Minimalist Audio Device Plays Both Formats
Designer Love Hultén has launched a wooden music cabinet that plays both vinyl records and cassette tapes vertically in a single device. The piece combines analog audio formats with clean lines and warm wood aesthetics, appealing to both audiophiles and design purists. A separate "CUBES" photo series explores spatial design through 27 meticulously hand-built miniature interiors, each investigating different approaches to minimalist living.
- The vertical music cabinet is a custom commission for a client who asked designer Love Hultén for his interpretation of the Rosita Commander Luxus from 1970. The original German-made Rosita was a large piece of furniture that combined a record player, radio, and speakers. - Hultén's work is known for fusing artisan knowledge with 21st-century technology, creating playful and mysterious items that are a statement against a world of "throw away excess." He produces, polishes, and assembles everything in his small-scale workshop in Gothenburg, Sweden. - This specific cabinet features a hidden lift system on top that opens to a secret storage compartment for 10 to 12 vinyl records. - Seb Agnew's "CUBES" photo series is a long-term project developed between 2018 and 2025, comprising 27 meticulously hand-built miniature interior models. The creation of each image involves traditional model-making, laser cutting, and 3D printing, after which the sets are carefully lit and photographed. - The series is structured in three chapters: "CUBES I" explores themes of privacy and confinement in domestic interiors. "CUBES II" reinterprets architectural styles from different historical periods, including Classical, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque, with visible cracks in the structures to indicate fragility. "CUBES III" places the rooms within a fictional rotating space station, exploring technological and artificial environments. - The creation of such dual-format audio players aligns with current market trends, which show a significant resurgence in physical music sales. In 2024, vinyl sales saw their 17th consecutive year of growth, while cassette tape sales in the first quarter of 2025 were up 204.7%. - The global vinyl records market was valued at $2.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach nearly $3.61 billion by 2032, fueled by both older generations and younger consumers, particularly Gen Z.
