SONNY SMITH - 100 RECORDS
ISLINGTON MILL GALLERY 28/04/2011 – 12/05/2011
100 records is an ambitious project undertaken by San-Francisco based artist, musician, playwright and film maker Sonny Smith during his residency at the Headlands Centre for the Arts in California.
In this fascinating endeavour Sonny brings his imagination to life, producing 100 singles for 100 fictional bands formed within the boundaries of his head. To release them he enlisted various artists who contributed cover art for the records while Sonny wrote and recorded 200 songs – an A and B side for each single.
We made the trip to see 100 records - proudly presented for the first time in the UK - set up in the gallery space at Islington Mill, Salford.
The playful exhibit is centred round a jukebox, built by Sonny and friends to house the music and allow visitors to engage and play songs from the imaginary bands whilst being able to view the corresponding artwork displayed along with biographies of the fictitious players; a touch which really brings the characters to life, bridging the gap between concepts of reality and imagination.
See Sonny discussing the project in depth here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N26eYgdmZCM
The Mill, still decked out from Sounds From The Other City Festival is one of Salford’s hidden treasures. Home to artist studios, two galleries, a recording studio, club space, café and ‘secret’ garden it also attracts regular gigs, film screenings and talks.
For information about happenings at Islington Mill check out:
Find out more about Sonny Smith here:
