Massive Attack and more contribute to innovative record design project
Vinyl records have been technologically revisited in recent years. ‘The Library of Dangerous Thoughts’ has artfully contributed to these developments with its new audio project, aiming to raise awareness around censorship, using radiography film and featuring X-ray scans. The new concept has been developed by The University of the Underground, a charity founded to offer free and transnational education to the next generation of creative talent.
Unreleased tracks and monologues by a host of thinkers and artists including Massive Attack (who won a Wallpaper* Design award earlier this year for founding member Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja's work in digital bitstream), have been released for the first time through the project, alongside original artwork. The soundbites – dubbed ‘dangerous thoughts' – have been collated with the overarching aim to act as a call to action, to ‘inspire citizens of the world into creating further pluralistic platforms and to support free education’.
The collection takes a spin on the traditional picture disc record through its material choice, with audio etched onto the film by a mastering lathe made in 1957. Due to the nature of the material, each track can only be played ten times before degenerating and being lost forever. A total of 48 records have been produced by the Bureau of Lost Culture, a project established by composer Stephen Coates, portrait photographer Paul Heartfield, dedicated to recollecting counter-cultural stories.
Each record is available for auction through Collecteurs, the world’s first digital museum of private collections. The charity hopes that this will in turn stimulate public engagement with politics and democratic institutions.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the University of the Underground website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
The 2024 Ivor Novello nominations for songwriting have been revealed
77 British and Irish songwriters and composers make up this year's nominees, announced tonight at London's Groucho Club
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Why Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015 champagne is worth celebrating
Champagne Bollinger unveils La Grande Année 2015 and La Grande Année Rosé 2015, two outstanding cuvées from an exceptional year in wine-making
By Melina Keays Published
-
Lexus installation explores time at Milan Design Week 2024
Lexus brought designer Hideki Yoshimoto’s ‘Beyond the Horizon’ to Milan’s Art Point, part of its ongoing series of collaborations with Fuorisalone
By Nargess Shahmanesh Banks Published
-
Six new ways of making music, from sonorous start-ups to note-perfect classics
Our music technology round-up showcases six new ways of making music, from a piano designed to blend into the modern home to sophisticated effects units and an all-in-one DJ system
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
ABBA Voyage director Baillie Walsh on songs, sequins, and virtual spaces
Baillie Walsh, the director behind ABBA Voyage, one of the most advanced entertainment spectacles ever, tells Wallpaper* how the magic happens, ABBAtars and all
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
MOD Devices’ open-source pedals play a different tune
Berlin-based Mod Devices creates a new generation of multipurpose audio tools
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
The Moog Sound Studio brings analogue music creation to life
Moog’s new Sound Studio – a bespoke box of synth delights – is an all-in-one introduction to synthesized musical creation
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
Fender looks forwards with a new hybrid guitar design
Justin Norvell, Executive Vice President of Fender Products, discusses the company’s latest product and what it means for the future of guitar
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
Nothing unveils a conceptual expression of its radical tech ecosystem
Nothing's Concept 1 earbuds embodies the company’s radical tech ethos
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Georg Jensen and Philips join forces on three-piece technology collection
Scandinavian aesthetics meet Dutch functionality in two portable speakers and a power bank, clad in mirror-polished stainless steel, Kvadrat fabric and brown leather
By TF Chan Last updated
-
Teenage Engineering's OB-4 minimal portable speaker is a mini masterpiece
Inviting the listener to play an active role, the OB-4’s secret weapon, is an endlessly looping digital ‘tape’ that lets you create quirky sonic adaptations
By Jonathan Bell Published