Whatever Jack White can do…

On Monday night Underworld took to the studio at London’s Abbey Road to record a re-worked version of the duo’s ’94 single ‘Cowgirl’ with Gorgon City direct to vinyl in front of a small audience. Taking advantage of the studios acclaimed direct to lacquer recording process, the masters arrived at The Vinyl Factory at 1am on Tuesday morning, with the first copies rolling off the press in pristine white vinyl at 6.15am. Less than twelve hours after the track was recorded, test pressings were on their way to Underworld HQ in a blur of white wax, landing on their turntables in record time.

Well at least that’s what we’re going to claim. Jack White may have anointed himself the king of the lightning turnaround, recording, mastering and pressing a 7″ of ‘Lazaretto’ in just four hours for Record Store Day this year, but to our knowledge this is the first time a record has been produced with similar speed in the UK, not to mention the fact that it’s almost certainly the world record for coloured vinyl. See the finished item as posted on Underworld’s Twitter feed below:

Marking the launch of the Black Label Project which will see a series of collaborations between the UK’s most established acts and its strongest emerging talent, the record has been pressed in limited quantities to be distributed to those in the audience as well as a selection of lucky fans.

The sense of occasion was not lost on Underworld, who said: “The opportunity to make a recording live to vinyl is a unique one and it was exciting do it in front of an audience in the hallowed halls of Studio 1.”

Ever wondered what happens inside Abbey Road the rest of the time? Watch our video inside the mastering studio here.