Thursday 14th June: Secret 7” 2018

The Secret 7”  exhibition has taken on a new epic location this year on The Jetty at Greenwich Peninsula.  Murals hand-painted by Survival Techniques guide you along the river, underneath the Emirates Airline to discover this fun space on stilts out in the water.  Urban Growth have planted beds of greenery to surround the displays of the seven hundred record sleeve artworks. Seven tracks from seven musicians have been pressed one hundred times to 7” vinyl. Creatives from around the world have selected their favourite track to interpret in their own style from artists such as Jeremy Deller and Sir Anish Kapoor to submissions from the general public. These seven hundred unique sleeves are currently on display at the Jetty before going on sale on June 24th.  The auction functions on a first come, first served basis priced at £50 each. The idea is that collectors have to guess who has created each sleeve and which song it’s for.  The secret isn't revealed until you have secured your purchase and unlocked its identity.  With each year of this project gaining notoriety the queue is becoming a dedicated operation.  It's advised to get in line in good time to get your paws on your favourite wax which could be the work of anyone from Sir Paul Smith to Polly Morgan.  You'll also find my cosmic colourful offering nestling in the mix alongside other NOW Gallery artists including Morag Myerscough, Hattie Stewart and Yinka Ilori.  This year all proceeds are going to Mind Charity.

(photos include a montage of my favourite artworks including two I suspect are for Jimi Hendrix "Castles Mad Of Sand" - see the lego mini Jimi and castles made of sand-paper!)

See my archive posts here, here,  here, here

Tuesday 7th July: Glastonbury Festival - Record Collection of Gideon Berger, Co-Founder of Block9

Over the years that I have been going to Glastonbury with Block9 I have always marvelled at how despite the varying weather conditions, Gideon has always DJ'd with vinyl.  If its not treacherous mud underfoot then its scorching heat - neither recommended conditions for storing or transporting records.  Yet every year there he is delighting in the crisp sound of his 7" selections.  Its enough for me to wheel my flight case across London without losing my shit, let alone lifting and schlepping a week's worth of wax over the fields of Worthy Farm.  And herein lies the answer to half that battle.  He drives the whole lot onsite in his home.  I've peaked through the port-hole at his collection when its been pitched backstage and dreamed of having a dig thru.  Last week I had the opportunity to get my fingers dusty and stroke the spectrum spines of the multi-colour sleeves.  Gideon obliged to my request for a Through The Keyhole type invasion to document "who could possibly live in a house like thiiiiiiiiiiiiis?".  "Lets look at the evidence.................."  artefacts & literature from the African diaspora, art deco armchair, record collection spanning Disco, Soul, Funk, Acid House, Rare Groove, Reggae, a tape-measure and tools ...............

Alongside Steve Gallagher, Gideon is partner and co-founder of Block9 , responsible for the NYC Downlow.  He's also broadcaster on SohoRadio and their own eponymous Downlow Radio.  Apparently these four walls have hosted some monumental parties, packed so full that you could crowd-surf from one end to the other without touching the floor.  I get a picture of how the Block9 phenomenon might have been first conceived.   My visit fell on a quiet and calm afternoon in the midst of the festival week and month of his stay for the build.  Perfect for a chat about his love for rare black gospel soul, his teenage experience of the Glastonbury Festival and his inherent social consciousness inherited from his activist Grandmother.  I want to know more but there isn't time.  Wallpaper want a piece about the design ethos and The Guardian want to get to grips with the fake moustache ticketing policy.  I forget I'm interviewing and naturally slip into simply hanging out,  whilst sipping on rum and ginger.  I think that's ok though.  I think that's actually what blogging is about and the friendships you form from genuine inquisitive research with no agenda.  It's taken so long to write this up because Ive had such a nice time listening back to an archive of his shows and equally of Downlow's DJ's to get a proper sense of the family sensibility that's the foundation of these set-building blocks with partner Steve.  All of that can be read in the previous post underneath this ................... enjoy.    I did :  )

Follow Gideon's Soho Jams show on Soho Radio here and DownlowRadio here.