Channel is Somerset House’s new curated online space for art, ideas and the artistic process.
Every Tuesday in August SYSTEM: Future Sounds will open up the installation to up-and-coming members of the sound system community making waves across the UK, with parties curated by fast rising key players Simba, Tudor Lion and Thali.
Thursdays will see Boiler Room and Somerset House Studios host SYSTEM: Sound Series, a line up of parties that explore some of the biggest music scenes and the positive impact of migration on music. Deviation co-founder Judah, Aba Shanti-I, BBZ and The Soca Kingdom will all take the reins at the installation, showcasing UK Urban, Sound System, International Club, and Soca.
Throughout August the installation, SYSTEM: Future Sounds and SYSTEM: Sound Series will be streamed live on Boiler Room.
SYSTEM: Future Sounds and SYSTEM: Sound Series parties from BBZ, Aba Shanti-I, Judah & The Soca Kingdom will run alongside SYSTEM, a fully interactive art installation by Gaika exploring the themes of immigration, blackness and anti-authoritarianism in the UK.
SYSTEM: Sound Series
Thu 2nd, 16th, 23rd & 24th August 2018
7 - 11pm
Free, Lancaster Rooms, Somerset House
RSVP via blrrm.tv/system
SYSTEM: Future Sounds
Tues 7th, 14th and 21st August 2018
6.30 - 10pm
Free, Lancaster Rooms, Somerset House
RSVP via blrrm.tv/system
SYSTEM (Installation) by Gaika
Exhibition opens 2nd - 26th August
10am – 6pm on Tues, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Free, Lancaster Rooms, Somerset House
SYSTEM BY GAIKA
Launching in August, Boiler Room have commissioned an installation in collaboration with musician, performance artist and Somerset House Studios resident Gaika.
SYSTEM is an evocative art installation, exploring themes of immigration, “blackness”, anti-authoritarianism, cultural expression, interchange and raw technical prowess which is at the heart of sound system culture via spatial, experiential and audio-visual interpretation of archival material.
SYSTEM indirectly challenges media perception of migration culture by using archive to showcase the cultural impact and significance of Notting Hill Carnival.
The installation is fully interactive, during opening hours anyone can take over SYSTEM through an audio input jack. Once plugged in, the installation will be fully responsive to the beat with changing images and video. A webcam fitted into the installation will stream through Boiler Room for the entirety of the installation’s placement in Somerset House Studios.
SYSTEM: SOUND SERIES
Thursday’s SYSTEM: Sound Series celebrates the influence of migration on music in the UK. The inaugural party (2nd August) will see the co-founder of famed London club night Deviation, Judah, curate a night of UK Urban. With an impressive roster of guests having joined Deviation in sessions that have spanned the globe with parties in Paris, Madrid, New York and Miami amongst other locations, Judah’s curation will set the precedent for the month of music perfectly.
On 9th August, acclaimed dub producer, Aba Shanti-I, will bring the authentic Notting Hill Carnival experience to Somerset House with a night of reggae and dub. Having played throughout the UK and Europe for over 30 years, Aba has been a resident sound system at Carnival since 1993 and was voted the No.1 DJ in the World by DJ Magazine in the same year. Spreading his message of integration over segregation, Aba will play through the night bringing together the widest spectrum of humanity.
BBZ will host their SYSTEM: Sound Series party on 16th August with curation focusing on marginalised LGBTQ POC collectives whose narratives within Carnival celebrations have been left untold. Titled International Club, this line up will give well a deserved platform to non binary WOC.
The Soca Kingdom will host a Soca edition of the series on 23rd August, championing the genre of music that originated within a marginalized subculture in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s. DJs and Promoters based in the UK who play around the world, known as the International Vibes Machine, Credable & Mr Hardwine will host an unforgettable sound system event.
SYSTEM: FUTURE SOUNDS
The Tuesday night series, SYSTEM: Future Sounds has been curated by up and coming of sound systems in the UK, including Simba, Tudor Lion and Thali.
Each element of the month long installation, from audience plug and play, SYSTEM: Future Sounds and Thursday’s SYSTEM: Sound Series parties, will be broadcast and live streamed on Boiler Room, here. SYSTEM forms part of a wider campaign from Boiler Room to celebrate the positive cultural impact of migration.
SYSTEM: FUTURE SOUNDS
Tuesdays @ Somerset House Studios
Tuesday 7th July
Simba
Influenced by his Caribbean roots, Simba explored sound systems from an early age. He has since travelled and toured across Canada, US and Europe refining his sound; celebrating old and new waves of the soundsystem generation and defining his position in the current scene.
Tuesday 14th July
Tudor Lion
A young player in the thriving London soundsystem community is closely connected with the younger generations of soundsystem culture. Tudor Lion is a box-pusher/selector for the Channel One Sound System Crew. Tudor will be curating the second event of the series.
Tuesday 21st August
Thali
Born into a household of soundsystem, Thali brings tradition and modernity to roots, reggae and dub music with via CAYA, Come As You Are, Soundsystem. Staying true to CAYA's ethos, the final night will see a celebration of rich culture using music to bring people together.
SYSTEM: SOUND SERIES
Thursdays & Friday 24th @ Somerset House Studios
UK Urban
Thursday 2nd August
Curator: Judah (Deviation)
Broadcast: 7-11pm
Sound Systems
Thursday 9th August
Curator: Aba Shanti-I
Broadcast: 8.30-11.30pm
International Club
Thursday 16th August
Curator: BBZ
Broadcast: 7-11pm
Soca
Thursday 23rd August
Curator: The Soca Kingdom
Broadcast: 7-11pm
ABOUT BOILER ROOM
Boiler Room is an independent music platform and cultural curator, connecting club culture to the wider world, on screen and irl though parties, film and video.
Founded in 2010, Boiler Room started with a webcam taped to a wall, broadcasting from a warehouse in London, opening a keyhole to the city’s underground. DIY at its finest; raw, uncut, homemade. Since then we’ve built a unique archive; featuring over 4,000 performances, by more than 5,000 artists, spanning 150 cities, enabling everyone regardless of where they live to enjoy the freedom it stands for.
With its award winning content Boiler Room reaches more than 189m p/month. Boiler Room has a significant and growing fan base in Latin America, key broadcast hubs in New York, London, Los Angeles and Berlin and the dedication of the world's most committed music fans, who consume shows expertly - curated by its passionate music team.
Their remit is to platform music in new ways - sound on for the voices and stories of the fringes of the mainstream.
Boiler Room - watch, listen, dance.
ABOUT SOMERSET HOUSE STUDIOS
Somerset House Studios is a new experimental workspace in the centre of London connecting artists, makers and thinkers with audiences. The Studios are a platform for the development of new creative projects and collaboration, promoting work that pushes bold ideas, engages with urgent issues and pioneers new technologies. Since its launch in October 2016, the number of artists working on site has grown to 85.
facebook.com/somersethousestudios
instagram.com/somersethousestudios
ABOUT SOMERSET HOUSE
Inspiring contemporary culture
One of the city’s most spectacular and well-loved spaces, Somerset House is a new kind of arts centre in the heart of London, designed for today’s audiences, artists and creatives – an inspirational community where contemporary culture is imagined, created and experienced.
From its 18th Century origins, Somerset House has played a central role in our society as a place where our culture and collective understanding of the world is shaped and defined. In 2000, it began its reinvention as a cultural powerhouse and home for arts and culture today, creating unique and stimulating experiences for the public, bringing them into direct contact with ideas from the greatest artists, makers and thinkers of our time. Our distinctive and dynamic year-round programme spans the contemporary arts in all its forms, from cutting-edge exhibitions and installations to annual festivals, seasonal events in the courtyard including Film4 Summer Screen, Summer Series and Skate, and an extensive learning and engagement programme.
As well as welcoming over 3 million visitors annually, Somerset House houses the largest and most diverse creative communities in the country – from one-person start-ups to successful creative enterprises including MOBO, British Fashion Council, Dance Umbrella, Improbable Theatre, Hofesh Shechter Company, and Dartmouth Films. www.somersethouse.org.uk