Forget the hipster vinyl takeover, its time to get up in the loft, down to the charity shops, and dig around anywhere you might have left your old cassettes.
Elbow is a compact, clip-on concept for a modern reinterpretation of the humble cassette player – something returning to public conscience with the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy in cinemas.
Its most prominent feature is the biaxial arm: It rotates in two directions – upward motion enables the insertion of a cassette, while sideways motion allows to manually switch playing direction.
Playback is controlled by a single wheel – turning left from the initial position activates the motor and increases volume, turning in the opposite direction fast-forwards the cassette.
The device has two connections: a standard 3.5mm audio plug, and a mini-USB port for charging and transferring audio to a computer.
Also, an additional pin can be used to attach the player to clothes and other objects, turning your much loved mixtape into a unique accessory.
Designed by Andrius Žemaitis and Marius Paulikas of lithuanian audiovisual art organisation BrainMonk, the design is stripped back, minimal and makes use of modern technology to revamp a past source.
