Don’t you wonder sometimes, about sound and vision? To answer Bowie’s question, I don’t wonder so much anymore… because this is the best sound and vision can get. This new music gallery in Great Portland Street by audio tech masters, KEF, is open and thriving. They’ve burst into the Marylebone landscape with a bang, opening with their exhibition: The Journey Through the Creation of Ziggy Stardust. If you clicked on this article, I am sure you would know that the character of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ is none other than the late pop culture icon and musician, David Bowie. The display moves through each of the gallery’s top-notch spaces, painting the areas with Bowie’s unforgettable art world legacy.
The New KEF Music Gallery presents David Bowie
Words by
Pippa Lowe
26th June 2024
The new KEF Music Gallery in Great Portland Street has put on a grand display honouring the art world legacy of David Bowie and Pippa Lowe went for a trial run of their immersive high-fidelity sound spaces.
The space is lined with sleek shelving and an array of KEF tech
Upon entrance the gallery was sleek, modern and air conditioned. Which, being a stuffy London 30 degrees day, was the first thing that struck my attention. Clean-cut shelves lined the space and, on this occasion, a selection of vibrant David Bowie artwork and vinyl sleeves. I instantly knew that this fresh gallery would soon become the dreamy hotspot of any London-based music fiends (like myself). It’s perfectly kitted out for it too. With a cosy in-house café tucked at the back named KEFÉ, because who doesn’t love a good play on words served with their coffee.
In addition to numerous immersion spaces that are all available for booking. From organising the ultimate movie night or album play-through, to laid-back vinyl sessions and work conferences enlivened with high-fidelity sound systems. The options are vast. However, until this Saturday 29th June, these spaces are sufficiently Bowie-fied. Other than their podcast studio, available for friends and collaborators to book up and record in.
The Living Room, for laid-back vinyl sessions
The gallery room that joins the immersion spaces is filled with framed David Bowie prints photographed by the iconic, Mick Rock. All up for sale, there’s definitely some beloved fan favourites in this visual mix. ‘The living room’, a comfortable vinyl-listening area is equipped with KEF’s vinyl lover’s set. In collaboration with Audio-Technica, this set is packed with an AT-LP3XBT Turntable and LSX II Wireless HiFi Speakers. It’s also available for purchase, to take home the KEF living room to your own living room. A fine selection of David Bowie vinyl leant against the wall. From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust to The Man Who Sold the World, it was all there – prepped to slide out of their sleeves and under the needle.
The collection on display in collaboration with Genesis Publications includes three rare artworks printed for the first time on high-gloss acrylic
The other main immersion space, The Ultimate Experience Room, was host to David Bowie listening events and an immersive screening of Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture. All these events were free, and tickets (unsurprisingly) got snapped up in moments. Although I did not attend either of these events in full, we did get a taster of the David Bowie listening experience in order to get a feel for The Ultimate Experience Room. The listening experience was an immersive play-through of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” To get a snapshot glimpse into the event, we were played arguably two of the most iconic tracks from the album: Starman and Ziggy Stardust.
The Ultimate Experience Room, showcasing a play-through of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"
Although throwing Suffragette City in for us as well couldn’t have hurt... the two songs we experienced were entrancing. I decided to put myself in the prime position, taking a seat front and centre. The seats were criminally comfortable, the kind that you’d never want to get up from. This space has you wanting to plunge into darkness, soak into your seat and listen to music forever. What is more, you can book it! As someone who always tends to buy experiences over material items for presents, my first thought was what a mind-blowing gift this would be for someone. If the soundwaves vibrating through my ribcage during Starman was enough to get my eyes welling up, I can only imagine how someone would react to experiencing their favourite album in this way. It’s truly exhilarating.
AT-LP3XBT Turntable as part of the KEF Vinyl Lover's Set
A panel of three very different faces of the art world later spoke with Marc Spiegler, Former Global Director of Art Basel, on David Bowie’s impact on both themselves and the world they work in. Wu Tsang, acclaimed artist, described Bowie’s work as the “water they were swimming in growing up” and mentioned how he “set a stage for young, queer people.” “It’s not just about identity, it’s about asking different kinds of audiences to be open. This is what Bowie did,” Tsang added. Visual artist Haroon Mirza explained that he was influenced by his dad’s music growing up and said that “my dad didn’t listen to Bowie, but he was unavoidable. He was just so present.” Mirza continued to explain “there was no way of missing Bowie. You couldn’t escape him and that bears an influence on you."
The panel (left to right): Bengi Unsal, Haroon Mirza, Wu Tsang in conversation with Marc Spiegler
The panel was posed on a stage, leading me to question the KEF gallery’s plans for live music events. If any? Rumour has it an array of intimate live music and DJ events are on the cards for KEF, as well as more exciting immersive experiences. We shall be keeping eyes peeled, I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next!
Learn more about KEF Music Gallery and their spaces via uk.kef.com/pages/kef-music-gallery
