Freedom is the first vinyl release by US based sound designer and composer Yvette Janine Jackson. It includes her two radio operas, Destination Freedom and Invisible People, the first of which is available to stream here. The piece is an expansion of her shorter work Swan, which is composed from original foley, analogue synthesis and scores and improvisation performed by Jackson’s Invisible People Ensemble. Premiered at the Tonband Fixed Media Festival in 2017, Destination Freedom is an example of Jackson’s favoured approach to storytelling: using history to examine contemporary social issues.

“Destination Freedom is a part of a series of compositions themed around The Middle Passage,” the composer explains. “The journey takes the listener from the hull of a cargo ship trafficking Africans to the Americas and then traverses time in search of freedom. My radio operas are intended to be experienced with the lights out so that the listener can surrender to the theatre of the mind.”

Freedom includes sleevenotes written by The Wire contributor and cultural critic Greg Tate, and artwork by Nate Lewis. It will be released via New York’s Fridman Gallery in January 2021 and is available to pre-order now.