SHADOWS

SHADOWS is an experimental, sonic portrait of the Nine Elms development in Southwest London.
Each sound whispers a story of urban life, where multiple realities coexist.

It’s about the darker layers beneath the facade of urban gentrification – a relentless desire for more, that fuels a tiered system of possessive individualism. It’s about pursuing an unreachable goal, and never truly being content with what you have.

From the industrial echoes of its past, Nine Elms has re-emerged as a haven of prosperity and sophistication, with its new distinctive landmarks. The Sky Pool – high above, where wealth resides, it casts shadows on those below.

All sounds were recorded across the area of Nine Elms using a field recorder. They paint a diverse urban soundscape, from mechanical noises, human voices, the echoes of construction, the birds of Battersea Park, the beeping of supermarket tills, the crashing of waves, to the clashing barge creaks. This method of music making, using recorded sounds as raw material, is known as musique concrète, a French term for concrete music.