TATE MODERN
Tate Modern invited Roll Deep to walk around the gallery and find a work of art that would inspire them to write a track.
They chose Anish Kapoor's Ishi's Light. It's a large egg-shaped sculpture with a dark, glossy interior. Roll Deep liked the way 'it completely tampers with your mind'. They said 'it unsettles you by playing with your audio and visual senses. That was a real draw for us because we mess with your senses too'. The result is their latest track, Searching.
Roll Deep are the East London hip hop crew who brought you Dizzee Rascal
and Wiley. Their first album In
At The Deep End was released in 2005 and produced two top 20 hits. They
subsequently appeared on Top of the Pops, Popworld, Nickelodeon and even
Newsnight. They have also been featured on the covers of Touch, Blues & Soul
and RWD magazines.
Since the release of this first album they have toured the UK, as well as major
cities in Europe and the US. In 2005, they also won 'Album of the Year' at the
Urban Music Awards and were nominated for 'Best Newcomer' at the MOBOs and Kiss
Awards. Their second album will be released in 2007.
Roll Deep are the second in a series of music artists who have written an original track about an artwork displayed at Tate Modern.
This large egg-like sculpture was created by Anish Kapoor in 2003.
The outside of this sculpture is very rough but, in sharp contrast, the inside
is highly polished. This means that people looking inside can see their own reflection
and they develop an increased awareness of their own presence. The dark deep
colour of the sculpture's inside draws you in and you begin to feel immersed
in the darkness and sound created by the sculpture's enveloping form. It's a
very overpowering experience which can stir up a variety of powerful physical
and psychological responses.
See also: What can the matter be?, A podcast about materials, science and art with a recording made inside Ishi's Light sculpture -
You can view this work in the Tate Collection.
Anish Kapoor is a British sculptor who was born in India in 1954. He is one of a group of sculptors living and working in Britain who became well-known in the 1980s.
He acknowledges that his work is influenced by both Western and Eastern culture. He makes frequent trips to India and the impact of Indian culture can be seen in the spiritual nature of his sculptures. He works with natural materials, like sandstone, marble and slate, which he frequently combines with brightly coloured pigments. His sculpture often explores the nature of opposites, like darkness and light, and substance and emptiness.
You can learn more about Anish Kapoor in the Tate Collection.
SEARCHING
VERSE 1: BREEZE
Who's there, what's there, where am I?
Stuck in the middle of nowhere am 'I?
Should I have a little wonder, shall I?
Scope out, seek and search for an ally?
Trust me I can see far out there,
But I can't see no little star out there
No buggies, no flying cars,
It's more dead than mars out there
And I can't see no UFO's or space ships
All I see is pitch black
Eyes dilating, mind playing tricks
Hallucinating like I've taken a trip
Lost in the dark, gotta stay sharp,
Never catch me in a suit like Clark
I am a raider of the lost ark,
Now I'm doing art for the gallery but I'm.
CHORUS:
Searching,
I don't know my way back, but I'm.
Searching,
Lost like a needle in a stack but I'm...
Searching,
Network down and my phone is saying
Searching,
I don't know my way around.
VERSE 2: (FLOW DAN)
Some of them don't know themselves
So search and find yourself
That's why I spend time by myself
When I look into the mirror I see me, nothing else
Close your eyes tight, and meditate at night
Look real deep, real deep into yourself
Cos life's a lot more than sight, taste and smell
But all is not well, with all the pennies of the world
Search the answer, and question yourself
Like what am I, who am I, where me a go, what me a do,
Who's my friends, who's my foes
Are they taking me serious, or do they think it's a joke
What would it be like if I never ever smoked
I might be a baller, at least, well i hope
I might not have pierced my ear lobe,
Sometimes I can't see, but there ain't no smoke
Chorus:
Searching,
I don't know my way back, but I'm.
Searching,
Lost like a needle in a stack but I'm.
Searching,
Network down and my phone is saying
Searching
I don't know my way around but I'm.
Chorus:
Searching,
I don't know my way back, but I'm.
Searching,
Lost like a needle in a stack but I'm...
Searching,
Network down and my phone is saying
Searching,
I don't know my way around but I'm...
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