Fancy a new turntable, something a little less obvious? Why not splurge a cool £20k on a player designed by Brian Eno? The Turntable II comprises a platter and base, which change colours independently, seamlessly phasing through combinations of generative ‘colourscapes’. The pattern of lights, the speed at which they change, and how they change are programmed, but they are programmed to change randomly and slowly.
"When it doesn’t have to do anything in particular, like play a record, it is a sculpture" Brian Eno 2024
"Since my first experiments with light and sound in the late 1960s, I’ve never ceased to be fascinated by the amazingly intricate, complex and unpredictable results produced by simple deterministic systems. Out of simplicity, complexity arises. That is, for me, the most incredible idea of evolution theory and of cybernetics.
"John Cage once said: 'The function of Art is to imitate Nature in her manner of operation', and that has been an objective for me throughout my working life.
"I use the same sorts of generative processes in music as in painting, based on overlapping unsynchronised cycles. Several overlapping light cycles will keep producing different colour balances and blends - and different shadow formations that slowly evolve and never exactly repeat. The process is simple. The results are complex.
"I started using light and video because I wanted to make visual experiences that had some of the qualities of musical experiences - that’s to say, that existed and changed in time. I wanted to make very slowly changing paintings, to blur the edges that separate those different forms." Brian Eno 2018
So what do you get for your money? A white 8.6” Pro-Ject aluminium tonearm, Ortofon white 2M cartridge, precision cast acrylic platter, high-precision stainless steel bearing block, belt drive 15v motor with two speeds, 33 and 45rpm, electronic speed switch, 15v DC power supply, control board with 5V adapter and Arduino, addressable RGB LEDs, medium density resin one-piece precision body, frosted cast acrylic body cover, and gold-plated RCA connectors.
It would be interesting to hear how it sounds, but I guess its main function is to be a work of art.