Single-tone 'WOW' record takes minimalism to a new plateau
Minimalists. There are people that spend their weekends flipping through sparsely-decorated images in design magazines, and then there are the true believers — people like artist and musician Carl Schilde. He calls his latest project, WOW, "the most minimal record ever made," a claim that certainly rings true to us. The vinyl LP contains just a single, ultra-low frequency tone sitting barely within the lower limit of human hearing — a sound said to be "more felt than heard."

Because the tone depends on the characteristics of the sound system on which it’s played, you can throw it on multiple record players in the same room and listen as the sound waves move in and out of sync (diagram above), producing a "rhythmic modulation… ranging from complete silence to twice the volume of the original sound." If you want to experience the sensations for yourself, Heavy Listening will be hosting an event on February 29th in Berlin. Of course, if you can’t make it, you can always buy individual copies of the record for €33.33, or go all the way and pick up the original silver master (cleverly named "MOM") for €33,333.33, after which no more copies of WOW can or will be made.

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