You are caught in a call-and-response cypher unfolding across continents. In London, grime artists Lady Sanity and TrueMendous exchange bars. In Cairo, mahraganat musicians Raptor and Joker respond. Each delivers freestyle verses that question race and class in their home countries.
While researching the global uprisings of 2011, Canadian artist Stan Douglas uncovered accounts of grime being played at Occupy protests in the UK. Looking for a parallel in North Africa, he identified mahraganat – an Egyptian street music – as a similar local form. Both genres are shaped by local language, rhythm and political urgency, connecting music scenes forged in protest and public space.
The exchange feels live, but the performances were recorded weeks apart. Through editing and synchronisation, Douglas creates the illusion of real time. The title refers to Integrated Services Digital Network, once used to transmit sound across distance, here reimagined as a link between communities and cultures.
Note: this work contains mature themes, mild drug references and some coarse language
Related works
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
xos-125526