A visual beat for the city?
A thing of rareness this summer, a lovely warm weekend, graced the capital a few weeks back and there was plenty on. The need to make the most of things prompted a night bus into Westminster for some free entertainment at the National Gallery. Not the kind of fun you would guess from such a distinguished venue: this was all about the sound and look of now. Saturday night saw world-renowned VJ act, Addictive TV hit the venue with their latest project, Eye of the Pilot, in front of a lucky audience of under 200.
Addictive TV are a slick duo who played the South Bank last year, and have secured all kinds of advertising work that you recognise in between times. Their live shows mix up visuals from a huge variety of sources, and splice them to a mashed up break beat soundtrack. The beats rise and so do the effects, each break accompanied by tricks on the eye, loops and spoken words. Movies such as Tarantino’s masterpiece ‘Kill Bill’, and all time classics, ‘Get Carter’ and ‘The Italian Job’ are given a re-edit, making Michael Caine stylish yet again. Even ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ got the Addictive TV treatment.
A pumping blend of break beat tunes mixed and mashed with dialogue from the movies forms the soundtrack. Visuals were being mixed before our eyes, the duo keeping tabs of each other’s movements and mixing. They built the set up well, hooking the crowd in with mixes of the Sex Pistols, AC/DC and The Clash.
What gave everything life was the fact that the show was being projected onto the wall of the gallery, easily as big as your average cinema, dwarfing the punters below. Some early sound problems kept the volume quiet upstairs, but a few mixes later the sound lifted, and so did the people.
The entire roof of the National Gallery became one big open-air dance floor as people hooted and stomped along to the action. Down stairs the screen was smaller, but dance floor more hectic, as passers by were drawn into the mix, a romantic walk by the river ending in a boogie on the makeshift dance floor. Booze flowed and everyone was in a great mood, especially all the smokers who were in a club-like venue that allowed smoking!
A great event that reconfirmed there is always life in the old girl that is London, even after such a rubbish excuse for a summer. Thanks to organisers, Addictive TV and the National Gallery for letting us stomp all over their roof. I look forward to whatever’s coming up next!
A thing of rareness this summer, a lovely warm weekend, graced the capital a few weeks back and there was plenty on. The need to make the most of things prompted a night bus into Westminster for some free entertainment at the National Gallery. Not the kind of fun you would guess from such a distinguished venue: this was all about the sound and look of now. Saturday night saw world-renowned VJ act, Addictive TV hit the venue with their latest project, Eye of the Pilot, in front of a lucky audience of under 200.
Addictive TV are a slick duo who played the South Bank last year, and have secured all kinds of advertising work that you recognise in between times. Their live shows mix up visuals from a huge variety of sources, and splice them to a mashed up break beat soundtrack. The beats rise and so do the effects, each break accompanied by tricks on the eye, loops and spoken words. Movies such as Tarantino’s masterpiece ‘Kill Bill’, and all time classics, ‘Get Carter’ and ‘The Italian Job’ are given a re-edit, making Michael Caine stylish yet again. Even ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ got the Addictive TV treatment.
A pumping blend of break beat tunes mixed and mashed with dialogue from the movies forms the soundtrack. Visuals were being mixed before our eyes, the duo keeping tabs of each other’s movements and mixing. They built the set up well, hooking the crowd in with mixes of the Sex Pistols, AC/DC and The Clash.
What gave everything life was the fact that the show was being projected onto the wall of the gallery, easily as big as your average cinema, dwarfing the punters below. Some early sound problems kept the volume quiet upstairs, but a few mixes later the sound lifted, and so did the people.
The entire roof of the National Gallery became one big open-air dance floor as people hooted and stomped along to the action. Down stairs the screen was smaller, but dance floor more hectic, as passers by were drawn into the mix, a romantic walk by the river ending in a boogie on the makeshift dance floor. Booze flowed and everyone was in a great mood, especially all the smokers who were in a club-like venue that allowed smoking!
A great event that reconfirmed there is always life in the old girl that is London, even after such a rubbish excuse for a summer. Thanks to organisers, Addictive TV and the National Gallery for letting us stomp all over their roof. I look forward to whatever’s coming up next!
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