The Alchemy of Sound: Here's What Went Down at Our Barbican Takeover

Understanding how sound guides our interactions and shapes our reality was explored, interrogated and intimately felt at our 'Frequencies' Barbican event.

The power of sound was demonstrated forcefully during Mykki Blanco's set, when the speakers suddenly cut out. Mykki improvised, dropping his muted microphone and raising his voice as he parted the crowd and walked among them, pivoting into a captivating spoken word performance.

"As a live performer, the voice being a primordial tool kicks in"

"I had to captivate the audience no matter what. As a live performer, the voice being a primordial tool kicks in," Mykki told later Trippin, sitting down in the Conservatory. One attendee jumps into our conversation: "It was a very good show - I liked when the music cut out! So theatrical!"

Mykki smiled and thanked the fan. Turning back to our conversation, he explains it was an instinctive reaction: pushing his raw, unfiltered voice to sway the audience. "When you're performing, you only have a short time when people are engaged with you. It's my job to be an alchemist, to turn any kind of energy into a positive one."

The alchemy of sound - how we employ it, manipulate it, use it to shift energies and create atmospheres - is a core theme of the Barbican's Frequencies programme. Our Saturday evening was designed to unpick the power of sound and question our perceptions on sonic language, with a panel talk, live performances, DJ sets and a private view to the Barbican's Feel the Sound immersive exhibition and Rebel Radio listening hub.

Around 400 attendees joined our sold-out event, which started with the private exhibition view, before guests were welcomed to the Barbican's iconic Conservatory. Here, crowds formed to listen to a talk with Mykki Blanco, Nkisi and Scratchlart, moderated by Nihal El Aasar, delving deep into how sound shapes place and forms community.

"[Sound] is about building the invisible, building energetically and collectively. It's liquid architecture."

"From my pirate radio days, you'd be listening in your bedroom and you wouldn't know who your tribe is. You don't know who else is listening unless you went to the record shop," reflected UK grime and funky pioneer Scratchclart. "We used to go cut dub plates - in that space you'd meet other DJs doing the same thing, finding your tribe then was different to now with social media, it was more fun."

Live music kicked off with a theatrical set by experimental outfit Rat Section, who performed within a circle of microphones, performing choreographed steps with razor sharp focus - at times lying flat on the floor. Mykki Blanco took the floor shortly after, transforming the space with small platform decorated with flowers and a single watermelon. During his impassioned take, the fruit was forcefully smashed, chewed and smothered.

The evening finished with Scratchclart ripping through a gqom-flavoured set, and Nkisi bringing the night to a high-energy finish with her celestial, hardcore tunes. Visitors left with a renewed sense of how sound shapes perception—from ambient soundscapes that alter our reading of space, to the music and performances that physically engage with their surroundings.

As Nkisi told Trippin: "I like to think of music is a form of liquid architecture because it’s about building the invisible, building energetically and collectively," she reflected. "We tend to focus too much on the visual, which allows for little interpretation outside of the image that is given to you. But to tune into sound, you have to come from personal experience."

Guests enjoyed drinks courtesy of Casamigos Margaritas and Showering's Cider.