Tate Modern today launches the second in the Tate Tracks series of exclusive music partnerships with a new track from East London grime collective Roll Deep. The new track “Searching” is inspired by Anish Kapoor’s sculpture Ishi’s Light and will be exclusively available at a listening post in front of the artwork for one month. The track will also be available for a further month from 1st November on the www.tatetracks.org.uk website.
Roll Deep’s “Searching” is part of the 12-month Tate Tracks project launched by Tate Modern to match inspirational visual art with inspirational new music. The project launched last month with The Chemical Brothers’ interpretation of Jacob Epstein’s Torso in Metal from The Rock Drill.
Roll Deep collective members Target, Flow Dan, Breeze and Danny wrote and recorded “Searching” in response to the sense-disrupting nature of the Kapoor structure. Target from Roll Deep said: “Normally the process for making music comes from a theme or an idea – something we’ve all gone through. So to actually be inspired to make music based around a piece of art was definitely something new for us but at the same time really refreshing".
“Ishi’s Light really challenged us. Being honest, a lot of contemporary art doesn’t necessarily appeal to our sensibilities, but this really did. It jumped out a mile in terms of the way the art and the viewer interacted. It’s beautiful on a superficial level, but then also involves more than just your visual senses, once you step inside.”
Will Gompertz, Head of Tate Media added: "We’ve had an amazing response to Tate Tracks and we’re particularly pleased to have Roll Deep involved, as they are one of the biggest names in British urban music."
Ishi’s Light is on display at Tate Modern on Level 3 Material Gestures in Room 1. Visitors to the gallery will be able to listen to “Searching” from 1st –31st October.
The Tate Tracks project, conceived in partnership with ad agency Fallon, will see contributions from a wide range of artists over the coming months, including acts such as Estelle, Rodney P, Graham Coxon, Klaxons and The Long Blondes.
