Mr Krum & His Wonderful World Of Bizarre: Intersound Studios

Just recently picked up this lovely little item from my local dealer (for £1.50) and I don't think I've ever come across more elaborate or beautifully designed packaging for a 7" single. What's more, it's a promo only item which would have been distributed (I'm guessing in the late '60s / early '70s - there's no date listed) for free!!! The said record is a demonstration disc for Intersound Recording Studios in London who certainly went to town with the presentation in an all out effort to impress potential clients...

Firstly, it's housed in a heavy weight PVC outer sleeve which is screen printed on one side and lines up with one of two inlays. The first inlay is a single card sheet printed on both sides with a map of the Studio location, and on the flip a lovely 'in-house' fish-eye shot of recording musicians. It's the second inlay that lines up with the outer sleeve though and this is where the intricate part of the packaging really comes into play. Once removed from the PVC, the octagonal card sheet reveals itself to fold out eight ways into what could be described as a 'press-sheet' with further studio photos and a brief history of the company held within...

Describing it, even with the accompanying scans below, doesn't really do this package justice. It's the sort of thing you really need to physically interact with to appreciate the over all design and quality of execution.

Once you've folded out the inner packaging you come to the actual vinyl which also features some lovely artwork with the bold black and yellow print on the labels complementing the vibrant magenta of the sleeve perfectly.

So is the record any good? Well, there's nothing on here that's overly exciting but there is a couple of cool loops and the odd bit of samplable dialogue. The music featured is by Maynard Ferguson, Arrival, Harry Rabinowitz, Judith Durham and a Latin group I can't catch the name of (if anyone knows it please let me know). The Harry Rabinowitz tune is 'Bach To Bossa' and I could imagine Young Einstein doing things with this. The Latin track's my favourite with an intro that's gotta be hooked up. I have no idea if these tracks were made exclusively for this demo or if they were commercially released and just recorded at Intersound. The running commentary reports the Judith Durham track was recorded for a 'TV special' so who knows? I've recorded both sides in full so you can check them below...

Enjoy...