Wednesday October 23rd 2024
11am - 5pm: Film and installation.
8pm - 11pm: Northern Soul DJ set
Mengi is excited to announce the upcoming art event, ‘Are You Ready?’ at Óðinsgata 2, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland on Wednesday October 23rd 2024. This event by artist Chloë Brown (UK) is a thought-provoking installation that reflects on the post-industrial city of Detroit, soul music and societal upheaval.
During the 1960s, the US city of Detroit contained over 400 record companies that were keen to follow the global success of Motown Records. In excess of 60 recording studios created uplifting yet melancholic soul music on a huge scale. This rare and raw version of the Motown Sound is known as Northern Soul, so called because of its popularity within the underground music scene in the North of England in the 1960s - ‘70s.
In 1967, in the wake of the devastating Detroit Uprising (or Detroit Riot), the recording studios and record labels began to close. They became silent. Over time the buildings were either repurposed, became derelict or were destroyed. This disintegration was an echo of the breakdown of the city overall, and by 2013 Detroit was bankrupt, with high rates of unemployment, poverty and violence. However, there were always individuals and groups of activists who continued to develop the city in innovative and positive ways. ‘Are You Ready?’ brings together these forgotten studios, and the memories and sounds they hold, with the citizens, society and the transformative power of music.
Chloë Brown first visited Detroit in 2015, arriving out of curiosity for a place that had seemingly lost its way after the heights of joyful, heartfelt expression that is soul music. Detroit (the Motor City) connected strongly to her upbringing in the city of Sheffield (the Steel City) in the North of England and to her love of soul music. During the following years she visited five times and developed a series of artworks to reflect her experiences. Brown forged strong connections with many of Detroit’s citizens (Detroiters), both individuals and groups of activists, and put them at the centre of a series of artworks, including three films, two vinyl records and a performance event.
One notable Detroiter is Martha Reeves of Motown icons ‘Martha and the Vandellas’. It is Brown’s recording of Reeves’ description of Detroit and the impact of soul music that features powerfully in ‘Are You Ready?’ Another Detroiter featured in the film is Shanice S. Rollins who is seen dancing in the street listening on headphones to Martha and the Vandella’s song ‘Dancing in the Street’. One of the most intriguing aspects of ‘Are You Ready?’ are the portraits of citizens and activists either waiting or clapping. The collective act of clapping serves as a reminder of the universal language of rhythm to bring people together as a social or political act.
The film combines these elements, (the sites of the recording studios, the citizens, the dancer), with the sound of Martha Reeves and of the recording studios, (backing vocals, claps, finger snaps), and it uses the structure of the soul song, (intro, verse, chorus, bridge), to create a compelling artwork. The installation also features banners made of velvet and satin, hinting at the homemade glamour of this music business to showcase the names of the lost recording studios. Combined they create a world of rhythm, harmony, hope, love, longing and broken hearts.
‘Are You Ready’ takes place on Wednesday October 23rd 2024
From 11am-5pm: the installation will be open to the public.
From 8pm-11pm the artist will play a Northern Soul DJ set alongside the installation.
Contact
Mengi: booking@mengi.net
Or
Chloë Brown: cbchloebrown@gmail.com