vinyl

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Design Music

A Visit to Third Man Records Reveals the Remarkably Analog Process of Cutting Vinyl Records

How do our favorite songs make their way into vinyl records? The team over at WIRED visits Third Man Pressing in Detroit to document the particularly labor-intensive production process. From adding the finicky lacquer coating to etching the matrix number by hand, the undertaking requires at least 14 steps before the album is packed and shipped, and each record passes through numerous sets of hands on the production floor. As the music industry becomes increasingly digital, the cutting process remains remarkably analog. “Vinyl is in the real world. It’s not something that exists only on your computer or your phone. It’s three-dimensional,” says one of the pressing plant’s engineers.

Watch the video above for a tour of the facility and insight into the manual parts of the process behind each album. You also might enjoy this DIY engraver for homemade vinyl. (via Kottke)

Design Music

Cut Your Own Vinyl with this DIY Record Engraver and Player Designed by Yuri Suzuki

All images © Yuri Suzuki

Making mixtapes and burning CDs might be a forgotten pastime, but the days of simple, homemade vinyl are just arriving thanks to Yuri Suzuki. The London-based designer, who is also a partner at Pentagram, has created the Easy Record Maker, a small device that makes audio recording straightforward and accessible to the general public.

By plugging in an auxiliary cable or USB and playing audio through a phone or other digital device, the cutting arm receives the sound vibrations and engraves the blank plastic three to four times within a single millimeter. Each side of the 5-inch record takes about four minutes to complete. When ready to play, the machine’s cutting piece should be swapped for the tone arm, which is large enough to accommodate traditional 7-inch EPs.

In an interview with It’s Nice That, Suzuki said that creating a DIY-record engraver has been one of his goals since his teenage days as part of a ska-punk band when he didn’t have the financial resources to use professional recording equipment. While that difficulty persists today, the designer said he also hoped this audio project would encourage users to focus and have fun. “Sound has a strong impact on our emotions and the way we behave, and I always try to create an experience with sound that as many people as possible can relate to,” he said.

The Easy Record Maker is currently available from Gakken in Japan and will be released to U.S. and U.K. audiences in the coming months. For a live demo, head to Suzuki’s Instagram this Friday to check out what he shares on IGTV.

Amazing

Watch a Vinyl Record Spin so Quickly That it Shatters

The Slow Mo Guys (Dan Gruchy and Gavin Free) have found fame creating slow motion videos of otherwise undetectably fast movements. Their latest experiment, filmed at 12,500 frames per second, shows a vinyl record spinning so quickly that it shatters into an estimated 50,000 pieces. (via Laughing Squid)

Art Music

A Submerged Turntable Installation by Evan Holm Emits Music From the Below the Surface

Apparently, with the right electronics, you can submerge a record player and still hear what’s scratching just below the surface. Artist Evan Holm demonstrates the device as part of a larger installation at SFMOMA aptly titled Submerged Turntable. Holm shares in a statement about the work:

There will be a time when all tracings of human culture will dissolve back into the soil under the slow crush of the unfolding universe. The pool, black and depthless, represents loss, represents mystery, and represents the collective subconscious of the human race. By placing these records underneath the dark and obscure surface of the pool, I am enacting a small moment of remorse towards this loss. In the end, however, this is an optimistic sculpture, for just after that moment of submergence; tone, melody, and ultimately song is pulled back out of the pool, past the veil of the subconscious, out from under the crush of time, and back into a living and breathing realm.

There’s also a short documentary about how the piece came together.

Animation Music

Plastic Infinite: A 7″ Psychedelic Zoetropic Vinyl Record by Sculpture

Plastic Infinite is a 7″ animated picture disc by UK-based duo Sculpture made to accompany a new track by the same name. Created like a zoetrope, the disc animates when played under a strobe light or filmed at 25fps. Pick one up here. (via Vimeo Staff Picks)