Modern music has long had a prosperous relationship with photography. For as long as there have been bona fide stars, there have been people with cameras running after them.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to go far to find examples. There\u2019s Terry O\u2019Neill\u2019s fruitful working relationship with Frank Sinatra, or the many photographers who spent time with The Beatles, most notably Robert Whitaker and Robert Freeman. There are many ways in which you could compare the evolution of music in recent years to the evolution of photography, with both art forms irrevocably changed by the rise of digital culture and the internet.<\/p>\n
London\u2019s Proud Galleries and Sony recently joined forces to explore this relationship in the exhibition \u2018Studio to Stereo\u2019, presenting photographs documenting the making of seven iconic albums, alongside the tracks themselves presented in Sony\u2019s hi-res audio.<\/p>\n
The artists featured are: Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, Coldplay, The Doors, Paul McCartney and Tame Impala.<\/p>\n
Photographs of them in recording sessions are on display accompanied by tracks in Sony\u2019s hi-res audio, which will be available to listen to through Sony\u2019s MDR-Z7 headphones.<\/p>\n
The behind-the-scenes images allow viewers a glimpse of Frank Lisciandro\u2019s photo session with The Doors during the making of their final album LA Woman, as well as Kevin Westenburg\u2019s documentation of the 18-month process involved in making Coldplay\u2019s X&Y.<\/p>\n
Our curiosity was piqued, so we sat down with Proud Galleries\u2019 Alex Proud to find out a little more about \u2018Studio to Stereo\u2019.<\/p>\n\n
How did the idea for ‘Studio to Stereo’ come about?<\/strong> There’s a more complex selection and curation process here than in most exhibitions \u2013 picking not only photographers and images but also music artists and tracks, all of which needed to complement each other. How did you respond to this challenge?<\/strong> Could you tell us a little about Sony Hi-Res audio? How does it augment the exhibition?<\/strong> How would you describe the relationship between music and photography? How do you think the two benefit and feed into each other?<\/strong> Do you think there’s a parallel to be drawn in how the two art forms have progressed from analogue to digital, i.e. vinyl to MP3 and film to digital imaging?<\/strong> Where do you see the relationship between the two art forms progressing from here? Is this something the Proud Galleries is likely to explore again in the future?<\/strong> Why did you originally set up Proud Galleries? What were you aiming to achieve?<\/strong> Studio to Stereo takes place at Proud Camden Stables (www.proud.co.uk) until December 3rd. The gallery featured rare photography of famous musicians in the recording studio partnered with the sound of their recording on Sony Hi-Res Audio products \u2013 from the authentic sounds of the premium Sony MDR-Z7 headphones to the world\u2019s smallest and lightest Hi-Res Audio player the Sony NWZ-A15 Walkman.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Proud Galleries and Sony showcase never-seen-before photography of famous music artists alongside recorded tracks in Hi-Res Audio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":327,"featured_media":40364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[311],"tags":[],"product-category":[],"class_list":["post-40361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe exhibition is a collaboration between Sony and Proud. It features rare photography of famous musicians in the recording studio that\u00a0 has been partnered with the sound of their recording played in Sony Hi-Res Audio. Combing both visuals and audio for this exhibition helps transport the viewer to another time and place and enhances the experience of viewing the photographs. You can see music legends such as Bob Dylan, Coldplay, Black Sabbath, The Doors, Tame Impala, Pink Floyd and The Beatles in the throes of their music recording and it transports the viewer to another time and place. They will feel immersed in the music and the moment as if they were there.<\/p>\n\n
\nIndeed!\u00a0 The research element to this task was extreme. Each photograph selected was so time specific that it was quite a task. It was a process of researching specific photographers whom we knew had a long working partnership with the given musicians and then piecing together the specific recording sessions. It\u2019s harder than it sounds because a lot of the photographs taken during the sessions have never been published but we\u2019ve curated a unique collection of photographs by leading photographers . It\u2019s always amazing to hear the stories that come out of the recording studio from those\u00a0 who were part of the scene and witnessed it all first hand. We worked with radio DJ Tom Ravenscroft to curate the music and to shortlist the musicians we featured. It is an amazing experience for music fans bringing the imagery and sound together.<\/p>\n\n
\nTo be a little technical Hi-Res Audio is anything that is better than CD quality, anything that has been mastered above 16 bit \/ 44.1khz (CD quality). CDs can compress the original sound of the recording. With Hi-Res Audio you capture true music as the artist intended \u2013 the sound of the recording studio. With the industry having been transformed by digital downloads, with formats including MP3 and AAC that make it easy to buy, listen and store our songs. With regards to sound quality, however, these formats don\u2019t deliver the true studio sound. The use of compression, which makes the file sizes smaller and manageable \/ shareable – means that data is lost in the encoding process and resolution is sacrificed for the sake of convenience. We wanted to offer the exhibition attendees the best possible sound and with Hi-Res Audio, you can\u2019t get much better.<\/p>\n\n
\nMusic and art, specifically photography and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll have always been intertwined. I think that they not only influence one another but help to push the boundaries of both disciplines. There have always been photographer \/ music artist collaborations. Look at Robert Whitaker whose work features in the exhibition. He took some of the most ground breaking photographs of The Beatles ever and really influenced their look and style. He changed their image which influenced their music. I don\u2019t think these types of relationships will end anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n
\nThat\u2019s an interesting question. I do think so. In regards to photography digital has helped make it more accessible and archiving is easier. For example photographers can now release editions of their work that has been digitally printed. These editions can be less expensive; making photography more affordable. But, then at the same time, nothing beats an original darkroom print taken straight from the negative! From a Hi-Res Audio perspective \u2013 definitely, quality is the key for the sound of Hi-Res Audio.<\/p>\n\n
\nThis is engrained in Proud\u2019s heritage.\u00a0 Music is at the heart of our history, Proud has organically grown from galleries to live music venues and crosses over on so many levels. It all began when we hosted The Libertines exhibition in 2004 after an impromptu gig at the exhibition launch with Pete and Carl during a, then tempestuous relationship \u2013 it was electric!\u00a0\u00a0 Shortly after this we launched Proud Camden.<\/p>\n\n
\nWe launched Proud Galleries in the autumn of 1998, my aim was to bring high quality photography to a mainstream market. There is a simple formula we use with all of our shows: accessible shows around popular themes. We average 10,000 viewers per show and we\u2019ve become one of the most popular private photographic gallery in Europe which is a huge achievement considering our size!<\/p>\n