Nicole Mitchell and Lisa E Harris have collaborated on a new album that draws inspiration from Octavia E Butler's 1993 novel Parable Of The Sower and its 1998 sequel Parable Of The Talents. Recorded in 2017 at the Art Institute of Chicago, flautist and composer Mitchell points out the novels' prescience. “If you read Parable Of The Sower right now, it's going to explain a lot of what's happening in our world today,” she says. “And this was written in 1993 by Octavia Butler. Her purpose was to be able to use science fiction as a way for us to look at some of the social issues that we're dealing with in our world.”

This album isn't Mitchell's first tribute to Butler: in 2017 she published the sci-fi novella and album Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds, before which came albums Xenogenesis Suite (2008) and Intergalactic Beings (2014). Indeed, when the pair met at the New Quorum Composers’ Residency in New Orleans, it was this shared interest for Butler's writings that paired Mitchell with the theremin player, composer and filmmaker Harris, who had discovered Butler’s novels whilst writing an opera called Lilith.

Both artists worked collaboratively on the text and the music: “We were very interested in how we, as a duo, could truly co-compose across both of these disciplines, and create a sacred space for the unknown to sound,” says Harris. “We really combined our vision. And the piece unfolded like a conversation, at every step.”

As well as Harris' spinto soprano, EarthSeed also features the tenor vocals of Julian Otis, and musicians of Black Earth Ensemble: Tomeka Reid, Zara Zaharieva, Ben LaMar Gay and Avreeayl Ra. “It’s all about community,” Mitchell confirms. “The voices of the musicians are also contributing, through their improvisation, towards the sonic expression of the piece.”

Mitchell adds: “What I really like about the album is that it has humour. In African-American culture, resilience is why we're still here. Because if you don't have a sense of humour, that means that you're not being elastic. It’s that bounce that helps us to be resilient, to overcome obstacles, and to move through difficult moments and know that there is going to be an end.”

EarthSeed is released on 26 June on FPE Records. Listen to “Evernascence/Evanescence” and “Yes And Know” below.