Experience the unique charm of our audio postcards, a delightful blend of vintage nostalgia and modern communication technology. Audio postcards are personalized postcards with an audio track, perfect for artistic projects, greetings, or as gifts. Our audio postcards are handcrafted using the Vinylograph.
In an ongoing audio postcard series, Katharina Maria Trenk talks about the culture surrounding the Viennese Beisl, or traditional pub, using the example of the dive bar “Schmauswaberl”
Greetings from the Past
Introduced in the early 20th century, audio postcards were a combination of shellac records and conventional postcards. They could be used to record music, written on, and sent through the mail like any other postcard. Known as the “Talking Postcard” in the USA or “Postale Parlante” in Italy, their popularity around the world grew quickly. Our audio postcards are rectangular picture discs in A5 or A6 format with a polycarbonate coating, sound grooves, and a centered hole that can be played on any standard record player. All of our audio postcards are meticulously handcrafted, individually designed, and produced in limited quantities using the Vinylograph.
Audio Postcard Editions
Der Konterfei “ONE” Box Set
The first audio postcard edition, a collaboration with artist Robert Jelinek titled ONE, was released in June 2019. Students from various universities asked public figures one specific question. Their recorded responses were cut onto audio postcards and released by Jelinek’s publishing house, Der Konterfei. The project was presented at the LAX Bar in Vienna, formerly the record store “Schallplatten Brigitte,” during the Vienna Festival Weeks.
Audio Postcard Box Set
Another audio postcard series from 2020 features contributions from around 35 artists. For the postcards, each artist provided an audio file of up to four minutes in length, accompanied by an artistic illustration. The series was first presented at Charim Galerie in Vienna’s city center and has been showcased in several exhibitions since.
Audio Postcards Edition Hamburg
As part of the 2021 Art-Off Hamburg, a further series of audio postcards was created in collaboration with twelve Hamburg artists. The series was first presented at Galerie 21 in Vorwerkstift Hamburg.
Blue Danube Interpretations
In 2022, a series of audio postcards was created for the project Vienna Krandaubeln, portraying all of the existing Daubeln – floating fishing huts unique to Vienna. Artists were invited to reinterpret Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube for the soundtrack. The series was exhibited in 2022 at the Künstlerhaus and presented live during the First Vienna Krandaubel Opening in 2023.
Vienna Audio Postcards
Another ongoing series in the classic A6 postcard format explores and portrays hidden Vienna landmarks quite unlike the typical subjects. Two cards from this series have been released so far. In Schmauswaberl, Katharina Maria Trenk discusses the culture surrounding the Viennese Beisl, or traditional pub, using the example of the eponymous dive bar. In Vienna Krandaubeln, Nikolaus Eckhard talks about Vienna’s unique floating fishing huts.
CREATE YOUR OWN SOUND-IMAGE POSTCARD
Do you have an idea for a audio postcard or even a whole series you would like to realize using the Vinylograph? Contact us to discuss your vision and how we can make it happen. Let’s bring music and art together to create a unique vinyl recording.
