Natascha Muhic & Christoph Freidhöfer

VINYLOGRAPH – AN AUTOMATIC VOICE RECORDER

Vinylograph is a state-ofthe-art record-cutting machine that allows you to record your voice or music onto vinyl in real-time. With a high-quality microphone and a precision cutting head, the Vinylograph captures the sound waves of your performance and etches them onto a vinyl disc. Each record produced by the Vinylograph is unique, capturing the essence and emotion of the moment.

The Vinylograph is inspired by the Voice-O-Graphs, also known as ‘Record Booths’, which were popular in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. These booths were small, coin-operated recording studios where people could record their voices onto a disc. However, the production of these booths ceased worldwide by the end of the 1960s, and they disappeared from the streets.

Vinylograph aims to revive this lost opportunity for people to publicly record their voices onto vinyl and preserve their memories for years to come. The machine was developed by Natascha Muhic and Christoph Freidhöfer, who founded Vinylograph OG in 2018. By combining the traditional charm of vinyl with cutting-edge technology, the Vinylograph is an innovative addition to the audio recording industry.

It has been showcased at renowned locations such as the Audiversum Museum in Innsbruck, Vienna Design Week, and galleries like RaumD at MQ Vienna. After a stint at the Technical Museum of Vienna, the Vinylograph has been on public display at Karlsplatz since 2024, where it first debuted during the 2022 Popfest at the Künstlerhaus.

Natascha Muhic is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Her 2016 diploma project was the Vinylograph, which she conceived and implemented in collaboration with Christoph Freidhöfer. As the operator of the music off-space SSTR6, she focuses on the duplication of sound carriers. During the Vinylograph sessions, music is performed live and cut onto vinyl in real-time, allowing artists and audiences to directly participate in the production process in an intimate setting and fostering multidisciplinary collaborations. Since 2019, she has been developing sound-image postcards. These have been released in several editions with various artists and exhibited at venues such as the Charim Gallery, Künstlerhaus, and during the Wiener Festwochen. Additionally, in 2021, Muhic directed the documentary Ein Fenster zum Fluss about the Viennese Krandaubeln and co-produced the podcast series ‘Die Beste Musik der Welt in Wien’. ‘Das erste Wiener Krandaubel Opening’ in 2023 marked another successful collaboration with
Christoph Freidhöfer.

Christoph Freidhöfer, is also a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, is a versatile artist, mechatronics engineer, and builder of objects and devices. His work includes interactive apparatuses, installations, and sound pieces. Since 2018, he has been co-operating Vinylograph OG with Natascha Muhic. In 2016, Freidhöfer completed the first Vinylograph – an interactive machine that cuts vinyl records in real-time. He is currently developing a new device specifically designed for producing small series and special editions on vinyl. In 2023, he and Natascha Muhic realised the ‘Das erste Wiener Krandaubel Opening’, a temporary art project in Vienna.