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How do you make an artwork that will last 1000 years?

As part of the Saturday Morning 'Creators Series' on @bbcradio3 artist and composer of Longplayer, Jem Finer, explains how to keep an artwork like Longplayer running into the distant future:

'... by sort of layering up more and more different durations - ideally prime numbers that don't divide into each other - you could make a longer and longer piece of music and then I thought, okay, I'll see how long it takes to make a thousand years out of this process. I then spent two years experimenting with different algorithmic techniques, mostly based on sort of mathematical processes, until I eventually hit on one that worked. There's an algorithm or a score, let's call it the score, that can be realised by any technology. That was very important because to base Longplayer on any one technology exclusively would be severely limiting its chances of carrying on.'

Listen now on @bbcsounds or on the link below at 2:40:14:

🔗 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002w65y

#longplayer #jemfiner #creators #deeptime #soundart

How do you make an artwork that will last 1000 years?

As part of the Saturday Morning 'Creators Series' on @bbcradio3 artist and composer of Longplayer, Jem Finer, explains how to keep an artwork like Longplayer running into the distant future:

'... by sort of layering up more and more different durations - ideally prime numbers that don't divide into each other - you could make a longer and longer piece of music and then I thought, okay, I'll see how long it takes to make a thousand years out of this process. I then spent two years experimenting with different algorithmic techniques, mostly based on sort of mathematical processes, until I eventually hit on one that worked. There's an algorithm or a score, let's call it the score, that can be realised by any technology. That was very important because to base Longplayer on any one technology exclusively would be severely limiting its chances of carrying on.'

Listen now on @bbcsounds or on the link below at 2:40:14:

🔗 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002w65y

#longplayer #jemfiner #creators #deeptime #soundart

This Saturday 16 May at 11.30am, catch @jem.finer talking all things Longplayer on the @bbcradio3 Saturday Morning show with Tom Service:

🔗 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002w65y

Image courtesy Sally Hough

#longplayer #jemfiner #classical #bbc #bbcradio3

You can visit @_longplayer_ here at Trinity Buoy Wharf on Saturdays and Sundays in the Lighthouse. Entry is completely free!

Visit the Lighthouse here at Trinity Buoy Wharf, and listen to @_longplayer_composed by Jem Finer

Visit the Lighthouse here at Trinity Buoy Wharf, and listen to @_longplayer_composed by Jem Finer

Visit the Lighthouse here at Trinity Buoy Wharf, and listen to @_longplayer_composed by Jem Finer

Visit the Lighthouse here at Trinity Buoy Wharf, and listen to @_longplayer_composed by Jem Finer

Delighted to announce a collaboration with artist Katie Evans as the 2026 Associate Artist for @spill_festival in Ipswich. Based in East Anglia, Katie is a socially engaged artist whose work encompasses research, history and community. She was a performer at Longplayer Live 2025 at @roundhouseldn and has since developed a strong affiliation with @_longplayer_ as a source of inspiration for her own artistic practice.

For SPILL Festival + Think Tank she's teaming up with @_longplayer_ to build a body of work representing the stories and memories of Ipswich, as well as imagining how it will be in the future. An archive of artwork and memories will be created and preserved for us to look back on. The project will examine ideas around deep time, inter-generational connection, remembering the past and imagining the future of a place.

We'll be sharing updates and reflections from Katie's research in the @_longplayer_ archives at @goldsmithsuol and from the workshops at the @spill_festival space in Ipswich.

#longplayer #artistcollaboration #archives #deeptime #ipswich

Delighted to announce a collaboration with artist Katie Evans as the 2026 Associate Artist for @spill_festival in Ipswich. Based in East Anglia, Katie is a socially engaged artist whose work encompasses research, history and community. She was a performer at Longplayer Live 2025 at @roundhouseldn and has since developed a strong affiliation with @_longplayer_ as a source of inspiration for her own artistic practice.

For SPILL Festival + Think Tank she's teaming up with @_longplayer_ to build a body of work representing the stories and memories of Ipswich, as well as imagining how it will be in the future. An archive of artwork and memories will be created and preserved for us to look back on. The project will examine ideas around deep time, inter-generational connection, remembering the past and imagining the future of a place.

We'll be sharing updates and reflections from Katie's research in the @_longplayer_ archives at @goldsmithsuol and from the workshops at the @spill_festival space in Ipswich.

#longplayer #artistcollaboration #archives #deeptime #ipswich

Delighted to announce a collaboration with artist Katie Evans as the 2026 Associate Artist for @spill_festival in Ipswich. Based in East Anglia, Katie is a socially engaged artist whose work encompasses research, history and community. She was a performer at Longplayer Live 2025 at @roundhouseldn and has since developed a strong affiliation with @_longplayer_ as a source of inspiration for her own artistic practice.

For SPILL Festival + Think Tank she's teaming up with @_longplayer_ to build a body of work representing the stories and memories of Ipswich, as well as imagining how it will be in the future. An archive of artwork and memories will be created and preserved for us to look back on. The project will examine ideas around deep time, inter-generational connection, remembering the past and imagining the future of a place.

We'll be sharing updates and reflections from Katie's research in the @_longplayer_ archives at @goldsmithsuol and from the workshops at the @spill_festival space in Ipswich.

#longplayer #artistcollaboration #archives #deeptime #ipswich

Longer days mean more time to explore! Our opening hours change from April to September, now 11-5 on weekends. Visit Longplayer at the Lighthouse @trinitybuoywharf, a unique art piece by Jem Finer that's been composed to last 1000 years.

#longplayer #1000years #summeropening #freethingstodoinlondon #artinstallation

📷 Lighthouse image courtesy Muir Vidler
📷 Longplayer Installation image courtesy Paul Marc Mitchell

Longer days mean more time to explore! Our opening hours change from April to September, now 11-5 on weekends. Visit Longplayer at the Lighthouse @trinitybuoywharf, a unique art piece by Jem Finer that's been composed to last 1000 years.

#longplayer #1000years #summeropening #freethingstodoinlondon #artinstallation

📷 Lighthouse image courtesy Muir Vidler
📷 Longplayer Installation image courtesy Paul Marc Mitchell

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

Londons only Lighthouse!

#lighthouse #londonthingstodo #eastlondon

On Monday 9th March, we welcomed British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh, and actor, author, and comedian, Alexei Sayle as our speakers for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, at Swedenborg House.

The conversation journeyed through the significance of our times for future historians, science fiction and dystopian fiction, Mork & Mindy, the recent and historic victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton and the bombing of Iran the following day by America and Israel, the policing of discourse on Palestine, the systematic weakening of the UN, visualising alternative futures, and a quote from Bertolt Brecht to sum up the evening:

"In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing
About the dark times."

Thank you to our audience, to all the supporters who came and contributed to the discussion, to the Trustees who helped make the evening happen, and to @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod for an illuminating Longplayer Conversation.

🔗 For those of you that couldn't make it, a link to the talk will be shared online shortly.

📷 Images courtesy @tarlanlotfizadeh

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #alternativefutures
#alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

On Monday 9th March, we welcomed British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh, and actor, author, and comedian, Alexei Sayle as our speakers for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, at Swedenborg House.

The conversation journeyed through the significance of our times for future historians, science fiction and dystopian fiction, Mork & Mindy, the recent and historic victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton and the bombing of Iran the following day by America and Israel, the policing of discourse on Palestine, the systematic weakening of the UN, visualising alternative futures, and a quote from Bertolt Brecht to sum up the evening:

"In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing
About the dark times."

Thank you to our audience, to all the supporters who came and contributed to the discussion, to the Trustees who helped make the evening happen, and to @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod for an illuminating Longplayer Conversation.

🔗 For those of you that couldn't make it, a link to the talk will be shared online shortly.

📷 Images courtesy @tarlanlotfizadeh

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #alternativefutures
#alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

On Monday 9th March, we welcomed British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh, and actor, author, and comedian, Alexei Sayle as our speakers for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, at Swedenborg House.

The conversation journeyed through the significance of our times for future historians, science fiction and dystopian fiction, Mork & Mindy, the recent and historic victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton and the bombing of Iran the following day by America and Israel, the policing of discourse on Palestine, the systematic weakening of the UN, visualising alternative futures, and a quote from Bertolt Brecht to sum up the evening:

"In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing
About the dark times."

Thank you to our audience, to all the supporters who came and contributed to the discussion, to the Trustees who helped make the evening happen, and to @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod for an illuminating Longplayer Conversation.

🔗 For those of you that couldn't make it, a link to the talk will be shared online shortly.

📷 Images courtesy @tarlanlotfizadeh

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #alternativefutures
#alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

On Monday 9th March, we welcomed British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh, and actor, author, and comedian, Alexei Sayle as our speakers for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, at Swedenborg House.

The conversation journeyed through the significance of our times for future historians, science fiction and dystopian fiction, Mork & Mindy, the recent and historic victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton and the bombing of Iran the following day by America and Israel, the policing of discourse on Palestine, the systematic weakening of the UN, visualising alternative futures, and a quote from Bertolt Brecht to sum up the evening:

"In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing
About the dark times."

Thank you to our audience, to all the supporters who came and contributed to the discussion, to the Trustees who helped make the evening happen, and to @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod for an illuminating Longplayer Conversation.

🔗 For those of you that couldn't make it, a link to the talk will be shared online shortly.

📷 Images courtesy @tarlanlotfizadeh

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #alternativefutures
#alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

On Monday 9th March, we welcomed British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh, and actor, author, and comedian, Alexei Sayle as our speakers for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, at Swedenborg House.

The conversation journeyed through the significance of our times for future historians, science fiction and dystopian fiction, Mork & Mindy, the recent and historic victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton and the bombing of Iran the following day by America and Israel, the policing of discourse on Palestine, the systematic weakening of the UN, visualising alternative futures, and a quote from Bertolt Brecht to sum up the evening:

"In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing
About the dark times."

Thank you to our audience, to all the supporters who came and contributed to the discussion, to the Trustees who helped make the evening happen, and to @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod for an illuminating Longplayer Conversation.

🔗 For those of you that couldn't make it, a link to the talk will be shared online shortly.

📷 Images courtesy @tarlanlotfizadeh

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #alternativefutures
#alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

On Monday 9th March, we welcomed British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh, and actor, author, and comedian, Alexei Sayle as our speakers for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, at Swedenborg House.

The conversation journeyed through the significance of our times for future historians, science fiction and dystopian fiction, Mork & Mindy, the recent and historic victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton and the bombing of Iran the following day by America and Israel, the policing of discourse on Palestine, the systematic weakening of the UN, visualising alternative futures, and a quote from Bertolt Brecht to sum up the evening:

"In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing
About the dark times."

Thank you to our audience, to all the supporters who came and contributed to the discussion, to the Trustees who helped make the evening happen, and to @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod for an illuminating Longplayer Conversation.

🔗 For those of you that couldn't make it, a link to the talk will be shared online shortly.

📷 Images courtesy @tarlanlotfizadeh

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #alternativefutures
#alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

Less than a week to go until The Longplayer Conversation 2026 with @selmadabbagh and @alexeisaylepod

Tickets £10
Concession tickets available at £5 each

🔗 Booking link in bio 👉🏼

#longplayer #longtermthinking #longplayerconversation #alexeisayle #selmadabbagh

The Longplayer Conversation for 2026:
Selma Dabbagh and Alexei Sayle

🗓️ 9 March, 7pm, @swedenborghouse
🎫 Tickets £10
🔗Link in bio

Join us for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, where we invite leading cultural and scientific voices to conduct a public discussion inspired by the work’s themes and resonances.

This year, the British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh will be in conversation with the actor, author and comedian Alexei Sayle. They will discuss narratives, literature, political fault lines and a subject close to their hearts – the development of an international rules-based order with Palestine at the centre – in the context of how Longplayer’s expression of deep time helps make sense of the past and conceptualise alternative futures.

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #swedenborg #selmadabbagh #alexeisayle

The Longplayer Conversation for 2026:
Selma Dabbagh and Alexei Sayle

🗓️ 9 March, 7pm, @swedenborghouse
🎫 Tickets £10
🔗Link in bio

Join us for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, where we invite leading cultural and scientific voices to conduct a public discussion inspired by the work’s themes and resonances.

This year, the British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh will be in conversation with the actor, author and comedian Alexei Sayle. They will discuss narratives, literature, political fault lines and a subject close to their hearts – the development of an international rules-based order with Palestine at the centre – in the context of how Longplayer’s expression of deep time helps make sense of the past and conceptualise alternative futures.

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #swedenborg #selmadabbagh #alexeisayle

The Longplayer Conversation for 2026:
Selma Dabbagh and Alexei Sayle

🗓️ 9 March, 7pm, @swedenborghouse
🎫 Tickets £10
🔗Link in bio

Join us for the 2026 Longplayer Conversation, where we invite leading cultural and scientific voices to conduct a public discussion inspired by the work’s themes and resonances.

This year, the British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh will be in conversation with the actor, author and comedian Alexei Sayle. They will discuss narratives, literature, political fault lines and a subject close to their hearts – the development of an international rules-based order with Palestine at the centre – in the context of how Longplayer’s expression of deep time helps make sense of the past and conceptualise alternative futures.

#longplayer #longplayerconversation #swedenborg #selmadabbagh #alexeisayle

In 2003 Jem Finer began inviting artists and musicians to choose a ten-minute section from Longplayer’s past, and to use it, in any way they chose, to make a new piece of music.

The latest, released on Friday, comes from @aztechsounds. Listen to it and previous Longplayer remixes on our Bandcamp page, via the link in our bio.

aztechsounds is a Bristol-based electronic musician whose work moves between ambient, melodic experimental and downtempo rhythms. His tracks blend texture, pulse and understated melody, shaped by years immersed in the city’s DIY music terrain and a love of music that feels both thoughtful and alive. He’s featured on Thinning Veil, a sprawling compilation from Ingrown Records that celebrates diverse sounds from across the experimental spectrum, and contributed to The Climb Has Gotten Steeper, But Climb We Must, a compilation raising funds and visibility for trans rights and grassroots support. His latest release, Long Animals, is available now to stream, or for purchase on Bandcamp.

A share of any earnings from this track helps keep Longplayer playing, thanks to aztechsounds for his generosity!

Oh wow, what’s this, and why have I bothered tagging @_longplayer_ in this post? Well, it’s a little preview of something coming next Friday, as for the tag, that will become obvious in due course...
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#ambientmusic #experimentalmusic #sounddesign #electronicmusic #independentartist