Records made from plain old vinyl are so yesterday. What about records made from chocolate, ice, wood, or even human blood? These unique curiosities range from delightful to absurd, to poetically sombre.
Breakbot’s Edible, Playable Chocolate Record
Last year, French DJ Breakbot released a “Chocolate Edition” of his LP “By Your Side”. Only 120 copies were made, available exclusively at Colette store in Paris. They’re likely to be sold out by now, but you can still see it in action here, and weep at its glory.
Can’t consume a whole LP’s worth of chocolate? Here’s a more reasonably-sized chocolate 7” by Gonzales.
Breakbot is not the first and only zany Frenchman to release music on chocolate. Back in 2008, musician Chilly Gonzales also pressed 100 copies of his single “Working Together” on delicious limited edition chocolate. They were claimed to be playable 4 or 5 times, before they get all gooey and ruin your turntable, I guess.
Shout Out Louds’ Ice Record Project
For their single “Blue Ice”, Swedish indie group Shout Out Louds came up with the idea of making a functional record on ice! 10 press kits consisting of silicon mold, a bottle of distilled water, and complete instructions were sent to select media and fans. Of course the record would only last in one play, and your needle is most likely to be ruined after, but the less-than-perfect crackling sounds have their own lo-fi DIY charms.
3D Printed Records
Convert an MP3 to a 3D model of a vinyl record? The future is here and it’s twisted! Not surprisingly, hearing a distorted version of Radiohead on a 3D printed record is not all that different from hearing your usual Radiohead.
Laser Cut Wood Records
It’s another daring project from Amanda Ghassaei, the same creator behind the 3D printed record one. It all looks very organic and woodsy. Unfortunately, Radiohead on this format resembles the sounds of a car crash in hell.
Jack White’s Liquid-Filled “Sixteen Saltines” 12”
Leave it to the White Stripes frontman to produce weird novelty records and charge a fortune for them. A Record Store Day 2012 release, this 12” single quickly sold out, thanks to its unique nature – clear vinyl filled with psychedelic Smurf-esque blue liquid, claimed to be the first ever of its kind to be sold commercially.
The Great Gatsby Soundtrack On Vinyl Coated With Platinum & Gold
Daisy Buchanan would accept no less. These deluxe edition LPs come on “metalized” vinyl, which mean they are actually coated in platinum and gold. Released on Jack White’s Third Man Records label, these currently go up for $350 on eBay. How extravagant. I’m surprised Daft Punk didn’t think of this first.
The Flaming Lips’ Blood Vinyl (Yikes!)
What does it say when The Flaming Lips announced blood-filled picture discs of their album “Heady Fwends”, and no one raised a single eyebrow? Only 10 copies were available for $2,500 each. Among the celebrities who give their blood samples were Nick Cave, Erykah Badu, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and… Ke$ha. On one hand, we should be glad blood was their only body fluid of choice.
And Vinyly – Records Made From Cremation Ashes
A fascinating, poetically sombre idea. For £3,000 a pop, British company And Vinyly would press your ashes into a vinyl record. To date, they have only pressed 4 actual records. Would you music fans ever consider this for your final resting plan? What album would you put on the record that holds the remaining evidence of your physical existence? I might just put on Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In An Aeroplane Over The Sea” on repeat ad infinitum.
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