Salt Arts presents RPM (Rounds per Minute) at the Alchemy Festival 2016, Southbank Centre, London, UK from 20th May 2016 to 30th May 2016.
Rounds per minute is a digital exhibit presented as the centerpiece of Alchemy 2016, and will be held at the Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall. Conceptually, the exhibit is drawn from the charged urban environment and its poetic interpretation by Pakistani creatives; including musicians, bands, producers, designers, illustrators, and journalists.
Collaborators from Pakistan, and those of Pakistani origin have contributed to this multimedia show - musicians, producers, animators, filmmakers and a journalist make up RPM. There will be three special features, including the global premier of a short documentary featuring the collaborations of Pakistani legend Attaullah Esakhelvi and Cuban jazz musicians, a live twitter and instagram exhibit called #rpmlive and a live performance featuring electronic music producer/DJ Rudoh (Bilal Nasir Khan).
Raania A. K Durrani, Curator RPM/Artistic Director Salt Arts, spoke about how they came up with the idea of RPM.
"RPM came to life during our city walks, Hasan (Waliany) and I roamed the streets of Karachi for several mornings and afternoons, looking for inspiration, we soon realised the repetitive urban loop, the chaos and environment is what fuels us. The content for RPM is derived from oddities in our surroundings that suggest repetition, movement, unfolding, momentum and narrative. We are not only representing artists from Karachi, but also Lahore and those who are based internationally but are of Pakistani origin. The selected works are deeply rooted in the contemporary understanding of urban Pakistani culture, and the digital medium as current day literary expression."
Hasan Waliany, Designer RPM/ Salt Arts, further elaborated,
"RPM (rounds per minute), is a collection of creative interpretations. We have particularly enjoyed connecting the dots through the conceptual development of RPM, and projecting our own creative chemistry to the collaborators and the project in general. It has been incredible to get a range of submissions representing an array of genres such as electronic music, hand-drawn animation and film. Nearly 80% of the collection is new and unreleased work – we are thrilled to be bringing this to a live and diverse audience at Alchemy 2016."
The curatorial team reached out to artists within Pakistan, and those of Pakistani origin to submit works that represented their take on the urban loop.
Karachi-based music producer/DJ, Bilal Nasir Khan aka Rudoh is a wizard who applies his influences of hip-hop, LA beats, house, soul and jazz to spin lush soundscapes with “squelchy” bass lines and heavy polyrhythms.
This exhibit will be projected live throughout the festival, and can be accessed online. Artists can record and upload their interpretation of RPM to Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag ‘#RPMLIVE’. (Only public accounts will be featured.)
Salt Arts
Salt Arts is a music, art and entertainment agency, specialising in the creative production of events, and arts management. We believe in audience development and inter-cultural exchange. Salt Arts is committed to enriching artists and sub-cultures via music, creative expression and technology, in Pakistan, South Asia and beyond. We trust the power of inter-disciplinary movement, and collective spirit. At Salt Arts collaboration reigns supreme.
Alchemy
Each year, Alchemy fills Southbank Centre with a vibrant array of performances, workshops and exhibitions – and a delicious food market. The festival celebrates the rich cultural relationship between the UK and the Indian subcontinent, and explores the creative influences generated by our shared history. In 2016, the seventh Alchemy brings artists, performers and contributors from around the world together to collaborate, in order to showcase the best of dance, music, theatre, design, fashion, comedy and literature from the UK and South Asia.
Featured artists/collectives at Alchemy 2016 include Ustaad Zakir Husain, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Salt Arts, Wild City, Jaipur Literature Festival and many others.