Online Column 3:
Barbican Estate, The Art Salon, self-confidence & live AV performance
Barbican Estate
1.
You catch a glimpse of a silk dress and a flash of a linen shirt wade through a sea of heads, the crowd falls silent, the hum of an amp reverberates around the room, everyone's breath pauses, a guitar pedal click activates the crowd and an explosion of riffs ignite the space. I can see heads bounce around me, bodies twist and I can’t help but jump up and down myself, almost forgetting that I am actually there to take pictures.
This is Barbican Estate.
2.
The psychedelic rock trio from Japan that have come to crank the noise and blast you with experimental energy. Their recent EP ‘Viscum’ provides a soft and yet pleasingly abrasive exploration of a 1970s-esque psychedelic dream garden, with the title mirrored in the parasitic spread of drone throughout the record. The title track opens the EP with a series of nostalgic feeling riffs, played by guitarist Kazuki Toneri, unveiling this sprawling path on which Miri’s vocals dance, inviting you to follow deeper into the rest of the tracks. A consistent theme throughout the record is building these layers of sound, which escalate to build a crunchy and deep crescendo
within each track, especially towards the end of the second track, ‘Barn Burning’, which definitely reflects their performance style. ‘April 7, 1928’ is a swirling pleasure, carpeted by the bass notes of Miri, and the trance-like tickling of the drums played by Koh Hamada, making way for the feedback loops painted by Kazuki. The intense echoing leaves the listener in a daze, but never feels as though it is unpleasant, casting this picture of a winding path through a forest. The record closes out with ‘Zulma’ (meaning peace or completeness), which doubles down on the forest theming laid out in the opening track, with a gleeful flute and the sounds of a babbling brook in the background as the notes bring together a whimsical and gleeful dance, slowly fading out as you exit the track.
Viscum
Barn Burning
April 7, 1928
Zulma
Overall the EP ends up sounding brighter and greener than their previous album ‘Way Down East’ and elevates the idea presented in ‘The Fall’ EP, the latter of the two acting as a great bridge from their previous work to ‘Viscum’, where the sound metamorphoses from the dryer and meatier sounds to those present in the new work.
3-4.
Circling back to where we started, I am back in the crowd. Their recent show at Moor Beer Vaults was a cacophony of clashing melodies, artistically woven by Miri and Kazuki, with Sparrow Flint filling in on drums. The sounds opened up with a flute played by Miri, setting the tone for our journey that evening, and Kuziki carving his way up the frets, slow and steady. Just as this ceremony had drawn to a close, the energy exploded into the room, with both Miri and Kazuki slamming on the bass and lead guitar, an experience that truly elevated their tracks, which, in my opinion, have to be heard live. The air was heavy, you could feel the notes in your chest, everyone started dancing and the scream of the feedback whipped it all up into a frenzy. As I snap photos between those at the front, the band conduct the crowd, keeping everyone on hooks as they escalate the sounds, building and building until everyone is entranced, and then dropping down into a solo by any of the members, that you can’t help but smile at.
Whenever you see them playing, wherever you are, you have to see them.
5-6.
Many thanks to Kazuki & Miri
Self-confidence is key
Most resources and online voices will tell you that you have to put yourself out there and talk to as many people as possible. While this may be partly true, word of mouth is a powerful tool, the best thing you can do is to back what you do. Integrity is important, and industry veterans will be able to sniff out vapid work like a bloodhound. However, work done for the sake of the game, for the love of the craft packs a humongous punch.
If you are doing what you are doing purely for yourself, never be afraid to shamelessly promote it.
Where can you meet other artists in London?
The Art Salon has the answer for you.
Providing a collaborative space for creatives to connect, showcase their work, and even perform, The Art Salon has become a stomping ground for London’s budding creators. We caught up with its founder, Pri, to find out what you need to know about attending the upcoming events.
Since lockdown, Pri has been managing sessions that allow artists from around the globe to build a space for themselves, whether that be online or offline, but always with an emphasis on connection. I grabbed a coffee with Pri in Brixton and talked about the event's beginnings on Zoom, where she would set up online meetings which eventually snowballed into curated events, branching out into live music, performance art and other interactive elements such as collaborative drawing.
“The aim is to create an evening of interesting talent”, which was the main focus of the recent ‘Happenings II’ that took place at AMP Studios in Deptford, hosting a blossoming cast of beautiful artworks and artists, from screen printing to live music and back to body painting. When I stepped through the gate I was greeted with warm smiles and immediately got talking to Alba Urquia who was running a workshop on screen printing. It was great to see people interacting with each other while participating, the melding of different worlds brought together by art. I watched as one of the attendees skillfully built up their screen to print a bouquet of sunflowers, which in turn inspired the person after them to explore this nature theme too. Behind me was a table where a body painting exercise was happening, people collaborating to create a grander design that spanned the model canvas. As I walked between the tables of sellers' work, and a large collaborative mural, Pri greeted me and invited me inside the hanger as Farloh finished his DJ set and the live acts were about to start.
Red Peril started the evening off great, coaxing dancing out of the crowd and bringing movement to the dance floor, which propagated through the sets by Anman and The Fragile States too. The whole event felt very community-focused, with strangers dancing, painting and exchanging ideas together; it was great to see an event that was so interactive and yet still gave focus to the individual artists making it happen. My favourite part of the whole event was that all the activities were poised as talking points, encouraging the attendees to interact with each other. For those who may feel intimidated to start up a conversation at events, or throw themselves in the deep end, The Art Salon provides a space for you to get involved in creating, surrounded by other creatives, with many opportunities for conversation to flow naturally.
Be sure to be on the lookout for the next Art Salon events as they usually have a focus on music, painting, fashion and performance, with some potential talks and Q&As sprinkled in, a must-visit for any budding creative looking to connect with like-minded individuals.
Many thanks to Pri @the_artsalon
Photography: @rapo__port
Live AV set w/Optionlist & Madame3swords
List and I worked closely on a live audio and visual set, where they deconstructed 2 tracks into samples and reconstructed them in response to visuals that I had made which played over the performance.
For the visuals, I used a number of found assets as well as videos taken from my Google Drive archive which touch on childhood memories and self-trauma.
Visuals: @madame3swords
Audio: @optionlist
Camera work and setup help by @nicovanhoen @voremipsum @novasdemise @JoeeLiuu
