David Byrne Music Installation

See the famous London venue The Roundhouse transformed into a giant musical instrument at the David Byrne music installation. The Camden live performance venue will be hosting the unusual sound installation from Saturday 8th August - Monday 31st August 2009, and members of the public will be able to play the building during this time.

David Byrne music installation
The brainchild of the artist, musician, and former Talking Heads frontman, the David Byrne music installation at the Roundhouse attaches mechanical devices to the structure of the Victorian building, such as the pipes, pillars and metal beams. These elements can then be manipulated to vibrate and produce a range of different sounds, all controlled by an antique pump organ keyboard.

Playing the Building
You may have heard of similar Playing the Building projects taking place in Stockholm and the Battery Maritime Building in New York, but this is the first time that the interactive arts project has come to Britain. The UK premiere will transform The Roundhouse into a vibrating, rattling and groaning entity, with the architecture coming to life with sound.

How it works
The many different kinds of apparatus attached to the old pump organ of the David Byrne music installation include motors that cause the building's girders to vibrate and make a low droning sound, and magnetic coils of wire that interact with the columns to produce a noise similar to a xylophone. Other features include flutes created by feeding compressed air into plumbing pipes.

The multi-talented Mr Byrne
While David Byrne is best known to many for his time playing as part of Talking Heads, he's also an artist who has displayed public art installations in galleries and museums around the world. For the duration of the Playing the Building event, the shutters will be removed from the windows of The Roundhouse's domed roof, which means that as well as hearing the Grade II listed building make its mysterious sounds, visitors see all the architecture in a new light as well.

Special events
Want to have a go on the keyboard but need to stick to a tight budget? You might want to check out the Pay What You Can on Mondays special offer, where you can pay as much, or as little as you like to get into the Roundhouse. There's also a combined ticket where you can interact with the installation and fill up on barbecue food and drink, and those with access to their own acoustic instrument can take part in the Jam Along events as well.

Pay What You Can Mondays at Playing the Building

Playing the Building Jam Along

Playing the Building, the David Byrne music installation at the Roundhouse, will be open to the public from Saturday 8th August - Monday 31st August 2009. Opening hours are 10am - 6pm Saturday - Wednesday, and 10am - 10pm Thursday - Friday.

Standard tickets to this event cost £5.00, while children under 16 pay £2.50. To book your tickets in advance, call 0844 482 8008. There is also a special pay what you can on the door offer on Mondays.

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