They said that triple-decker records couldn’t be done. They said that releasing songs via balloons was a bad idea. And they still say that sound waves don’t travel through space. Jack White’s Third Man Records has proved them wrong before and now they’ll attempt to do so again.
Last week, through a cryptic video released by the label (see below), we learned that White was planning something that involved vinyl, space, and Carl Sagan. Now we know that White’s mysterious endeavor is to play a phonographic record in space for the first time.
TMR, as Pitchfork reports, has built a customized “space-proof†turntable that they call the Icarus Craft. We don’t know the precise science behind it, but we do know that they’ll revisit the balloon release idea they tested back in 2012. White’s team is planning to attach the device to a high-altitude balloon. The turntable, as the aforementioned video suggested, will play a gold-plated master of Carl Sagan’s 2010 single, “A Glorious Dawn.†The release will be the three millionth record pressed by Third Man Records.
On July 30, TMR will host release events (talk about reinventing the “launch†party) in Nashville and Detroit. There will be live bands, exclusive merchandise, and limited edition gold vinyl copies of the Sagan record. Both events begin at 11 a.m. and the pre-recorded launch will be aired (and streamed online) at noon. Check out some photos of the craft and logo below:
Before the news broke, we postulated that White might be trying to update Voyager 1’s Golden Record. This balloon definitely won’t get as far as the pioneering spacecraft, but it’s still a nice homage to Carl Sagan’s efforts to take music to the stars. Check out the song below and let us know what you think of the stunt in the comments.
Images: Kris Krügl; Third Man Records
