Trevor Jackson – Format

On 26 February 2015, Trevor Jackson released ‘Format’ his first album in 14 years, initially released as a unique limited edition consisting of 12 different musical formats each containing a separate track. a collected vinyl edition and digital versions followed shortly after, all via the Vinyl Factory.

Format was no ordinary album release – instead it charted the legacy of the physical music format, in a characteristically beautiful and uncompromising way, paying homage to physically released formats over the decades and also celebrating the artistry, design and individual experience of playing music via traditional methods.

An accompanying exhibition took place at the Vinyl Factory in soho, offering people the first chance to listen to the album in full, see and purchase the limited edition formats and also experience a new audio-visual artwork by Jackson.For the limited-edition release each of the 12 tracks were presented on a different format designed by jackson including 12″, 10” and 7” vinyl, cd, mini cd, cassette, usb, vhs, mini disc, dat, 8-track and reel-to-reel. All available individually except the reel-to-reel only available in a special boxed edition of the entire set.

Said Jackson: “every copy of a physical recording is different, a real object that has its own little story – a one of a kind, personalised by the effort you put in to purchase it, each time you touch it, and the unique ritual that goes along with playing it. I want the people who purchase these items to feel special; they’ll be the only ones who possess these tracks in any form at that time. ”this music is the result oF many years of experimentation & evolution, created by physical machines, fed through objects with personality steeped in history. the fact culturally everything’s become so convenient and easily accessible whilst in the process totally disposable is an important subject i needed to address with this project.
_