180 Studios at 180 The Strand in London, the United Kingdom is showing The Vinyl Factory: REVERB, a multimedia exhibition showcasing The Vinyl Factory’s collection of LP records created with musicians, filmmakers and the performance artist community, along with several site-specific audiovisual art installations by star artists including Theaster Gates, William Kentridge and Virgil Abloh, among others. The show is running from May 23 - December 22, 2024. Sean Bidder, Creative Lead, 180 Studios and Creative Director, The Vinyl Factory joins STIR for an interview that sheds light on art, music and the love of vinyl.

REVERB makes apparent the deep ties between music and art through the eclectic offering of vinyl artworks, sound art and sound installation works for audiences to explore. 12-inch voices (2019) by the late Virgil Abloh stands prominently among the latter, appearing like a shrine within the art exhibition space. The booming installation perfectly sets the tone for the visually and sonically charged space it is placed in.

Bidder mentions that 180 Studios and The Vinyl Factory see the convergence between music and art as fertile soil for artistic expression. He discusses the current relationship between these creative fields, saying, “I think we're generally seeing a collapse of silos and a reimagining of creativity across multiple formats concurrently. I wonder whether any young person can purely imagine music or contemporary art in a singular fashion?” Bidder believes that artists and audiences are already bringing contemporary music and contemporary art together and that curators ought to create greater visibility for this space.

I think we're generally seeing a collapse of silos and a reimagining of creativity across multiple formats concurrently. I wonder whether any young person can purely imagine music or contemporary art in a singular fashion? – Sean Bidder, Creative Lead, 180 Studios and Creative Director, The Vinyl Factory

The last decade has been typified by the rapid proliferation of digital technologies, and the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom seems certain to catalyse both music and art in major ways. While it is still difficult to gauge where exactly deep tech will take these fields, we are already seeing entire songs created through AI and floods of AI-generated images. For example, in late 2023, Mark Tuan, a member of the South Korean boy band GOT7, created an AI twin for his fans to interact with.

Given the startling rate at which AI and deep tech continue to multiply, it is understandable that many people within creative fields hold some apprehensions regarding the preservation of creative agency. However, Bidder seems quite unconcerned. He believes that AI is merely a trend and tells STIR, “Trends by their very nature come and go and I think the current fascination with algorithmically programmed music is just that, current. Ultimately everything in modern capitalist society is decided by the market, or people—and there are enough young people who still seem to gravitate towards new music, new artists and new personalities. Technology is constantly evolving as it has done throughout the history of popular music, but, for the time being at least, it is created to serve people rather than dictate to them.”

Returning to REVERB, the exhibition’s presentation of over 100 vinyl records comes at an opportune moment in music history: Another major trend that is currently shaping this sector is the return of physical media. Vinyl, cassette and CD sales are all seeing an upsurge after a lengthy lull owing to widespread digital distribution. Again, Bidder offers an interesting insight, preferring to view digital and physical distribution as independent channels of music consumption. In his words, “Buying vinyl records and streaming music are perfectly compatible or distinct from one another, as the individual chooses. We live in the era of choice. But every choice has its advantages and disadvantages, as more people are discovering.”

As Bidder points out, music streaming may give one cheap access to a nearly infinite catalogue of albums, but algorithmic curation and varying sound quality can make for an uneven listening experience. Record collection, sharing and trading on the other hand aren’t just predicated on the love of tracking down and gathering physical media as artefacts (“crate digging”, to use the vinyl collector’s terminology), they also lean into the desire for acquiring high fidelity audio. Given the reinvigorated buzz around physical music distribution, REVERB should serve not just as a testament to the stunning creativity born of music and artmaking’s tryst, but also as an introductory experience for many curious listeners, inviting them into the world of vinyl hunting.

‘The Vinyl Factory: REVERB’ is on at 180 Studios at 180 The Strand, London, from May 23 - December 22, 2024.