A crowdfunded project to transform Junji Ito's unsettling short story, "In Old Records," into a vinyl audio drama has achieved remarkable financial backing, surpassing its initial goal through Kickstarter. The project, titled "Old Records," is an adaptation of a tale originally published in 1997 within the collection House of the Marionettes. Grammy-nominated musician Poppy lends her voice to the English narration, portraying the protagonist Nakayama, a character consumed by an obsession with a mysterious, cursed record.
The "Old Records" audio drama is not merely a digital release; it is being pressed onto an actual vinyl record, mirroring the narrative's core concept of a melody that drives listeners to madness. This physical manifestation includes a record jacket and packaging designed by Poppy herself, featuring a particularly striking detail: Junji Ito's actual bloody handprint incorporated into the artwork, directly referencing the macabre nature of the source material.
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Audio Adaptation on Wax
The project, spearheaded by Zero Zero Enterprises, transforms Ito's 1997 story into an "immersive listening experience." The adaptation is penned by Ryan Cady, known for his work on comic series such as Warframe and Old Man Logan Annual. The narrative centers on an unmarked vinyl record containing a melody from a deceased singer, a tune that portends a descent into insanity for those who hear it. The audio drama's existence on vinyl amplifies this thematic dread, inviting listeners to directly engage with the cursed object.
Poppy voices the English version of Nakayama, who becomes increasingly fixated on the enigmatic record. Alongside her, musician Shoko Nakagawa handles the Japanese narration. The Kickstarter campaign also offered an add-on: a vinyl single titled "The Last Song of Paula Bell," described as a potential risk for those who dare to play it.
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Origins and Publication
Junji Ito's "In Old Records" originally appeared as the fourth chapter of House of the Marionettes, which was the tenth volume in his Horror World of Junji Ito series in Japan. In 2017, the story was published in English by Viz Media as part of the collection Shiver: Junji Ito Collected Stories, under the alternate title "Used Record." At the time of the project's launch, the story was available for free reading on the Viz website. The choice to adapt this specific tale, which warns against playing a cursed melody, into a playable vinyl record highlights a meta-textual engagement with the medium of horror itself.
