Lou Reed tribute ‘wall of sound’
Electric guitars belonging to the late guitarist and frontman of legendary band Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, are set on feedback loops creating a unique and provocative wall of sound.
Presented by Reed’s partner and fellow artist, Laurie
Anderson, and performed by his musical collaborator, Stewart Hurwood, Lou Reed Drones isa tribute to Reed’s exploratory genius.
Anderson says the installation was first created after Reed died and the response from the public was profound.
‘‘People who came to the installation often stayed for hours. Other people brought instruments and it became a weird jam session. We didn’t plan that; it was created by other people.’’
Reed’s guitars are leant against amplifiers to create feedback loops. ‘‘They’re a very intense and very volatile sound and a deeply beautiful one.’’
When Reed died, Anderson and Hurwood created an installation of the guitars just to hear his instruments. ‘‘I hope because the installation is there for a while that people will come back and interact with them in different ways. They might bring an instrument or do tai chi or ballet or write a novel in there.’’
Hurwood grew up in a town near Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He was a guitarist in school, formed a band, and joined the local music scene. He moved to the United States where he toured with other bands like Duran Duran, and worked as Reed’s righthand man and guitar technician until his death from liver disease in 2013.
The experience of working with Reed’s partner, Anderson, was ‘‘fabulous’’.
‘‘She is so vibrant and full of great ideas.’’
Moving the body through the frequency energy field was invigorating, he said, and being enveloped in the harmonics married beautifully with the motion of the body. ‘‘The Drones is felt equally as much as heard.’’
The show was a tribute to Reed and an invitation for people to engage however they felt best. ‘‘Lou was a multifaceted individual. Probably the most serious artist regarding his art. [He] truly believed rock’n’roll could change the world.’’
Drop-in sessions are from March 4 to 5, between 8pm and 10pm at Lower Hutt Event Centre. Tickets are free.