A DESIGN-LED COMMENTARY ON MUSIC'S FLEETING FUTURE
Disposable Music is an exhibition exploring the shifting role of music in an age of streaming, saturation and speed. Designed as a sculptural and visual response, it questions what happens when sound is stripped of permanence.
Through sculptural and visual artworks, each piece reimagines music as a physical object that’s been altered, obscured or made unplayable. The work invites reflection on the systems, platforms and pressures that shape the way music is made, shared and consumed today.
Whether music’s disposability creates new freedom — or results in creative loss — is left unanswered. This exhibition doesn’t offer solutions. It asks us to notice what’s changing.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
> 14 - 21 September 2025
> Simmos, Lockside Studios, 5 Skipper's Yard, Fish Island, Hackney Wick, London, E3 2RF
> Monday to Friday 8AM-3PM – Saturday to Sunday 8AM-4PM
> Free entry
DISPOSABLE MUSIC: EXHIBITION COMPANION
A digital companion to the exhibition launches this September — featuring in-depth reflections on each piece, the ideas behind Disposable Music and a look into the creative process. Sign up below to be the first to know when it goes live.
AN EXHIBITION FOR LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL EXPLORING THE FLEETING FUTURE OF MUSIC
DOES LETTING GO OF PERMANENCE MEAN LOSING MEANING – OR GAINING A NEW FREEDOM?
Disposable Music is an exhibition exploring the shifting role of music in an age of streaming, saturation and speed. Designed as a sculptural and visual response, it questions what happens when sound is stripped of permanence.
Through sculptural and visual artworks, each piece reimagines music as a physical object that’s been altered, obscured or made unplayable. The work invites reflection on the systems, platforms and pressures that shape the way music is made, shared and consumed today.
Whether music’s disposability creates new freedom — or results in creative loss — is left unanswered. This exhibition doesn’t offer solutions. It asks us to notice what’s changing.
TRACKLIST
1. PARASITE
The music industry today feels like it’s been overtaken by something foreign. Systems, algorithms, and trends attach themselves like an alien growth, feeding off the very thing they depend on. The music becomes a host — drained of energy, immobilised, its strength siphoned away. What once thrived with its own vitality is left struggling under the weight of something that doesn’t nurture, only consumes.
10" black vinyl record, metal sculpture
3. BLEAK
A record that can no longer play, its surface scarred by lyrics scratched into the vinyl. It reflects a culture of release without reason, where music becomes a gesture of presence rather than a message to be heard.
12" blue translucent vinyl record, acrylic frame
4. A SEAT AT THE TABLE
A new guest has arrived: artificial intelligence now matches human creativity, shaping beats, lyrics, and visuals alike.
The record looks familiar, but its core is different - fluid, unpredictable, unsettling. It reflects our unease with the unknown, questioning the value of human creation.
12" clear liquid filled vinyl record
5. HYPERURANION
A song exists before it is written, sung, recorded, or pressed - a shadow of an idea hovering in the abstract. This unpressed vinyl puck questions what makes music real. Is a melody any less valid if it exists only in thought? The blob of plastic is a record before it becomes one, a vessel for something intangible.
Unpressed vinyl record, donated by Hoxton Vinyl
6. ENDLESS OCEAN
Countless songs are conceived and released every day, each one quickly swallowed by the next. With over 100 million already on streaming platforms and billions more to come from human and AI creation, music risks losing its permanence. In this flood, individuality fades, and meaning feels almost impossible to hold.
12" laser disc, clear pvc sleeve, paper label
BONUS TRACKS
DISPOSABLE MUSIC: DISCOVERY
In an age where millions of songs are released every year and are just a click away, true discovery feels surprisingly challenging. Our listening is shaped and limited by streaming algorithms, playlists, and a tendency to stick with what we already know and like, restricting our knowledge of genres and new sounds.
The discovery corner invites you to step off the beaten path and dive into a handpicked selection of vinyl records shared by the local record store community - each one a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
Reflecting the exhibition’s exploration of music’s changing landscape, this space celebrates the thrill of finding something new, rare, or overlooked. Pick up a record, listen, and let the unexpected stories and sounds expand your musical horizons.
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DISPOSABLE MUSIC: LIBRARY
A curated collection of books which acted as research and inspiration for the exhibition, reflect over a year of reading and exploration. The titles offer a wide-ranging look at music — from its history and how it works, to the evolving nature of creativity in both humans and machines, the visual language of album art, and thoughtful reflections on how we listen and experience sound.
Visitors are invited to uncover highlighted passages that reveal fresh perspectives on music’s role in our lives.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
> 14 - 21 September 2025 - EXTENDED UNTIL 12 OCTOBER
> Simmos at Lockside Studios, 5 Skipper's Yard, Fish Island,
> Hackney Wick, London, E3 2RF
> Monday to Friday 8AM-3PM
> Saturday to Sunday 8AM-4PM
> Free entry
CONTACT
To collaborate on your next music project, for press enquiries or for sales please write to
hello@oldflame.studio
SPECIAL THANKS
A heartfelt thank you to all our collaborators and partners who generously shared their time, support and resources:
Xiaoye & Louis - Simmos
Lockside Studios - Eat Work Art
Hoxton Vinyl
