Bill Drummond Presents The 17 in Israel

“I love it when things change” Bill Drummond

Outrageous, original and multi-disciplinary artist Bill Drummond will be in Israel from March 20 – 25, 2011, as the guest of the Yafo 23 Gallery, the Bezalel School of Art and Design, Jerusalem and Levontin 7.
KLF, Drummond’s duo with Jimmy Cauty, brought Drummond fame and fortune, and a reputation for the unexpected with their more unusual actions like burning a million pounds or deleting their entire backlist when the duo disbanded. Drummond was born in 1953, left art school in Liverpool in 1973 and has engaged in just about every art form since – he’s an artist, musician, pop star, writer, producer, performer and most recently, creator of the 17.

Read more on his fascinating website, but in brief: believing that “all recorded music has run its course” and having a life-long interest in choral music, Drummond sought a way to hear in reality the voices of the internal choir that he heard in his mind. The 17 – an ever-changing choir; has become his primary endeavor, a musical performance conducted according to Drummond’s philosophy. He feels that we have reached the end of the era of music that is recorded with the intention of being heard over again, and that live, one time performances are the wave of the future.

The 17 began with an ad in a London newspaper calling men who would like to use their voice to participate in a one time event. He published the guidelines for the 17 choir and has held hundreds of these events throughout the world, each time with a different group of 17 participants: women, children under the age of 6, retirees, police, football players and others. The participants are requested not to document the event in any way (recording or photographs) and Drummond records the performance, erasing the recording at the end of the event, after it has been played once for the participants. That is the ceremony.

Bill Drummond presents the 17 in Israel:
March 21, 2011 at Levontin 7 in Tel Aviv. Doors open at 20:00 and will close at 20:30. 20 NIS
March 22, 2011 at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Har HaZofim Campus, Hall 222, at 17:30. The event is open to the public.
March 23, 2011 at the Yafo 23 Gallery in Jerusalem. Doors open at 20:00 and will close at 20:30. The event is free and open to the public.
The time frame is an inseparable element of The 17, and will be strictly adhered to – latecomers will not be admitted.

Drummond’s visit to Israel is sponsored by the BI ARTS program of the British Council, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture and Sport.

Bill Drummond on The 17:
The17 is a choir
The17 make music using no words, rhythm or melody
The17 make music that celebrates time, place and occasion
The17 have different singers every time they perform
The17 can be anyone, of any age from anywhere and you
The17 has never been recorded for posterity
The17 will never be heard on TV, radio or the Internet
The17 has no audience, other than those taking part
The17 have performed around the world more than 250 times since 2006
The17 welcome the future.