Footprints in the Dark is a way for Contour to make one part of his research practice public, and maybe add some incentive for vigor as he explores. Each month, he’ll compile two hours of music or sound from a single black artist. This prompt is intentionally vague – could be a musician, could be a poet, could be a filmmaker, etc. Some months may feature guest presenters/focus on more than one artist.

He will be rejecting the following ideas/instincts that come up for this kind of exercise as he proceeds:
– The instinct to focus on non-living, non active artists. There will be some, but he intends to represent a fair mix of those who are still currently active.
– The instinct to make this a comprehensive representation of a catalog, or a guide of sorts. He’ll select the material that resonates with him, in hopes that listeners find inspiration to further explore on their own.

Georgia Anne Muldrow is a producer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and vocalist whose discography spans over two decades and covers ground across black musical traditions including jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, and gospel. Her sonic blueprint has lent itself to the works of many other rappers and songwriters across eras such as Erykah Badu and Miles Davis. This mix scratches the surface and covers a little bit of everything, from her own songwriting, to collaborations, to the Jyoti project (through which Muldrow explores the jazz tradition as a one woman band).