IDLES have re-pressed their debut album ‘Brutalism’ on vinyl. Vinyl infused with frontman Joe Talbot’s mum’s ashes. Yes, really. They’re not the only ones to release this kind of, er, unique record, however – you’d be surprised as to what people will try to get a sound out of. From asteroid dust to blood, here are a few records that deviate from ‘the norm’.
Ashes
A concept that came to light a few years ago, IDLES are, as far as we know, the first band to bring it to this kind of audience. Immortalising Joe’s mum, who was a massive influence on ‘Brutalism’, there are 100 copies available each with handmade sleeves and unique artwork.
X-Rays
A bunch of people have used old X-Rays to make flexi-disc. Most notable of all is probably Jack White’s Third Man Records release of Gibby Haynes (The Butthole Surfers) ‘Paul’s Not Home’.
Blood
Quite a gruesome one, two of the most prominent pressings come from The Flaming Lips and Perfect Pussy. While Wayne Coyne and co. had the blood of the likes of Chris Martin, Kesha and Nick Cave swirling around inside in a liquid-filled mess, Perfect Pussy opted to have the blood pressed directly into the vinyl. Both sold out incredibly quickly, so apparently there’s a market for vampire record collectors.
Asteroid Dust
Our good pals over at Alcopop! Records released a ‘cosmic edition’ of Emperor Yes’s ‘An Island Called Earth’, so-called because it was infused with the dust of an asteroid that crashed into earth in the 16th century. Some might say this was an out of this world idea.
Smell
One of the more pleasant inclusions on this list. Jack White released a peach-scented pressing of Karen Elson’s ‘The Ghost Who Walks’, but our favourite is the re-pressing of the original Ghostbusters soundtrack on, you guessed it, marshmallow-scented wax.
Rose Petals
Another Karen Elson release from Third Man Records, for Record Store Day they pressed peach-coloured rose petals into a 7″ pressing of Karen’s cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Vicious’.
Ice
Swedish indie-pop group Shout Out Louds got creative with their Blue Ice The Ice Record Project. Only ten copies were available, and you had to make it yourself at home with water (and a freezer…), giving an ice version of 2012’s ‘Blue Ice’.
String
Australian rock band Liars released the lead single from their seventh album ‘Mess’ on 12″ pressed with string inside. Each one is unique, and looks rather nice actually. Pretty apt for a record titled ‘Mess on a Mission’.
Urine and Hair
One of the grossest here, a band called Eohippus released a hair-filled and “soaked in piss” vinyl for a track is called ‘Getting Your Hair Wet With Pee’. Thankfully it’s likely this will be both the first and last time this will be done.
IDLES’ new pressing of ‘Brutalism’ will be released on 30th October. Find out more here.