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THE VINYL FACTORY: REVERB AT 180 STUDIOS

REVIEW: 180 Studios presents The Vinyl Factory: Reverb.

"Working on Reverb has been one of the most fulfilling projects to date. Many of the artists involved are close collaborators that have become friends over several years of working together, so it's been really fun reconnecting with them and bringing them together in one space."
- Sean Bidder, Curator and Creative Lead at 180 Studios.

20th November 2024

Last weekend, we were delighted to attend the latest offering from the contemporary exhibition space 180 Studios: The Vinyl Factory – Reverb. With its aim to “explore the intersection of art and sound,” we were eager to see what it had to offer. Featuring showcases ranging from Jeremy Deller to the late Virgil Abloh, there was clearly a wealth of ground to be covered.

A bit about 180 Studios: housed within the depths of 180 The Strand in London, it is a project has become a hub for artistic innovation. Originally an office building, it has been transformed into a dynamic space supporting a broad spectrum of creative expression. Ranging from music and visual arts to immersive multimedia installations. The transformation from a conventional office building to a vibrant creative hub couldn’t be more striking.

The current exhibition, The Vinyl Factory: Reverb, 'celebrates the intersection of sound and art. This ambitious showcase features contributions from over 100 artists, with highlights including immersive audio-visual installations, a hi-fi listening room, and live performances recorded directly to vinyl.'

Entering the space through the back door and descending into the industrial subterrania set the pace of the experience, and immersive it was.

Similarly to the brilliantly cavernous first room, the use of space elsewhere was well tailored. The rhythmic, beat focused videos take place in dark, labyrinthine corridors, encouraging viewers to stand together, rocking their heads in unison. Julianknxx’s ‘Untitled (ɔl bɔdi na sta)’ utilises the entire projected space to great effect. Etherealising the ritualistic dance and playing with the way that the dancers push and pull. Hito Steyerl intro’ed her piece with a fast-paced AI driven video spanning humanity. Behind this screen, this broad concept was then dissected and expanded upon through a tangled web of LED screens and boards displaying text: utilising this as a vehicle to propose a more creative perspective on the future.

The exhibition pieces are also supplemented by a range of films told through video and a number of top-tier audio systems. Exploring themes from Jermey Deller’s ‘heroic’ rave evolution in ‘Everybody In The Place’ (2018) and Detroit's techno revolution in Jenn Nkiru’s ‘Black to Techno’ (2019) through its slamming Detroit sonics. Cecilia Bengolea’s ‘Shelly Belly Inna Real Life’ (2021) showcases dancehall’s potent energy through an engrossing tour of her streets of Kingston. It was rewarding to see these poignant, documentative films on the big screen with the sound pumping. Especially due to the wide breadth of perspectives being told by those who live it, love it, and are ‘it’.

The first room (pictured below), has the impact factor, and it revels in it. The entrance is placed at the top end of an expansive, sloped car-ramp, with the incline leading down, away from you. In the distance, hanging above the tallest part of the expanse is a huge display, showing Luanda-Kinshasa (Stan Douglas), a film of musicians deep in flow at a reconstructed version of Columbia Records' 30th Street studio. The space itself really lends to making you want to sit back in the (heaavvily reclined) chairs, and give-in to the groove.

This attention to composition and space is a strong theme carried throughout the exhibition. Both in the way that the art is put across, and also in the way the spectators are arranged. Nestled amongst are some satisfyingly interactive pieces, successfully teasing out a sense of play. Carsten Nicolai's Bausatz Noto (pictured left) effectively confronts you with four Technics SL-1210s and a wall of loops begging to be sequenced. I have been enjoying the push towards viewer engagement in recent exhibitions, and this is an example of it being done well. Not only asking you to click play, but it reaches deeper, to better your understanding of tempo, composition and layering of texture in a fun way.

Devon Turnbull's hi-fi sound system used in the listening room.

Clearly leading the conversation for this exhibition has been Devon Townsend's listening room. The room is spacious and the bright achromatic colour scheme leaves space for thought, and most importantly, listening. Comprised of a high-performing, homemade, brutalist sound system, and central reservation containing a sexy tube amp, tape deck and additional space-age electronica, it's certainly inviting.

Truthfully however, by the time I reached the listening room, my 'heroic' raving of the night before had begun to take hold. So by the time I got my shoes off and sized the place up, I decided it was time to sack it off in exchange for a much-needed pint (sorry Devon). Despite my apparent ignorance, I get the sentiment, and what's more, I like it. It gives the point that we need to slow down the way that we consume music (‘we’ being me, but I can’t be the only one). Stopping the transactional background interactions with sounds, and letting it them centre stage more frequently. Too commonly music can be used as a method of blocking the world out, a method of distraction while performing a menial task or yadayadayada. The point is, it’s no longer the main attraction. I’m guilty of it as the next man. Besides, when you give in to it, nothing quite compares. That’s where the therapy of music can be found. Not using it to drown out the wailing child on the 8am central line, but through it's complete and total immersion.

Following our visit, we dropped a couple of questions over to Sean Bidder, Curator and Creative Lead at 180 Studios. A seasoned voice in arts and culture, Sean is a regular contributor to renowned publications such as The Guardian and Dazed & Confused. He is also the author of The Rough Guide to House and Pump Up The Volume, the latter serving as the companion to a Channel 4 documentary of the same name. It went a little bit like this:

1. You’ve had an interesting career journey. What first drew you into the world of music, arts, and publishing, and what keeps you inspired?

Sean Bidder -"Music and the surrounding culture, it has always been a huge inspiration, for as long as I can remember. I was always fascinated and excited by the record sleeves and/or videos that musicians and their creative collaborators produced and long before the internet this, and the accompanying music and youth magazines, were a constant source of ideas and energy. For me, growing up the most exciting musical and cultural moments were connected to first New York and hip-hop and later acid house and electronic music more generally, both started off as underground, rebellious movements built on creative expression and collaboration. I was always interested in contemporary art but it always seemed more vital and vibrant outside the confines of a gallery, often synergised with music and other art forms. There are so many incredible artists with new visions, new ideas and new avenues to open up, there's a constant source of inspiration out there."

2. You work across so many creative disciplines. How do you channel your ideas, and what’s your process like when you’re bringing a concept to life?

"I try not to overthink it, I guess. I'm fortunate to work with a really wonderful creative team and a true entrepreneurial visionary who runs 180 Studios, so I follow my instincts essentially - if it feels genuinely exciting and innovative in some way, or perhaps just new or different. then it's worth exploring. That said, for exhibitions, the idea has to be one that can potentially connect to a broad rather than niche audience."

3. As creative lead here, you seem to wear many hats. Could you share a bit about what your role looks like day-to-day, both in this exhibition and in your broader work whether that be writing or consultancy?

"Creativity takes many forms and I don't think I'm that different to any other contemporary artist or curator or publisher in that all these disciplines are increasingly blending and often the most exciting moments are when they fuse together. Day to day, it's exciting. I'm very lucky and I don't take that for granted - between 180 Studios, The Vinyl Factory and Fact I get to meet and work with some incredible musicians, artists and visionaries. No two days are ever the same and sometimes an idea or project can be planned years in advance or be realised in an incredibly short space of time."

4. What do you listen to when nobody is watching?

"Whatever my young kids are listening to. It's so interesting hearing music again through their ears. There's no filter, they just pick out what they like and add it to their playlist, aka my phone!"

Thank you for chatting to us Sean!

If you're intrigued, The Vinyl Factory: Reverb exhibition runs until December 22, 2024, offering a unique chance to immerse yourself in this extraordinary creative haven. Whether you're an art enthusiast, music lover, or curious explorer, this exhibition promises a rich sensory and intellectual experience.

For more details or to book your visit, check out the official 180 Studios website

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