In my double-life as a jet-setting music enthusiast, I would definitely be in London (again, London… sigh.) on 6 and 7 and 9 September to enjoy two different audio-visual sensory-immersive events at the ICA. The three events feature music by Mathew Herbert, The Chemical Brothers, Battles, Plaid and many more electricians, while the visual includes works by Joji Koyama, Max Hattler, United Visual Artists, Flat Nose George plus many others.

Mathew Herbert, Joji Koyama, Alex Taylor, Brian Degraw, Max Hattler, Economy Wolf

On Thursday the 6th, Matthew Herbert will provide the audio for Joji Koyama’s video, Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) will be paired with Brian Degraw (Gang Gang Dance), and Max Hattler will show his films to Economy Wolf’s soundtrack.

Warp, UVA, Battles, Plaid

Then, on Friday night, the Warp Films Premiere will debut the United Visual Artists’ video for Battles. UVA will also have installations set up and Plaid will be DJing throughout the night.

Here is an example of a UVA installation:

Chemical Brothers, Flat Nose George Under The Stars In Trafalgar Square

Then, the best exhibit of all - a huge pod is set up in Trafalgar Square that is filled with “10 specially commissioned art-music pieces.” On SUNDAY night (the 9th), the pod will be transformed into a multimedia stage for a very special performance by The Chemical Brothers with visual art by Flat Nose George. This free outdoor concert is expected to draw 9,000 people! BooYah! It’s free, but you still need to score tickets. Hit the ICA web pages up for more details…

Flat Nose George - Chemical Robots

All 3 events are totally free, so if you’re in the London area, DON’T MISS OUT!!

Artist and Musician Links

ICA website
ICA page for the Trafalgar Square event
The Chemical Brothers Home
Flat Nose George
United Visual Artists
Calvin Harris
Erol Alkan
3D Disco

Bios for the artists performing in Trafalgar Square

The Chemical Brothers‘ new album We Are the Night has been hailed as a their best yet, and their recent live dates across Europe have shown Tom and Ed at the peak of a 13-year career that has seen them work with Tim Burgess, Beth Orton, Noel Gallagher, Kele Okereke, Klaxons, Midlake and more, collecting rock and dance into a noisy world of hedonism.

Flat Nose George aka Adam Smith has made seminal live visuals and promos for Jamie T, The Chemical Brothers and The Streets, and his latest work is his strongest yet. He’s also the man who created the Chemical robots (our cover stars) and he has just started work on his first feature with Warp Films (who are also involved with Beck’s Fusions at the ICA, see over). The Trafalgar Square show will see the premiere of Flat Nose George’s new piece for The Chemical Brothers.

United Visual Artists have been commissioned to create an exclusive visual finale for The Chemical Brothers’ Trafalgar Square set that will go beyond the parameters of the stage and immerse the entire square. A collective that combines art direction, production and software engineering, UVA have recently worked with Massive Attack, Schneider TM, Battles and Arctic Monkeys, and have exhibited at Tate Modern and the V&A.

Further fusions will be created by Calvin Harris, the Scots singer who invaded our brains this summer with Acceptable in the 80s, and Novak 3D Disco, five new-media artists who make bang-up-to-retro 3D visuals and have caused oohs and ahhs at The Big Chill and Electric Picnic.
Erol Alkan - the genre-mashing genius who founded Trash - will also be playing. Could it get any better than this?

Another UVA installation:

Pages about Battles ~ Chemical Brothers ~ Hot Chip ~ London ~ Matthew Herbert ~ Plaid ~ UVA ~ Warp