
Thursday, April 17, 6-9 pm
El De Smith: Take My Name Off the Order List Don’t Want Anything
April 18 through May 25, 2025
El De Smith lived in a carriage house in Detroit’s Cultural Center in the early 1970s and was known as a humorous and unconventional artist who made paintings on plywood and cardboard, frequently gifting them to other artists in the community, including Jim Chatelain, Gordon Newton, John Egner, Robert Sestok, Douglas James and Steve Foust, to name a few. This show is comprised of works entirely from private collections and represents the first known public showcase of Smith’s art, writings, and related ephemera in Detroit, his hometown. The exhibition has been curated in collaboration with Jim Chatelain with support from Steve Foust and Dylan Spaysky.

Tuesday, May 13
TAKAAT (of Mdou Moctar)
Doors 7: 30 pm | $15 in advance or $18 at entry
TAKAAT (of Mdou Moctar)
Doors 7: 30 pm | $15 in advance or $18 at entry
TAKAAT (pronounced tuh-cot), meaning “noise” in the Tuareg language Tamashek, is the trio of Ahmoudou Madassane, Mikey Coltun, and Souleymane Ibrahim, also known as the rhythm section of Mdou Moctar. TAKAAT is sonic chaos, improvisation, freedom of exploration, and the punk styles of bands such as Fugazi and Unwound, all mixed together with the guitar music from the Sahel.
TAKAAT started during soundchecks while on the road with Mdou Moctar when the trio indulged their shared love for amps cranked to 11 and the sound of blown out speakers. Towards the end of 2023, the three started writing music together, inspired by their shared experiences with the sounds and energy of Hausa bar bands, gritty soukous, and 2000s post-punk. The music of TAKAAT is intense, dark, and energetic. Deeply inspired by the DIY ethos of punk, Ahmoudou, Mikey, and Souleymane capture that thrill of the new and the ecstasy of togetherness in these heavy rockers. TAKAAT follows in the spirit of the independent music culture that birthed hardcore basement shows, bedroom tape labels, and generator-powered pick-up wedding bands.
Is Noise Vol. 1 (10”) EP was recorded on a cold winter day in Washington, D.C by engineer, bass player, and producer Mikey Coltun direct to ½” tape. The band set up, took a short tea break, and banged out the four tunes in one take. Very little editing was done. The record is as raw as the way the EP was recorded. All songs written by Alhassane Gajil and Ahmoudou Madassane except Ishumar written by Hasso Akotey. All songs arranged by TAKAAT.
Photo credit Amghy Chacon and Cem Misirlioglu.
Trinosophes Projects is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the state of Michigan that supports live programming, exhibitions, research and publishing. We are an independent, artist-operated entity located in the city of Detroit. Contributed and earned income goes directly into the hands of the artists we work with, so if you appreciate our efforts, consider making a donation to support our ongoing mission. Click here for a Paypal link.
Photo credit Amghy Chacon and Cem Misirlioglu.
Trinosophes Projects is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the state of Michigan that supports live programming, exhibitions, research and publishing. We are an independent, artist-operated entity located in the city of Detroit. Contributed and earned income goes directly into the hands of the artists we work with, so if you appreciate our efforts, consider making a donation to support our ongoing mission. Click here for a Paypal link.
How does your support help? Your donations go directly to our programming, publishing, media manufacturing, archival work, artist commissioning, project collaborations and regranting in the form of artist prizes, awards and emergency assitance. While we prefer to operate mostly anonymously and we’re always hesitant to ask for financial support, we recognize that now more than ever our work is important to the cultral health of our community, both through supporting, highlighting and perserving our region’s cultural legacy and by keeping it in dialogue with devlopments in the rest of the country and the world.