PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project

PJ Harvey is recording her ninth studio album as an exhibition within the Inland Revenue’s former staff gymnasium and rifle range at Somerset House, London,

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Titled ‘Recording in Progress’, a four week process will allow members of the public to see the musician, her band and producers putting together Polly Harvey’s ninth LP.

With Flood and John Parish set to contribute to the installation, the new album process will be “witnessed by small groups of visitors.” A statement says that “each group will experience something different, depending on what point in its development a particular song has reached and which of its elements are mixed live.”

The process will be viewable via one-way glass, with Harvey and co. recording in a box.

In a statement, PJ Harvey says: “I want Recording in Progress to operate as if we’re an exhibition in a gallery. I hope visitors will be able to experience the flow and energy of the recording process.”

Presented by Artangel and Somerset House, the installation runs from 16th January to 14th February in the space’s New Wing.

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If anyone is interested or cares here's what it was like:

You hang around The New Wing at Somerset House 15 minutes before your session starts after which you're taken to a small room where you dump your bag and mobile phone/tablet etc. as no recording devices are allowed. There's only around 30-40 people per session and so very cosy. We then were walked along a couple of corridors to the actual room itself. The recording box is more of a room within a room with two sides consisting of one way windows. I was lucky enough to walk through first and so was up front again the glass for the 45 minute duration with a great view. [...]

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With design and direction by Ian Rickson, The Hollow of the Hand is an evening of poetry readings and new songs performed by PJ Harvey, and films and images presented by Seamus Murphy.
Between 2011 and 2014 PJ Harvey and Seamus Murphy set out on a series of journeys to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Washington, D.C. Harvey collected words, Murphy collected pictures and together they created The Hollow of the Hand, their debut collaborative book, published by Bloomsbury this October.
Joining PJ Harvey on stage are musicians John Parish and James Johnston.

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PJ Harvey recorded her new album in sessions open to the public as part of a London museum exhibition. Today she's shared a 30-second teaser for the record, which is out next spring. Watch it below.

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PJ Harvey has announced that the first single from her as-yet-untitled new album will premiere on Thursday, January 21 on Steve Lamacq's show on BBC Radio 6 Music. Below, listen to a preview of the track.

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