Art and sound come together in the concrete spaces of 180 The Strand this summer with the launch of The Vinyl Factory: Reverb – a monumental exhibition of immersive AV installations by over 100 artists that explores the intricate relationship between music and art.

The spectacular London art show is the largest of its kind, mixing music, film, visual arts, and live performances throughout the summer in specially conceived spaces within the Brutalist landmark. For 20 years, The Vinyl Factory has been collaborating and commissioning artists and musicians. The show digs deep into The Vinyl Factory Collection, exhibiting 17 immersive works commissioned or produced by the studio.

Among Reverb’s highlights is Stan Douglas’s mesmerising jazz funk loop, Luanda Kinshasa, set in set in a reconstruction of the legendary Columbia 30th Street Studio in Midtown Manhattan, which drew artists from across all genres, from Miles Davis to Bob Dylan in the 20th century. Luanda Kinshasa is a seemingly never-ending improv session– a fictitious recording session that blurs genres, eras and memories.

Theaster Gates has created a new work titled Amplified—a sonic installation by day that transforms into a live performance space by night. This promises to be the most dynamic element of the exhibition, featuring a roster of established and emerging musicians, with performances recorded direct-to-disc on The Vinyl Factory Lathe.

Legendary Haçienda nightclub designer Ben Kelly has also created a Record Room within the exhibition where vinyl records made by The Vinyl Factory at its historic vinyl press are on show. Diverting from Kelly’s signature hazard stripes, the industrial space features black corrugated steel and bare strip-lighting, with 100 rare vinyl records—by artists including Nan Goldin, Pipilotti Rist, Mica Levi, Marina Abramovic, Grace Jones, Yussef Dayes, Fred Again, Ragnar Kjartansson, Massive Attack, Daft Punk, The xx and many more — on floating shelves.

The exhibition culminates with audio guru Devon Turnbull’s Hi-Fi Listening Room, an intimate and unique close-listening experience. The room features a wall of Brutalist speakers designed by the OJAS founder and invites guests to sit and meditate to an evolving soundtrack of unheard music, exclusive test pressings, and studio outtakes.

180 Studios presents The Vinyl Factory: Reverb runs until 28 September at 180 The Strand. Book tickets here.

 

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