The story of The Vinyl Factory label in 100 records.As part of the ongoing The Vinyl Factory: Reverb exhibition at 180 Studios, 100 records have been showcased within an industrial installation designed by Ben Kelly (The Hacienda, Factory Records).The extensive collection, released between 2009 and 2024, is an artwork-led glimpse into fifteen years of vinyl releases from The Vinyl Factory's label–a platform that represents the symbiotic relationship between art and sound.Boasting releases across the spectrum from artists and musicians including Grace Jones, Christian Marclay, Arthur Jafa, Daft Punk, Nan Goldin, Massive Attack, Mica Levi, The xx, Fred Again and many, many more, The Vinyl Factory back catalogue is testimony to vinyl as an artistic medium–a format that facilitates experimentation and collaboration.In light of the 100 Records installation, VF takes a look at the first 50 records, the stories and artists behind them and the format explorations within.

Massive Attack vs. Burial

Paradise Circus

One of many collaborations between The Vinyl Factory and Massive Attack, this 2011 release comprised two remixes of the band’s then-current songs by Burial: "Four Walls" and "Paradise Circus". A limited edition of 1000 copies, with screen-printed gold glitter artwork by Robert del Naja, the release sold out within hours and has subsequently become one of the most sought-after vinyl records of the past 20 years, regularly trading hands for hundreds of pounds on the secondary market.

Massive Attack

Splitting The Atom

Released in 2009, the first of a series of collaborations between Massive Attack and The Vinyl Factory, this four-track EP–titled Splitting the Atom–consisted of the title track, plus another, "Pray for Rain", by the Bristol-based collective. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide, individually numbered and pressed on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl on the EMI 1400, the record is housed in a bronze-foiled and printed sleeve, with artwork by Robert del Naja.

Jamie Hewlett

Monkey

The Vinyl Factory label’s second release was a collaboration with Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett to release their 2008 multimedia theatrical and musical project Monkey: Journey to the West. VF produced two vinyl box sets, including an edition of 2000 copies which contained a set of four exclusive Jamie Hewlett giclee prints, a hardback art book and two 200-gram vinyl records pressed on the EMI 1400 featuring exclusive bonus tracks, housed in a black cloth-bound box foiled on the cover and spine. The first 500 fans also received a custom-made special limited edition Monkey Om Box, with tones composed by Damon Albarn.

Die Verboten

Live in Evissa

Die Verboten is a Belgian krautrock-influenced band formed by David and Stephen Dewaele of Soulwax that also includes English-born electronic artist Riton and the artist and designer Fergadelic. In 2009, The Vinyl Factory released their debut, this five-track EP called Live in Eivissa, so-named because the recordings were made in a temporary recording studio in Ibiza. Pressed as a limited edition of just 300 copies, on a 200-gram super-heavyweight vinyl housed in a custom-made pop-up sleeve that can be assembled into a pyramid, reflecting the designer Fergadelic’s interest in both cosmic new age music and iconic 1970s sleeve design.

Pet Shop Boys

Yes

The third release on The Vinyl Factory label was a very special box set by Pet Shop Boys of their album Yes, created in collaboration with their long-time designer Mark Farrow. A limited edition of 300, the smoked Perspex outer PVC box with magnetic fastening housed 11 single Pantone colour printed sleeves with A-side tracks and B-side instrumentals from the LP, with a 12th sleeve containing a signed, numbered Giclée print and insert featuring a colour key and credits. The edition sold out within a day and was voted the most collectable vinyl item ever by Record Collector.

The xx

The xx

In January 2010, The Vinyl Factory teamed up The xx and their label Young Turks to stage A Sculpture of the Album, an audio-visual collaboration with video director Saam Farahmand at The Vinyl Factory Space in Soho to celebrate the band’s debut album. The sculpture utilised film, light and sound via three specially created audio-visual units programmed so every visitor had a unique experience. The Vinyl Factory released this special version of the album in tandem, limited to 500 copies, each containing the LP plus an exclusive pressing of a remix by Matthew Dear and an art print signed by the band.

Michael Nyman

Cine Opera

One of Britain’s most successful film composers, perhaps best known for his score to Jane Campion’s The Piano, Michael Nyman collaborated with The Vinyl Factory in 2010 to release Cine Opera, a double vinyl album pressing of his 1989 work La Traversée de Paris. Originally commissioned to mark France’s bi-centennial celebrations, this limited edition of 500 hand-signed copies, featured three exclusive bonus tracks, a cover photograph taken by Nyman in his home of Mexico City, printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, and liner notes written by the artist.

Grace Jones

Hurricane

In 2010, The Vinyl Factory staged an immersive exhibition at the VF Space in Poland Street, Soho, London that showcased a remarkable creative collaboration between Grace Jones and the light artist Chris Levine. Limited to 500 copies, this special vinyl edition of Jones’ album Hurricane was released by VF in tandem, featuring screen-printed cover artwork of the iconic Jamaican singer by Levine. Pressed on two 180-gram heavyweight records, each edition also included a fine art portrait print of the singer, hand-signed and numbered by both Jones and Levine.

Roxy Music

Love is the Drug remix

In 2012, ahead of their 30th anniversary, legendary art-rock icons Roxy Music released this 12” with The Vinyl Factory, featuring contemporary club remixes of two of their classic songs: a Todd Terje remix of the band’s 1975 hit "Love is the Drug" on side A and a remix by Lindstrom and Prins Thomas of "Avalon" on side B. The release followed on from a series of collaborations between The Vinyl Factory and Bryan Ferry in 2011, including the singer’s album Olympia.

UNKLE

Heretics' Gate

In 2010, artist Doug Foster staged The Heretics’ Gate in a church in Camden, London, a large-scale digital audio-visual installation inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Inferno comprised of a single-channel video reflected infinitely in a pool of water below. The accompanying soundtrack, created by James Lavelle of UNKLE, was released by The Vinyl Factory as this limited edition of 100 copies. Featuring sleeve artwork by Foster, screen printed with diamond dust, each copy was hand-signed and numbered by both artists.

Florence

Shake it Out

Released in 2011, with cover photography by Karl Lagerfeld, this vinyl pressing of Florence Welch’s hit single "Shake It Out" was pressed on 180-gram heavyweight white vinyl and included a remix of the original by The Weeknd. Released by The Vinyl Factory, it was the first of four such singles by Florence released on the label, each limited to 500 copies, with screen-printed cover artwork and bespoke silver inner sleeves.

Jeremy Deller

Folsom City Blues

Jeremy Deller’s first release with the Vinyl Factory featured a live recording performed by Chuck, a singer and musician who often plays along the South Bank. Deller heard him playing and liked his take on classic songs, compounding his ongoing interest in cover versions “that surprise you, and that add to songs we already know”. Deller invited Chuck to a recording studio in West London, where they recorded two tracks live, direct-to-disc. Chuck recorded two cover versions, one of Johnny Cash’s "Folsom Prison Blues" and one of "Island in the Sun", by Harry Belafonte. Released in 2012 as a hand-signed edition of 100 copies to coincide with Deller’s major retrospective, Joy in People, at the Hayward Gallery.

Robin Rhode

Variants

Robin Rhode, a South African artist based in Berlin, collaborated with The Vinyl Factory to release the six soundtracks for his video work Variants in 2012. The music, produced by Rhode and arranged by Arenor Anuku, accompanied five animations by the artist that take the chair designs of Dutch furniture designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld as a starting point. A member of the De Stijl movement, Rietveld aspired to bring high design to the masses. Limited to 100 copies, each record sleeve was hand-stencilled by Rhode in his Berlin studio.

Gavin Turk

4 Minute Mile

This collaboration between artist Gavin Turk and designer Hussein Chalayan, titled 4 Minute Mile, was released by The Vinyl Factory in 2012 in celebration of an exhibition at the V&A called Britain Creates 2012: Fashion & Art Collusion, which documented collaborations between fashion designers and visual artists. Limited to 100 copies, each hand-signed by Turk and Chalayan, the release featured music by Turk and a conversation between the two about their interest in the mythical status and identity of artists, authorship, and authenticity.

Anna Meredith

Black Prince Fury

Long before classically-trained musician Anna Meredith was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, her beguiling electronic music and captivating soundscapes were released by The Vinyl Factory on the Black Prince Fury EP, released in 2012. Pressed on 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl, the EP contained four tracks spanning 18 minutes of original compositions, including the ever-popular "Nautilus", voted by Pitchfork as one of their tracks of the year.

Martin Creed

Chicago

Turner Prize-winning artist and musician Martin Creed released several records with The Vinyl Factory, including this four-track EP titled Chicago in 2012. Featuring songs by Creed and his band, this limited edition of 200 copies featured hand-painted cover artwork in watercolour by Creed, and hand-written label artwork, with each copy signed and numbered by the artist. Created in collaboration with MCA Chicago, Creed also gave the release its own distinct artwork title, Work No. 1370.

Tim and Sue

Nihilistic Optimistic

In 2012, British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster partnered with The Vinyl Factory and acclaimed punk photographer Dennis Morris to stage an exhibition of original photography called Nihilistic Optimistic, made up of 11 iconic portrait photographs of the artists taken by Morris. As well as his celebrated work with the Sex Pistols and Bob Marley, Morris was instrumental in creating the seminal sleeves, logo and metal box for John Lydon’s band PiL. This vinyl edition consisted of a spoken word performance by the artist, recorded live and pressed on double 12” vinyl with accompanying sleeve artwork by Morris.

Kaytranada

Free Things in Life

Haitian-Canadian producer, rapper and DJ Kaytranada may now be a universally-loved Grammy-winning star of contemporary underground music, but he was little known back in 2014, when The Vinyl Factory released this 12” dancefloor-orientated vinyl single, "Free Things in Life". The release was one of several on a sub-label called Bromance, created by The Vinyl Factory in collaboration with the French producer Brodinski to release music by his network of collaborators and friends. Pressed on heavyweight vinyl and limited to 500 copies, this release featured comic-book style artwork by Benjamin Marra.

Dinos Chapman

Luftbobler

In 2013 The Vinyl Factory produced and released Luftbobler, the debut album by British artist Dinos Chapman. Named after a Norwegian chocolate bar and consisting of 13 tracks of experimental electronic music created by Chapman in his basement studio late at night over 10 years prior, the album was widely well-received by critics. The album was released on multiple formats by VF, including this limited edition of 300 copies which included an original etching by Chapman hand-tipped onto the front of each of the bespoke hardback gatefold covers. Following a successful launch at The Vinyl Factory space in Soho, VF and Chapman created a live audio-visual show which toured around the world, debuting at festivals including Sonar, Mutek and Glastonbury. (more…)