can offer. Thank you!

We hope to raise funds for ~

Pioneer 2000NXS2 or above CDJ's & Pioneer DJM-900NXS2 or above mixer, with a flight case to house them.

As well as renting the system to the community at subsidised rates or for free, B.O.S.S’s work includes technical workshops, live performance, club nights, installations and various creative commissions including a short film ‘Collective Hum’ (2019) for LUX & the ICO and 'The Only Good System is a Sound System' for Liverpool Biennial (2020). In 2021 B.O.S.S was shortlisted for the Turner Prize and presented an exhibition at Herbert Museum and Gallery Coventry.

B.O.S.S seeks to encourage more QTIBPOC, especially those often excluded from society, to form careers in the sound and art worlds. The underrepresentation and distrust in audio expertise from anyone who isn’t white and/or male in this industry is something that has long been a barrier to access. The lack of resources in our communities means those with skills are often not able to be adequately compensated by our peers.

B.O.S.S operates a top down payment structure so that any excess costs left over from an event with a funded institution can go towards the running costs involved in community led events where sufficient payment is not always possible. All excess goes back into the running and maintenance of the system. We do not run for profit, and use fundraising as one way to supplement the bigger expenses of bringing our vision to life. 

Due to our Turner Prize nomination last year, we are able to cover our studio costs for the next six to eight months, as well as take a moment to pause and go on retreat as a collective so we can refresh and redefine our aims and constitution. Currently, the vast majority of admin and maintenance labour in B.O.S.S. is done voluntarily. We have a long way to go to ensure the sustainability of the collective and our operational costs such as system maintenance and paying members for admin can be met. 

Members of the collective include: Adedamola Bajomo, Kiera Coward Deyell, Phoebe Collings-James, Evan Ifekoya, Onyeka Igwe, Marcus Macdonald, Shamica Ruddock , Shenece Oretha and Virginia Wilson.

Photography by (in order), Yasmin Akim, B.O.S.S, Rob Harris, Nelta Kasparian