Shining bright.

Manchester music venue Band on the Wall shows us the sounds of the city

Twelfth night may have been and gone, the baubles boxed up and the tinsel packed away, but for one organisation in Manchester at least that’s no reason to pull the plug on the festive lights. In fact, Band on the Wall has no intention of ever switching off its shiny new light installation, a 16,000 LED monster that’s been brightening up the exterior of the legendary music venue since the beginning of December.

The installation has been created by local artists, Michael Trainor and Lee Donnelly, and takes its inspiration from the LED displays of 1980s ghetto blasters. Called EQ, the installation functions as a giant graphic equalizer, with the LEDs dancing across a series of light bars in response to the music being played inside the building – the idea being that passers-by get the chance to ‘see’ what’s being played on any given evening.

The equalizer covers the top corner of the building and will be on most afternoons and evenings although, apparently, it can also switch to pick up sounds coming up from the street (we imagine it might get quite lively around chucking-out time). To get a sense of how it works, check out this grainy footage of the launch event – you’ll be able to spot brave CEO, Gavin Sharp, playing sax up on the roof, as well as the hardest working man in music marketing, Malcolm Duffin, making merry with a megaphone.

Northern Quarter aficionados might recognise Michael Trainor as part of The Art Department trio, the group responsible for much of the millennial public art dotted about the area, from the steel brush on Thomas Street to the decorations on the NCP car park bridge across Tib Street – so it feels only right that an artist who has had such a stake in the redevelopment of the Northern Quarter should have created this to mark the renaissance of Band on the Wall.

So there you have it: pretty lights that promise to shine on during the dark days of winter – and create a visual image of the sound of the city. We approve.

Band on the Wall, 25 Swan Street, Manchester, M4 5JZ. Band on the Wall has just launched its 2010 season, which includes a new commission from Aftershock and Nitin Sawhney.

Image: Courtesy Joel Fildes and Band on the Wall

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