Tate Modern today launches the fifth in the Tate Tracks series of exclusive music partnerships with a new track from UK hip-hop act The Landscapers featuring Rodney P and Corin “The Sea” Pennington.
The new track “VaVaVoom” is inspired by Andy Warhol’s sculpture Brillo 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 February on the www.tatetracks.org.uk website.
The Landscapers’ “VaVaVoom” 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 in September with The Chemical Brothers’ interpretation of Jacob Epstein’s Torso in Metal from The Rock Drill and has since seen other artists including Roll Deep, Graham Coxon and Klaxons all write tracks for the gallery.
The Landscapers said: “For us, getting involved with the Tate Tracks project was too interesting an offer to turn down. We have always taken inspiration from things around us when we make music and The Tate is full of exhibits that force you to think. We were kind of spoilt for choice when deciding a piece to write for but in the end the Andy Warhol Brillo sculpture pushed the right buttons”. The track we recorded "Va Va Voom" is a musical collage made of snippets of jiggles from ads from over the years. Lyrically we also reference many catch phrases from adverts. There is a message about consumer culture within the lyrics but mostly it’s about the way adverts stay with you in the same way as pop songs. We intended for part of the fun of the track to be how many ads can the listener recognise”.
Will Gompertz, Head of Tate Media added: “The Landscapers’ vibrant response to Andy Warhol’s Brillo cleverly reflects Warhol’s appropriation of everyday imagery in his work. This track gives me extraordinary insight into Warhol’s work and demonstrates once again the ability the Tate Tracks initiative has for bringing the collection online".
Brillo is on display at Tate Modern on Level 5 States of Flux in Room 8. Visitors to the gallery will be able to listen to “VaVaVoom” from 1st –31st January.
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, Union of Knives and The Long Blondes.
