David Byrne at the Roundhouse

On the occasion of its visit to the Roundhouse in London (7-31 August), we have a slightly more accurate image of David Byrne's Playing the Building installation, which we discussed in February.

It’s all mechanical. There’s no speakers, there’s no electronics, or any of that modern rubbish.

It’s a bit funny that Byrne calls what he was playing with until the day before yesterday “rubbish.” But perhaps this approach is suited to the Victorian structure of the Roundhouse, which was originally a steam engine repair shed.

In reality, Byrne exploits, with great effort, ideas that have been around since at least the 1970s (if not earlier) and achieved a certain notoriety during the era of Fluxus performances (making objects play music). That is, in this case, what he does is not his own creation. But at least, thanks to his notoriety, he has the merit of introducing these ideas to an audience that would otherwise have never heard of them.

And here's a new video too

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