Brian Eno and Karl Hyde have released an old school record that is more than meets the eye.
When it comes to vinyl records, there is a powerful and ongoing debate about whether analog or digital is superior, but through the use of augmented reality, a recent project has brought the two together in a unique and highly fascinating way.
The new album release, Someday World, by Brian Eno and Karl Hyde has used AR tech on vinyl.
The augmented reality element to this new album release was meant to add an entirely new form of digital experience to music that was released in a more traditional format. The concept, itself, was created by Lukasz Karluk, a designer. It’s a beautiful and basic one as it simply uses a free AR app in order to be able to view dazzling geometric shapes and city scapes in iridescent colors on the vinyl record, itself, as it spins and plays.
The album itself uses the augmented reality as a type of visual experience to complement the music.
The mobile app is named “Eno • Hyde”. Upon first release, it is available only for iOS device users. However, even listeners who don’t have an iPhone or an iPad will be able to experience enhancements through the album. The app can still be installed, even if the AR components don’t work on devices that aren’t iOS based. Other devices can use the application for an interaction with the app’s own website. Though the experience isn’t exactly the same, it does offer somewhat of a hint at the complete workings of the vinyl AR.
There is no question that this entire concept is simply a gimmick, but at the same time, the imagery that can be viewed while watching the vinyl album spin through the use of the AR app is quite beautiful. It also helps to show that digital and analog media aren’t always necessarily in competition with one another but can actually be used together for an impressive result.
The augmented reality app and the album are already both available. The application is free to download and the album is being sold on Amazon and on its official website.
