Dean Chalkley

 

 

From the 18th February until 27th February Dean is presenting his latest and very exciting exhibition called 'New Perspectives'.

A new project  conceptualised,  photographed and directed by Dean.  

Six outstanding UK musicians come together through the project to write and record an exclusive vinyl record in just 48 hours – the centre of a unique multimedia collaboration exploring the creative process.

The resulting composition has been made into a limited edition 12” single, “So Pure”, by new musical collective Phono 48,was released on 18 February by Big AC Records. 

The limited edition 12” will be accompanied by a photographic journal and an experimental film, documenting the intense creative process that took place over those 48 hours between the newly formed Phono 48 – Nick Corbin (of Big AC Records), Kitty and Lewis (of Kitty, Daisy and Lewis), neo-soul singer Laville, bassist Solomon, and keyboardist Amané Suganami.

An exploration of the creative energy that comes from collaboration and the idea of creating an experimental ‘space’ where a group of musicians could come together freely as a real collective to just see what happens. 

The magic of the two days in the studio was captured by Dean in a series of documentary style shots. “I photographed the collective in and outside of the studio,” Dean says. “There were only a couple of times in the studio when I intervened to get a shot of all the musicians together, for the most part I looked and listened, quietly collecting and preserving these special moments on my camera.” 

Setting out to find musicians from diverse musical backgrounds, Chalkley enlisted brilliant singer-songwriter Nick Corbin to act as musical director. Formerly of New Street Adventure, Corbin is now carving his own path as a solo artist on Big A.C. Records, the East London label he founded in 2020 with his wife and DJ Sophie Heath. 

Chalkley and Corbin toured London for a suitable studio, and visited the acclaimed analogue Durham Studios, custom-built by the Sunday Best Records’ artists, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Durham. (A sign outside the studio reads ‘Phonographic Studios’ – this, and the time constraint, inform the group’s name.) This led to Kitty and Lewis being invited to participate in the creation and recording of the track, with Kitty playing drums and Lewis overseeing proceedings. Chalkley and Corbin then invited three more musically diverse musicians to complete the temporary group: acclaimed contemporary soul singer Laville and two in-demand session and jazz/neo soul players, bassist Solomon Douglas and keyboardist Amané Suganami (a founding member of jazz collective Maisha, signed to Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings). Soul devotee Corbin was on guitar and backing vocals.   

The magic of the two days in the studio with all the musicians – and the subsequent mixing and mastering by Kitty and Lewis – was captured by Chalkley in a vast series of documentary style photos. In addition, with project art director Ciaran O’Shea (Discordo), Chalkley created a short experimental film with different abstract elements reflecting this brilliant creative journey. This wonderful creative project was made in partnership with Sunspel

Note to visitors: The Exhibition features Photographic prints and a film projection, there will be a number of special events in the gallery space. The film will be played on loop generally in the space however when the special events are on it will be paused and played intermittently.