Design
Brian Eno’s trippy color-changing turntable sold out fast
Only 50 limited edition turntables were made — signed and numbered by the godfather of ambient music himself.
A limited run of color-changing turntables from the godfather of ambient music himself, Brian Eno, has already sold out.
Eno collaborated again with the Paul Stolper Gallery in London, this time releasing 50 turntables whose plinth and platter morph into different colors and add a psychedelically visual layer of listening to music. Like the music he pioneered, the turntables create the perfect vibe for a meditative or contemplative atmosphere.
“The light from it was tangible as if caught in a cloud of vapor,” Eno said about the turntable. “We sat watching for ages, transfixed by this totally new experience of light as a physical presence.”
The limited edition turntables are made of acrylic and programmable RGB LED lights, built with a 9V low-noise motor and an 18mm frosted platter, and come in at 110mm tall. Each turntable also features an edition number and Eno’s signature on the back right-hand side.
By inquiry only — Eno’s latest artwork was sold by inquiry through the Paul Stolper Gallery, meaning there was probably a steep price tag attached to these trance-inducing turntables. With no disclosed price, these turntables probably make for more of a fancy art piece in your living room than an actual record player, especially if you have the money to spare for that sort of thing. For reference, another one of Eno’s artworks that saw a limited run of 50 currently comes in at 1,440 euros.
The turntables, while probably expensive, feel like the perfect medium to experience Eno’s music. A self-described “non-musician,” Eno was popularized as a pioneer who coined the term “ambient music.” His unique take on music challenged the conventional ways people experienced music with tracks meant to create or capture an ambiance. Eno even described his four-album Ambient series “as ignorable as it is interesting.”
His groundbreaking work in ambient music was followed by collaborations with some major musical artists like David Bowie, Talking Heads and Devo in the 1980s. Since then, he’s also worked with modern artists like U2 and Coldplay, and scored music for movies and TV series.
Combining music and art — Outside his music, Eno has also been doing visual art since the late 1970s. He’s had several exhibitions with the Paul Stolper Gallery, including his “Light Music” installation in 2016 that also combined light boxes and music.
It’s too late to snag one of Eno’s dreamlike turntables, but his artwork over the years has featured a lot of light boxes and complementing music. So while the color-changing turntables are sold out, there still might be another chance to see his work in person or buy one of his future art pieces if you have money to burn like that.
