Longplayer
a song that ends in the year 3000
A piece of music a thousand years long, playing without repeating inside an old lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, free to hear.
Free to visit · Trinity Buoy Wharf · East India (DLR) · E14 0JW
Opening: Lighthouse open weekends · plays online always
Inside London's only lighthouse, out at Trinity Buoy Wharf where the River Lea meets the Thames, a piece of music is playing that began on the first day of the year 2000 and is designed to continue without ever repeating until the last day of the year 2999. It is called Longplayer, and listening to it is free.
Conceived by the musician Jem Finer, the work uses singing bowls and a clever system that recombines its parts so the same passage never recurs in a thousand years. Climb the lighthouse to the listening room at weekends, sit among the bowls with the river all around, and you are hearing a sound no human will ever hear in full. It is strange, calm and quietly profound, and one of the most unusual free experiences in the city.
Getting there: At Trinity Buoy Wharf by the mouth of the Lea, a short walk from East India DLR.
Best time to go: A weekend afternoon when the lighthouse listening post is open.
Insider tip: The lighthouse listening post is open at weekends, so plan for then, though you can stream the piece live online any time. While you are out there, the rest of Trinity Buoy Wharf with its container studios and lightship is free to wander too.
Official site: https://longplayer.org
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide