The Octopus Project Release ‘Hexadecagon’ as a Double-ish Album

Vinyl’s been back in style for a while and people have already gotten bored with it. Not bored enough to abandon the format again, thankfully, but enough to try to update the technology in a race to follow some analog subset of Moore’s Law. First there was Jack White’s Triple Decker Record, now The Octopus Project, with their preternaturally conceptualized double album, Hexadecagon, have their own innovation to share. Though on two slabs of vinyl, Hexadecagon will only occupy three sides. The fourth side will contain exclusive tracks in an arrangement described as “roulette grooves,” meaning you never know what track will play when you put the needle down.

On top of this, the band is including a DIY Zoetrope you can lay over the record while playing, and each song will produce it’s very own stop-motion animated sequence. Does this album even have to be good for you to enjoy it? Regardless, even if these features are just gimmicks, they’re pretty damn cool gimmicks. If your confounded as to the mechanics of a Zoetrope, The Octopus Project have included a wonderful instructional video so you can make your own.

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