From 14th – 17th September 2023, Jaeger-LeCoultre will have the pleasure of welcoming guests to The Golden Ratio Musical Show in London. Presented at the 1931 Cinema, a specially created venue at the newly restored Battersea Power Station, the inspiring sound-and-light show celebrates the Golden Ratio – the unique mathematical formula that defines the aesthetic harmony that we humans are instinctively drawn to. The ground-breaking British musician, TØKIO M¥ERS, has composed a new soundtrack especially for the show, commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre through its Made of Makers programme.
Presenting Design in a New Cultural Context
With The Golden Ratio Musical Show and 1931 Cinema, Jaeger-LeCoultre continues to expand the cultural conversation around design and watchmaking, exploring their elemental links through the lens of the Reverso watch, which is widely acknowledged as an icon of 20th century design. Taking its name from the year that the Reverso was born, the 1931 Cinema offers guests a deep immersion in the style and ambience of that period. Enhancing the experience, refreshments will be provided by the 1931 Café. The outdoor cinema concept also pays homage to the world’s first drive-in movie theatre, which opened in 1933 and spawned a new form of entertainment that was to become embedded in popular culture.
The Art Deco-inspired design of the 1931 Cinema will be enhanced by its location at Battersea Power Station, one of London’s most spectacular Art Deco buildings and a new retail, leisure and cultural destination for the capital. Originally conceived as a purely functional and box-like structure, its beautiful exterior is the work of British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who was commissioned to redesign it, adding Art Deco glamour and the four iconic chimneys, which are synonymous of the London skyline. Construction of the Power Station began in 1929 with the first half, Station A completed in 1933, and the second half, Station B in 1955. At its peak Battersea Power Station produced a fifth of London’s electricity.
An Enthralling Sound-and-Light Show
The centrepiece of the 1931 Cinema is The Golden Ratio Musical Show, a spectacular sound-and-light show projected onto a giant screen of falling water. The 10-minute show tells the story of the Golden Ratio in four chapters: tracing the path from the observation of nature and the hidden harmonies that connect its most beautiful forms, to the scientific examination of the mystical properties of beauty and the quest to define their geometry, which led to the discovery of the mathematical formula 1.618, also known as Phi (φ). It continues by exploring how this ‘golden number’ or ‘divine proportion’ has marked European cultural history, architecture and art ever since it was identified, and concludes by presenting the Reverso, created at the height of the Art Deco movement, which expresses the spirit of the Golden Ratio with utmost eloquence.
A Specially Commissioned Soundtrack by TØKIO M¥ERS
For The Golden Ratio Musical Show, Jaeger-LeCoultre commissioned a soundtrack from the British musician and composer TØKIO M¥ERS, who is gaining worldwide recognition as one of the most original artists to emerge in recent years. A graduate of the Royal College of Music, celebrated for his experimental fusions of classical music with cinematic, hip-hop, dance, ‘90s soul and other influences, TØKIO M¥ERS is also a gifted pianist and percussionist, and a performer of immense range and dynamic power. Through compositions that transcend time and genres, he creates dialogues between the past and present, redefining what classical music can be.
Having taken inspiration from time spent at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture in the Swiss Jura mountains, TØKIO M¥ERS says that he wrote the piece “with the explicit intention of amplifying the emotional impact of the digital projection”. He describes the new work as “a short symphony in four chapters, or movements, that takes the listener on a powerful journey”. Reinforcing the Golden Ratio theme, he translated the number 1.618 into a tempo of 161.8 beats per minute. “I incorporated the Golden Ratio as the driving tempo throughout the piece. I’ve never written in this tempo before and it’s a wonderful tempo to write in,” he says.
London Dates on a World Tour
Following its debut during Shanghai International Film Festival in early June, The Golden Ratio Musical Show and 1931 Cinema began a world tour in Los Angeles. The London season runs from 14th – 17th September at Battersea Power Station and it will be open to the public, free of charge, offering the opportunity to experience design and watchmaking in an entirely new cultural context.
On the night of the 14th September, at an invitation-only gala, TØKIO M¥ERS will give a live performance of his soundtrack. He will be accompanied by The Bourne Orchestra, a collaboration between musicians from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Chamber Orchestra. This will be followed by a concert of his other work, accompanied by the signature lighting that make his solo performances so dynamic.
The 1931 Cinema will be open free of charge to the public from the 14th September to the 17th September, with The Golden Ratio Musical Show running all day on a 20-minute cycle.
Following its London season, the 1931 Cinema and The Golden Ratio Musical Show will travel to Dubai.
The Golden Ratio Musical Show
Battersea Power Station, London, SW8 5BN
Opening day on 14th September from 11am to 6pm
From 15th – 16th September from 11am to 10pm
17th September from 11am to 9pm
Open to public. Free of charge.
Register on https://online-booking.jaeger-lecoultre.com/atelier/58
