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Music

DIY Analog Vinyl Sampling Using A Lazer Cutter

Vinyl + lazer cutter = interesting sampling experiment.

Designer and generative photographer Ishac Bertran‘s latest project is taking sampling in bold, painstaking new directions. With a nod to the analog days of yore, when sampling music meant having to physically cut and paste audio tape together, Bertran’s decided to transfer that technique to an even older music technology: vinyl records. How? Well, by quite simply cutting pieces out and refitting them into different records. Nothing to it. And after some trial and error (and burnt vinyl), he found the best technique for doing this was with a lazer cutter.

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Sure, it’s a meitculous task and you’re going to injure some vinyl on the way, not to mention, the resulting loops aren’t perfect, but it’s a great experiment that’ll get you away from the computer for a bit. Should you require more info there’s a much more detailed explanation of the process over on Bertran’s blog. And if this method of fragmenting and reforming records seems uncannily familiar, artist Christian Marclay has been using a similar technique since the 1980s to create his hybrid turntablism—see more on him in the mini documentary below.

[via Creative Applications]