Korea has been know for excellent electronics for decades. But Hayarobi, a LEGO lover and member of the Korean LEGO-enthusiast club Brickinside, has taken things a brick too far — in a good way — creating a functional record player made almost entirely from the plastic blocks of our youth.
According to culture website Huh., Hayrobi’s creation “The Planet” consists of over 2400 LEGO pieces and just one non-LEGO component: an Audio Technica phono cartridge. The record player is powered by a LEGO Power Functions Battery Box and a Lego Power Functions M-Motor. Otherwise, it’s made out of commonly found LEGO blocks from various sets. It has the ability to play at both 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm, so it will even play those old 7-inches from your parents’ generation.
Sure, it looks a little wobbly in action, but we’re guessing this is more of an art piece than a daily spinner. And the fact that it spins at all is impressive in itself. The jagged wonder premiered at the Seoul Bricks Pop-Art Competition in 2014 alongside another of Hayrobi’s LEGO-built audio components: the beautiful tube amp and speaker cases pictured alongside The Planet.
The futuristic record player is certainly more creative than that old one in your house. In addition to the sci-fi turntable platter’s four plastic “satellites,” it features a tonearm with LEGO tires used as counterweights, and a 4-turret design that almost recalls something from the intro of Game of Thrones.
Hayarobi has not made very much information on himself public, but we assume from his record collection in videos that he’s a bit of a vinyl nut. As we reported earlier this year, vinyl record sales have had an unprecedented resurgence to the tune of nine million records, so there’s no better time to start experimenting with turntables of all shapes and sizes. Especially for those creative enough to craft something as impressive as the pieces pictured above.
While the LEGO record player certainly won’t be for sale anytime soon, it may spark some innovative ideas for those LEGOs in your basement. We also imagine that other LEGO enthusiasts — and there are more than 40,000 adult LEGO enthusiasts globally (according to Commercial Appeal) — may get some creative ideas from this unique device. More of Hayarobi’s LEGO creations can be found on Brickinside, though good luck navigating the site if your not a native speaker.
For now, it’s enough to simply stare in awe at this brick-cobbled masterpiece of sound.
