YOU MIGHT HAVE heard of ‘difficult second album syndrome’, where bands struggle to make their sophomore record.
But what about your ninth album? If you’re two-time Mercury Prize winner and all-round badass PJ Harvey, you record it in a box… as part of an architectural installation. And in front of an ever-changing audience who’ve bought tickets to watch.
Harvey and band will be taking part in Recording In Progress at Somerset House from 16 January, a project which will see them turning the creative process into a work of art itself.
The recording-studio-in-a-box has one-way glazing, so Harvey and band won’t be able to see the gawping crowds.
In the words of the organisers:
Harvey has chosen to record her ninth album inside an architectural installation designed by Somerset House-based Something & Son. The structure, a recording studio in the form of an enclosed box, has one-way glazing, displaying PJ Harvey, her band, producers and engineers as a mutating, multi-dimensional sound sculpture.
Those lucky enough to get tickets will get to watch as Harvey works with the musicians and with producers Flood and John Parish, as they craft her ninth record.
For music nerds, it’s an incredible opportunity to see an artist of Harvey’s calibre at work in a live setting.
Don’t expect to see any Twitpics of the installation though, as mobile phones and cameras will be banned.
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