Published on
December 15, 2023
Category
Features
The vinyl countdown to Christmas.
Looking to give a loved one the gift of vinyl this Christmas? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled 12 releases from The Vinyl Factory back catalogue–from new favourites to older gems–that deserve a spot under your Christmas tree this year.
Various Artists
Gimme Shelter Mixtape
(The Vinyl Factory)
The Vinyl Factory collaborate with Theaster Gates’ Black Madonna Press, Chicago Sinfonietta’s Community and Public Programs and Urban Gateway’ Street Level to present the Gimme Shelter mixtape showcasing Chicago’s up-and-coming musical talent through narrative storytelling in hip hop and classical music.
Gimme Shelter takes inspiration from the 1969 hit by Rolling Stones, capturing the sociopolitical climate of uprisings in the 60’s amidst the Vietnam War. This mixtape explores the impact of the pandemic on notions of shelter and safety in Chicago and contemporary social conditions. Featuring Street Level Youth Media participants DJ Aced Spade, Draii Blac, Marko Stat$, Nasa, Young Conscious, guest artist Roy Kinsey, producer Mike Jones, and Chicago Sinfonietta orchestra members Karla Galva, Seth Pae and Edith Yokley.
Pressed on 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl with artwork by dredske.
Es Devlin & Polyphonia
An Atlas Of Es Devlin
(The Vinyl Factory)
Artist and polymath Es Devlin’s genre-defying practice encompasses art, activism, theatre, poetry, music, dance, opera and sculpture. This vinyl LP captures 20 of her iconic works’ soundscapes, with music produced by long-time collaborators Polyphonia, uniquely mixed with her voiceovers, including personal stories and poetry.
Pressed on 180-gram heavyweight white vinyl featuring a gatefold sleeve with a special mixed fluoro orange cover, a 4pp booklet on 150gsm silk art with graphic design by Daniel Devlin.
Gabriel Moses
Ijó
(The Vinyl Factory)
Photographer and filmmaker Gabriel Moses releases the soundtrack to his film Ijó, which premiered at 180 Studios as part of his acclaimed exhibition REGINA. Commissioned by 180 Studios, Ijó follows a group of young ballet dancers in Lagos, Nigeria, exploring common themes within Moses’ work through the intersections of art, family and culture.
An original score composed by James William Blades, Ijó features an etched GM logo, a Gabriel Moses photo print hand-tipped onto the front cover and a gold foiled gatefold sleeve. Limited edition of 300 copies, hand-signed and numbered by the artist.
Julianknxx
In Praise Of Still Boys
(The Vinyl Factory)
In February 2021, interdisciplinary artist and poet Julianknxx visited his birthplace–Freetown, Sierra Leone–for the first time since he fled with his family from the civil war at nine years old. It was this homecoming journey that crystallised the conception of his film: In Praise of Still Boys.
In Praise Of Still Boys is a re-examination of the artist’s childhood, told through the lives of young Sierra Leonean boys who live by the blue waters of the Atlantic ocean. The film is an exploration of belonging, loss, and inheritance. By critically engaging with language and history, Julianknxx enacts a process of reconciliation and healing for both himself and a collective experience.
The accompanying 12″ vinyl features compositions from the film and additional, original music from Julianknxx and a stellar cast of close collaborators including Melo-Zed, Aron Kyne, Thabo and anaiis.
Yussef Dayes & Alfa Mist
Love Is The Message (Second Edition)
(The Vinyl Factory)
Yussef Dayes collaborates with jazz producer and musician Alfa Mist, alongside Mansur Brown on guitar and Rocco Palladino on bass, the live jam session sees Dayes and Mist ripping through a fiery rendition of their track ‘Love Is The Message’ in a single take.
Recorded live at Abbey Road Studios and pressed onto 180g heavyweight black vinyl with artwork by Barka. Limited to 1000 units.
Mira Calix
Our Time
(The Vinyl Factory)
Commissioned by The Store X The Vinyl Factory for OTHER SPACES, the site-specific version of Our Time (2019) was an evolution of UVA’s 2013 installation for the Barbican, Momentum.
With music by late electronic musician Mira Calix, this atmospheric installation manipulated our experience of time, as kinetic sculptures swing in-and-out-of phase, projecting light and sound.
Our Time is pressed on one side of a 12″ heavyweight black vinyl, with an etching on the reverse and housed in a clear foiled sleeve with photography by Jack Hems.
Carsten Nicolai
Bausatz Noto Box Set
(The Vinyl Factory)
Featuring exclusive music and artwork, this very special limited edition box set was created in celebration of Carsten Nicolai’s exhibition at The Vinyl Factory space at Brewer Street Car Park, which featured unicolor (2014) and an expanded version of his audio-visual artwork, bausatz noto (1998).
The boxset includes twelve 10” individually coloured vinyl records, a 100-page hardback book with exclusive exhibition photography, and new texts by Professor Vincent Walsh, a neuroscientist at University College London, and Shihoko Iida, curator of the Sapporo International Art Festival, Japan.
Ryoji Ikeda & Christian Marclay
Live At White Cube
(The Vinyl Factory)
In a collaboration between Christian Marclay and the London Sinfonietta, some of the world’s most renowned contemporary musicians were invited to stage performances, including new compositions and live improvisation sessions, inside the White Cube. Each performance over the course of the exhibition was recorded, pressed and screen-printed live inside the gallery.
It features sleeve artwork by Christian Marclay, screen printing by Coriander Studio and is limited to 500 copies.
William Kentridge, Philip Miller & Thuthuka Sibisi
Kaboom!
(The Vinyl Factory)
The soundtrack to a three-channel film installation by William Kentridge, the music for Kaboom! was composed by Philip Miller and Thuthuka Sibisi and adapted from the South African artist’s critically acclaimed performance production The Head & the Load, which premiered at the Tate Modern in 2018 and subsequently toured the world.
With sleeve artwork by William Kentridge, the release also features two additional compositions by his longtime musical producer Philip Miller, Canon for Isaiah Shembe and Counting Numbers; comprising a trio of distinct recordings by some of South Africa’s finest musicians.
Hito Steyerl / Kojey Radical / Susumu Yokota
Power Plants
(The Vinyl Factory)
The soundtrack to the Hito Steyerl film installation, Power Plants features a new collaboration between UK star Kojey Radical and one of the world’s most influential and important visual artists and thinkers, and a beatific ambient classic by late Japanese producer Susumu Yokota.
Limited to 5o copies, hand signed and numbered by Hito Steyerl and Kojey Radical.
Arthur Jafa
A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions
(The Vinyl Factory / Serpentine Galleries)
Artist, film maker and cinematographer Arthur Jafa presented a Listening Session on 9 September 2017 with musicians Steve Coleman, Morgan Craft, Micah Gaugh, Melvin Gibbs, Kokayi Issa, Jason Moran and performance artist Okwui Okpokwasili, celebrating his exhibition ‘A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions’ at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery.
The dismembered jazz ensemble improvised simultaneously but separately at secret ‘Black Sites’ across London. The resulting music was live streamed to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, where Okwui Okpokwasili performed, devising a time-based work accompanying the discordant soundtrack. The Listening Session was recorded direct-to-disc on The Vinyl Factory Lathe, which was installed in the Gallery.
Hélène Vogelsinger
Patch Notes
(The Vinyl Factory)
FACT’s Patch Notes is a performance series that celebrates the art of making electronic music with hardware.
As part of the practice behind Hélène Vogelsinger’s modular synthesizer compositions, she explores abandoned places, connecting with their energies to create immersive moments.
For her Patch Notes performance, she serendipitously stumbled across an abandoned castle in the French countryside. Mastered by Noel Summerville, Patch Notes has artwork by Paul Pensom and Oliver McDonald Oulds and is limited to 1000 copies.
View the full VF catalogue here.
Read more: New VF release, Gimme Shelter, showcases rising Chicago talent
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