The Crank by Michael Ridge

A one-off electrically-recorded two minute brown wax cylinder (160 RPM) released on Quagga Curious Sounds.

The project is named after a contraption utilised as a form of hard labour in 19th century prisons. It most commonly features a large drum containing four paddles connected to a handle that an inmate would have to turn thousands of times a day. Its only purpose was to exhaust and punish.

This field recording was captured in the dungeons of Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery using a Zoom H4n. The acoustic phonograph version is the cylinder being played on an original 1899 Edison wax cylinder phonograph, the original field recording is also included for download.

Tracklist