An installation of guitars, amps and feedback, Lou Reed Drones receives its UK premiere at Brighton Festival, curated by Reed’s partner Laurie Anderson. Influenced by La Monte Young’s Theatre Of Eternal Music ensemble (which included Reed’s Velvet Underground sparring partner John Cale and early VU member Angus MacLise in its ranks), drones and feedback threaded their long way throughout Reed’s life and music. Reed’s contentious 1975 album ‘Metal Machine Music’ is constructed entirely from dense interwoven layers of guitar feedback, but he could turn his interests in the technique to more soothing ends, as on his lesser-known 2007 ambient album ‘Hudson River Wind Variations’. Arranged by his long-time guitar tech Stewart Hurwood, Lou Reed Drones will fill The Spire with overlapping harmonics generated by a collection of Reed’s guitars and amps, set to feedback on themselves, creating an immersive, meditational experience.

The Spire, Friday 13th – Tuesday 17th May 2016