The Melvins have never done things by halves. They’re known for unexpected collaborations, albums that are almost audio art projects as much as conventional releases and highly prolific output.
Drummer Dale Crover’s next project is so insane, it makes the Melvins 8-track cartridge where no two copies were identical seem like a bankable affair. Introducing the twelve sided vinyl!
Full details and instructional video below.
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Dale Crover (the Melvins) Releasing 12-Sided Record Skins
via Joyful Noise Recordings (order)*** Watch Instructional Video
(on how to play “the most impractical record of all time”)
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| Dale Crover, best known as the drummer of the Melvins, teamed up with Joyful Noise Recordings to create a 12-sided record called Skins. The first release of its kind, the unique art object was hand made by lathe virtuoso Mike Dixon and is limited to 127 signed copies. Each record features six spindle holes, which correspond to twelve short songs written by Crover (six on side A and six on side B.) Joyful Noise created aninstructional video demonstrating how to access each track. |
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| This unique format required Crover to work within a highly constraining framework, creating individual pieces of music that almost mimic haikus. Each piece is less than 30 seconds in length, and these distinct works ultimately became the seed for Crover’s upcoming full-length album, slated for release in 2017.
Because each record was individually cut using 1940s technology (on a 1942 Presto 6N record lathe), these are lo-fi, mono records that will not possess the same fidelity as a modern record. Each of the 127 copies available required more than an hour of work to produce. See below for additional notes on playing the record. |
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| Turntable Setup: Lathe-cut records have more shallow grooves than pressed records, which can make them difficult to play. Adjustments to your standard turntable setup may be required. If the only turntable you own is a Crosley, do not buy this record. Not only will it not play on your setup, but you’ll likely damage the record in the process. Due to the multi-spindle-hole design, we cannot guarantee that this record will be playable on all turntables.
A note about the price: Yes, it would be totally insane to pay $100 for 5 minutes of audio. But music is not all you are buying here. This is one of the most unique records ever made in the history of music. Each of the 127 copies required over an hour of work to make, not to mention the countless hours that were put into the design, composition and recording. If you cannot afford this art object, feel free to wait for Dale’s full-length. But to those who can, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that in the not-too-distant future, this record will be sold on eBay for a far more obscene amount of money. |
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Skins Track Listing:
1. Slide On Up (0:27)
2. The Short Con (0:26)
3. Our Supreme Leader (0:16)
4. String Bean (0:32)
5. Why Not? (0:11)
6. Prismo (0:15)
7. Trick Dirt (0:29)
8. Chicken Ala King (0:30)
9. Vulnavia (0:30)
10. None No More (0:31)
11. Horse Pills (0:30)
12. Just Walk Around (0:29) |
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