Tate Modern gets art soundtracks
BBC NEWS
September 1, 2006
The Chemical Brothers and Graham Coxon are among the musicians who have provided “soundtracks” for artworks at London’s Tate Modern. Visitors to the gallery will be able to hear the tracks at listening posts next to the pieces that inspired them.
A track by the Chemical Brothers inspired by Jacob Epstein’s 1913-14 sculpture Torso in Metal from The Rock Drill was the first to be unveiled. Estelle and Klaxons are among the other musicians taking part in the project. One new track will be made available to visitors every month, including contributions from The Long Blondes, Roll Deep and the Union of Knives.
‘Powerful’
The Chemical Brothers said: “We chose to write music for The Rock Drill as it seemed so dynamic, powerful and modern – it just seemed so techno – we could imagine music as soon as we saw it.
“The sculpture has a feeling of movement. We wanted to capture the latent feeling of force that the figure has.
“Having heard music in art galleries before that is largely ambient, we wanted to make something rhythmic and structured that connected to the piece.”
Tate media director Will Gompertz said: “Tate Tracks highlights just how powerful the relationship between music and art can be and we’re delighted to work with so many major musicians.
“Each act has responded distinctly to the artwork chosen and the results are inspirational.”
Featured artists:
The Chemical Brothers 9.1.06
Roll Deep 10.1.06
Graham Coxon 11.1.06
The Long Blondes 12.1.06
The Landscapers 1.1.07
Estelle 2.1.07
Klaxons 3.1.07
Union of Knives 4.1.07
sarah badr | pieces at random 