Nik Colk Void - "Gold E"
We’ve had the opportunity to speak at length with Nik Colk Void on a couple occasions, and have documented one of those rewarding exchanges here in the Weirdoverse. One half of Factory Floor and one third of Carter Tutti Void (alongside Cosey Fanni Tutti and Chris Carter of pioneering experimental projects Chris & Cosey and Throbbing Gristle), Nik Colk Void’s work is of particular interest to us here at WMF, and her brilliant single “Gold E” (released via O Genesis on Record Store Day 2012) is no exception. A fine example of the genre-bending and media-mixing that endears Nik and her work to us, it has long been a source of inspiration and contemplation for us.
Only three hundred copies of this hand-made gem were shared with the world, and lucky purchasers of the single received both the vinyl 7-inch and playable polyurethane plastic cast "sleeve". The result of the unconventional material is a record that changes over time as it deteriorates. Understandably curious about the background to the music and its associated materials, we asked Nik for a glimpse into the process, and she graciously shared the following with us:
"I ordered a test pressing, then made a rubber mold from this, then pressed up a further five hundred seven inches, so somewhere I’ve got two hundred of those. I managed to do three hundred sleeves, and I have to admit that after about the hundredth time doing it, I was getting dizzy, headaches, and was throwing up, so Tim [Burgess] helped me do some.
That was when I was living in the warehouse in Seven Sisters. We had these big metal steps with platform space that went up to the front door because it was above a fabric factory. I was out there on the metal steps where I could cast the records and make a mess in the fresh air of North London (ha!). So I started off thinking I would do five hundred but limited myself to three hundred. The conditions just got crazy.
At the time I was working as an assistant for artist Gary Hume. I was working in a railway arch studio in London Fields, making his sculpture requests, which function-wise couldn’t really evolve – so there was endless experimentation going on. I was using this polyurethane plastic resin with plasters and things like that. Later, when I was got back into making music after giving it up for a few years, I referred back to that work and noticed that some of those experiments had changed color and shape.
I’d be intrigued to see if anyone still has the [“Gold E”] records and whether they have changed the sound. I also did a couple editions using bronze filler, which made them really heavy. But was a bit too expensive to do three hundred of those.”
Weirdo Music Forever's copy of Nik Colk Void's Gold E
Fortunately, we do have a physical copy of both the “Gold E” vinyl disc and playable sleeve, and look forward to periodically revisiting them in the years to come.
Hear and purchase Factory Floor music here.
