VC Projects and Sonic Ritual Records present STEVEN DAYVID MCKELLAR RECORD LISTENING PARTY FEATURING “NAMA” May 5th, 2023, from 6:30-9 pm Plus a live performance by the Steven El NIDO 1028 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029 R S V P space is limited In September 2022, Steven released ‘Nama,’ a textural and rhythmic exploration of his South African roots and identity. ‘Nama’ is a follow-up to two earlier musical releases, ‘Ethio’ and ‘Belleville Demos’— soon to be reissued. On Friday, May 5th, from 6:30 - 9 pm, El Nido will partner with Sonic Ritual Recordings to present a Listening Party of selected songs from Steven Dayvid McKellar’s Nama record. Between listening to songs, there will be a short Q & A with Steven, Sonic Ritual Recordings, and VC Projects, followed by a live performance by Steven Dayvid McKellar. The evening aims to provide an insightful discussion about the music process and how this record is relative to Nooit ge Dacht exhibition currently on view at El Nido. REGARDING THE ALBUM NAMA: Steven: In the season I made NAMA, the lockdown was still happening, the LA social landscape had transformed, and I was going through a lot of internal change myself. Trying my best to understand the new physical place I was in (Hollywood), as well as wrestling with a lot of insecurity, self-doubt, and being lost, which heightened my awareness of the longing in me to be with family again and to be in the place where I grew up. And ‘nooit ge dacht’ was, in its way, a fulfillment of that anticipation, that sorrow, and that longing to truly sit with all of it, all the smells and sounds and colors and emotions and memory, and BE in it. So the two projects are deeply linked. They are looking at the same coastal view. But one is from the ocean, and the other from the land. Steven McKellar is a musician, painter, and poet from Cape Town, South Africa. After a 20-year music career, touring globally with his band, Civil Twilight, Steven began releasing his first solo records and returned to his roots in painting. As a child, he was trained in realism by his aunt and renowned South African artist Donna McKellar before finding community and creative outlet through music and poetry. In September 2022, Steven released ‘Nama,’ a textural and rhythmic exploration of his South African roots and identity. ‘Nama’ is a follow-up to two earlier musical releases, ‘Ethio’ and ‘Belleville Demos’— soon to be reissued. After a debut solo show of his early paintings in Nashville, TN, Steven has been refining his process and deepening his relationship with the medium by exploring identity. ‘Nooit ge Dacht’ is his latest series of paintings, sketches, and pastels of everyday objects endowed with meaning on his journey of personal growth.