In a city that never ceases its hum, 180 Studios amplifies London by bringing art and sound in a high-fidelity embrace, one that has led to the birth of The Vinyl Factory - Reverb until September 28. This translates to a major multimedia exhibition – so major it’s the largest of its kind – boasting the participation of over a hundred artists and musicians across visual arts, music, film, and live performance including Thom Yorke, Grace Jones, Daft Punk, Massive Attack, The XX, Pet Shop Boys, Nan Goldin or Arthur Jafa, among others. Each space exudes its own inimitable character, but none quite like the vinyl room. Think stepping into a womb, a very jazzy womb, one that smells of patchouli.
Upon entering you’re met with a collection of spaces. The Hi-fi Listening Room Dream No.1 is created and programmed with New York artist Devon Turnbull. This is what I call the ‘womb room’, a term I coined that I find quite fitting. Here lies a meditative space, inviting visitors to listen to vinyl and a curated selection of unheard music, among which are exclusive test pressings and studio outtakes. As you walk in with a hop and a skip, dial it down as you have to take off your shoes, and then appreciate the plushness of carpet that envelopes both floor and walls.
In other spaces you’ll come across new site-specific audio-visual installations and sonic experiences commissioned by The Vinyl Factory, from artists including Theaster Gates, Es Devlin, Julianknxx and Caterina Barbieri. Picture a sort of cinema room where the walls dissolve and you find yourself among musicians in studio-setting. Notably, there are UK premieres of artworks by Virgil Abloh, Kahlil Joseph, Stan Douglas and Cecilia Bengolea and installations by Jeremy Deller, William Kentridge, Jenn Nkiru, Hito Steyerl, Carsten Nicolai and Gabriel Moses.
Complementing the exhibition are a series of live performances and talks. Amplified, a new work by Theaster Gates, functions as a sonic installation by day and a stage for live acts by night. Here, artists both established and emerging, recorded and pressed direct-to-disc on The Vinyl Factory Lathe. For those new to music lingo, this means artists’ live performances are directly recorded onto vinyl using the aforementioned ‘lathe’ machine, preserving their organic authenticity without digital processing.
Minimal convincing needed – especially when a womb room awaits. Open until September 28 at 180 The Strand in London, step in, tune up, and enjoy the experience!
Devon Turnbull, Listening Room 1.
Kahlil Joseph, BLKNWS.
Hito Steyerl, This is the Future.
Virgil Abloh, 12 inch voices.