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10 of the weirdest things that have been pressed into vinyl
From bodily fluids to space dust
The 2014 release by Emperor Yes could easily be dubbed ‘out of this world’ in quite the literal sense.
The UK psychedelic pop band pressed ground-up dust from a meteorite that landed on Earth in the 16th century into 100 copies of the appropriately-titled ‘An Island Called Earth’. The album, put out on Alcopop! Records, became known as ‘the cosmic vinyl’.
Hair and Urine
Two years ago, Colorado band Eohippus released 100 limited edition copies of their ‘Getting Your Hair Wet With Piss’ 7" record which was (disturbingly) pressed with hair and soaked in human urine. That's one title we wish they didn't take so literally.
The band members described the track as "an anthem so majestic, it makes the 'Star-Spangled Banner' sound like a dog vomiting in comparison". A bold statement to match the equally bold decision to include possibly the least pleasant combination of bodily fluid and hair together. Thankfully, the band didn't provide details on where the hair and urine in question was acquired.
Holograms
To commemorate the return of Honey Disco after a three-year hiatus, Osmose released ‘Do Anything’ on a special 7-inch vinyl pressed with natural beeswax.
The translucent record glistens and smells of honey when spun.
Human X-Rays
In the mid-1900s, the underground Soviet group known as the ‘stilyagi’ famously made vinyl out of old human X-Rays.
Leaders of the movement, Ruslan Bogoslowski and Boris Taigin would collect disposed X-Rays from hospital bins to use as templates for pressing pirated music. The two would then hand-cut each out and use a cigarette to burn a hole in the middle.
The ‘stilyagi’ distributed the records on the black market, often featuring foreign artists prohibited by the Soviet government. As they gained popularity, authorities took note and sentenced both Bogoslowski and Taigin to five years of hard labor in Siberia.
Rose Petals
While still married to the great Jack White, Karen Elson (who was previously mentioned for experimenting with peach-scented records) put out a second series of uniquely pressed vinyl. This time, 1000 copies of the artist’s cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Vicious’ were made with rose petals and celebrated 2011’s Record Store Day.
Elson’s ‘Vicious’ was also released exclusively by Third Man Records.
Sydney is Mixmag's US Digital Content Editor. Follow her on Twitter here
