Secret 7s Podcast Series
The Secret 7s team spent the summer lockdown months working hard on a brand new podcast to celebrate their 7th and final exhibition which launched at NOW Gallery on 14th October 2020.
Supported by Spiritalnd and co-hosted by Kevin King (Secret 7s) and NOW Gallery curator Kaia Charles the series explores ‘the infinite and holy connections between music and art’ with 6 contributors who have been involved in the project since its inception. The interviews with StormStudios, Kate Moross, Gavin Turk, Shona Heath, Kosmo Vinyl, Lotte Andersen and Haroon Mirza are available on all major podcasting platforms and via the links below now.
EPISODE #1 – StormStudios
Storm Thorgerson was behind so many timeless record covers that we know and love; Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Muse, Mars Volta, Audioslave. He sadly passed away in 2013, but StormStudios remains, creating what they call ‘normal but not’ designs. Dan Abbott, designer and illustrator, who worked side-by-side with Storm for over a decade joins us to discuss their work, process and picked out his favourite artworks from Secret 7” 2020.
LISTEN HERE
EPISODE #2 – Kate Moross
Kate Moross began making artwork for musicians, artists and promoters while still a student at Camberwell College of Art. In 2012, Kate founded Studio Moross and to this day many of their clients are in the music industry; including Kylie, Spice Girls, One Direction, Sam Smith, Jessie Ware and Disclosure. We discuss their path into creating for music, how the work has evolved and respecting fandom.
LISTEN HERE
EPISODE #3 – Gavin Turk
Secret 7” has been blessed to have some of the world’s biggest artists create original record sleeves for our exhibitions, the contemporary British sculptor Gavin Turk is one of them. Here he discusses the intrinsic link of music and art, the time when David Bowie kept calling him up and gives away some big clues to his anonymous contribution to this year’s show.
LISTEN HERE
EPISODE #4 – Shona Heath
Shona Heath is a pioneering set designer and creative, responsible for creating some of the most memorable fashion stories from the past two decades. She has also conjured unforgettable imagery for musicians such as Bjork, Harry Styles and Goldfrapp. Shona discusses her close collaboration with Tim Walker, including designing his Wonderful Things exhibition at the V&A and how she approached contributing to this year’s Secret 7” exhibition.
LISTEN HERE
EPISODE #5 – Kosmo Vinyl
Kosmo Vinyl is best known for his work with Ian Dury and The Blockheads and The Clash. Starting out at Stiff Records in 1976, he became a key figure in the London-based music scene. Stick on The Clash’s Live At Shea Stadium and his voice will be the first you hear. Since the 90’s, Kosmo has developed into both an artist and a cultural curator. Here he discusses wide ranging responsibilities in music, crossing paths with Andy Warhol and how his focus has evolved into creating his own artwork.
LISTEN HERE
EPISODE #6 – Lotte Andersen
Lotte Andersen is a British artist working in video, sound, print, performance, writing and collage; whose work oscillates between investigative, documentary and autobiographical. Working with the idea that sound memory is stored for longer periods than visual memory. We talked to Lotte about life in Lima, what the impact of lockdown is having on her work and how she approached her Secret 7” artwork for this year’s show.
LISTEN HERE
EPISODE #7 – Haroon Mirza
Artist Haroon Mirza creates installations that test the interplay and friction between sound and light waves and electric current. He describes his role as a composer, manipulating electricity to make it dance to a different tune and calling on instruments as varied as household electronics, vinyl and turntables, LEDs, furniture, video footage and existing artworks to behave differently. We discuss how he’s approached our open brief to create a one-off Rega turntable for our Planar 1/1 show this year.
LISTEN HERE