LACMA AND KCRW Unveil BIG EMPTY COUNTRY (LACMA EDIT) BY BRIAN ENO AND BEATIE WOLFE
LACMA AND KCRW UNVEIL CURRENTS, A PLAYLIST FOR THE DAVID GEFFEN GALLERIES, AND BIG EMPTY COUNTRY (LACMA EDIT) BY BRIAN ENO AND BEATIE WOLFE
LOS ANGELES, July 14, 2026 —KCRW and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) present Currents: A Soundtrack for the David Geffen Galleries, a playlist created by KCRW Music Director Alejandro Cohen along with a special edit of Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe's composition "Big Empty Country" to be experienced at the Zumthor-designed bench. Open, layered, and in motion, much like Los Angeles itself, Currents meanders across genres, eras, and cultural references, offering visitors a sonic companion as they journey through the galleries.
Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Peter Zumthor, the David Geffen Galleries do not have a single prescribed entrance, and Currents honors that spirit. Though it unfolds with the understanding that many visitors arrive from the north side of Wilshire into the Elaine Wynn Wing overlooking Tony Smith's Smoke (1967), the mix is designed to meet visitors wherever they are in the building. Structured as a natural, unhurried journey of approximately one hour and 25 minutes, the playlist offers a flexible soundscape rather than a fixed route. The music follows its own arc through the Pacific Ocean galleries, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea, before it concludes in the Atlantic Ocean galleries, whether experienced in sequence or encountered in fragments along the way.
“Music has been a significant part of the Geffen Galleries experience, beginning with the beautiful sonic blessing by Kamasi Washington and his ensembles last summer before the collection was installed,” said LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan. “I’m grateful to KCRW and Alejandro for helping us offer this flowing and widely varied soundscape to our visitors as they discover their own paths through LACMA’s collection.”
“LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries aren’t designed to follow a linear structure and neither is Currents," said Cohen. "At KCRW, we’re always looking for ways to connect people to the world around them through music, culture, and community. We want the playlist to feel like part of the galleries’ core experience, connecting the art with L.A.’s sprawl unfolding outside the museum walls.”
In addition to Currents, KCRW presents Big Empty Country (LACMA Edit), a special LACMA edit of Big Empty Country by Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe, taken from their album Lateral and created for the Zumthor-designed bench along the Wilshire Boulevard overpass. The piece transforms the act of sitting and observing into a listening experience. Designed to accompany the movement of the city just beyond the museum, the piece invites a moment of pause where sound, architecture, and the rhythm of Los Angeles converge. Subtle and immersive, it becomes part of the environment itself, offering a contemplative counterpoint to the constant flow of Wilshire Boulevard; a place to imagine…
"An art gallery is a place you go to have feelings and inhabit other possible worlds. For us, this piece of music feels like a place, a new land we could imagine living in. Any piece of art is a world in microcosm and we’re grateful for the chance to share this one with the visitors to LACMA, to offer them a chance to pause here." - Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe
Currents and Big Empty Country reflect the long relationship between KCRW and LACMA. On Saturday, August 8, KCRW Summer Nights with LACMA—held specifically for KCRW and LACMA members—features the debut performance by the newest KCRW DJ Tana Yonas, sets from guest DJ Cut Chemist plus late-night access to the David Geffen Galleries. KCRW DJs and tastemakers have also contributed to LACMA programs including the recent NexGenLA celebration, the Kamasi Washington sonic previews, and more.
LACMA’s music program has a presence throughout the museum’s campus, including Jazz at LACMA, a free concert series every Friday from April through November, as well as Latin Sounds, another free outdoor concert series on Saturdays during the summer. At the museum’s recent Block Party celebration for the David Geffen Galleries on June 20, the museum presented live music and DJ sets by Xica Soul, Mo0d, Heidi Lawden, Dahi, DJ Harvey, and Flying Lotus on the East West Bank Commons.
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Images: (left-right) Visitors in the David Geffen Galleries with The Bateman Mercury, Roman, 2nd-century copy after a Greek original of the 4th century B.C., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, William Randolph Hearst Collection, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA, by Charlie Powers; Visitors in the David Geffen Galleries, 2026, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA, by Charlie PowersMedia Contacts:KCRW: Stephanie Sykes, pr@kcrw.orgLACMA: Jessica Youn, jyoun@lacma.org
About KCRW
KCRW is your always-on connection to music, news, culture, and each other—on the radio, online, and in-person. We belong to Los Angeles, connecting diverse perspectives and the sounds of Southern California with curious communities around the corner and around the world. We are NPR’s flagship member station in Southern California and a community service of Santa Monica College. You can find our broadcast signal in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, and worldwide via the KCRW app and at kcrw.com.
About LACMA
Located on the Pacific Rim, LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of 155,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe. Committed to showcasing a multitude of art histories, LACMA exhibits and interprets works of art from new and unexpected points of view that are informed by the region’s rich cultural heritage and diverse population. LACMA’s spirit of experimentation is reflected in its work with artists, technologists, and thought leaders as well as in its regional, national, and global partnerships to share collections and programs, create pioneering initiatives, and engage new audiences.
Location: 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90036. lacma.org
