Ken Hazeldine in “Secret 7”
June 2018 saw Secret 7” take seven tracks from well-known musicians and invite creatives from around the world to interpret the tracks in their own style. With 700 artists on display, studio artist, Ken Hazeldine, was chosen with his take on the Jimi Hendrix track, Castles Made of Sand.
The cover art is anonymous, and the song is kept secret until purchase, with some interpretations more revealing than others. Ken’s inspiration took a more literal approach but drew upon his previous work, commenting: ‘I’ve done things with monoliths before, such as the statues on Easter Island. Statues in a line is something I’ve looked at so three castles in a line was sort of related to that.’
Ken got involved in the competition after a suggestion by the studio staff and explained his choice of Hendrix and experience of the exhibition: ‘Jimi Hendrix was the only song I really knew - and liked. So it was an easy choice really. I enjoyed doing it and was really pleased that I did because I liked the venue.’ This year the exhibition and sale was held at The Jetty on Greenwich Peninsula with the remaining covers auctioned off by Mind, the mental health charity.
It’s not the first time however that Jimi has been the inspiration for Ken’s artwork: ‘It sounds like I’m sort of obsessed by him, but he’s always been somebody I’ve admired, since I was at school. I still like him now. Other bands or singers I’ve sort of adopted during that time but this one I’ve just loved all along.’
Running since 2012, the competition has seen 3,500 one of a kind records create for 35 different tracks. All have sold out, and £175,000 has been raised for worthy causes (with 2016 seeing donations to Amnesty International UK and the venue - Sonos Studio, London).