Monday, March 14, 2011

Push the Button

.
Playbutton is a self-contained, rechargeable device that holds music or other pre-recorded sounds inside a wearable button. There's a headphone jack at the bottom, and sound control buttons on the back. The recording is unalterable, which is an aspect of it I like, as it forces you to deliberately choose an album to listen to, not unlike putting on a record and playing the whole thing.

Wind's Poem by Mount Eerie is an album that lends itself particularly well to that kind of listening; I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the Playbutton version (above) from my friend Chad and I have to say that the sound quality and packaging – including copper foil, as on the original LP – are top notch. Two other Playbuttons are currently available, one from Bubbles and a 10-song compilation from Opening Ceremony (below) featuring Girls, Björk, How To Dress Well, Matthew Dear, Coconut Records and others. Proceeds from that one go to Musicians On Call, a non-profit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of hospital patients.

Playbuttons are forthcoming from The XX, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Javelin, Mark Borthwick, and more. Visit Opening Ceremony to purchase for $25 each.