The above video documents the production of a very unique set of musical artefacts, created initially as part of my PhD submission. The inaugural set of these 'Auratic Artefacts' comprises three transparent, single-sided vinyl dubplates, with a double-sided, laser-etched wooden veneer, bonded to the non-audio side of each dubplate. Further variations include sleek, laser-etched aluminium plates, contrasting nicely with the warm, almost rustic character of the wooden veneers. As you can see, each set comes with a hand-sprayed, custom sleeve, too!
This all came about through a gnawing dissatisfaction with my largely dematerialised music practice and its subsequent dematerialised output. Feels good to be able to physically see, touch and feel the fruits of my musical labour again in a non-CD format -- to have something tangible to show once the computer shuts down.
But as you might expect, being able to offer these for sale would be quite a challenge; cutting dubplates and laser etching could get expensive very quickly. Then there's the time costs incurred by all the parties involved in crafting these artefacts. Still, it'd be nice to present a few more sets at some point. :)
A huge thanks goes to nkurence for his design and crafting skills, in addition to his laser-etching expertise. Thanks also to Frank at The Carvery for cutting my tunes to transparent vinyl.