BODY 115

We are returning epic poetry to the fluent grooves of the vinyl format creating a full length audio recording of ‘Body 115’ with soundscape designed by award-winning composer Jack Arnold.

We will be releasing ‘Body 115’ as an audio work on digital and vinyl formats in 2025 and we’re raising funds to make that happen. First recording sessions took place in the summer and autumn of ’24 using Conny Plank’s legendary mixing desk ‘The Plank’

What is ‘The Plank’?

‘The Plank’ is a 56 channel, analogue recording desk designed and hand built in 1970 by infamous Krautrock producer Konrad “Conny” Plank with Peter Lang and Michael Zahl. Laminated in wood from a tree felled in Plank’s garden, its construction was a labour of love, even its lettering delicately hand transferred in Letraset.

But it’s just a mixing desk right?

Well, yes but it’s been used to make legendary albums such as ‘Autobahn’ by Kraftwerk, ‘Vienna’ by Ultravox, ‘Before and After Science’ by Brian Eno and ‘In the Garden’ by Eurythmics. Bowie and Eno also used it to produce Devo’s first album in 1978.

How come it’s in London?

Originally situated at Plank’s studio in Cologne the console was moved to Studio 7 in North London in 2015 where it’s been used to record and mix more recent albums including ‘Why Make Sense’ by Hot Chip and ‘Right Thought, Right Words, Right Action’ by Franz Ferdinand.

Nice, but what’s all that got to do with ‘Body 115’?

Well, we think there’s poetry in that desk. And we think that poetry is something that is made, crafted, engineered not simply written down. ‘Body 115’ is an epic poem, a mix of history and fiction, of journeys and circuits, of connections and intersections, of voices channeled and imagined, of old ghost invoked. And woven through it all a haunting soundscape, assembled with the same meticulous detail found in the equipment we’ve used to produce it.

So a poem recorded on vintage gear?

Yes. But we’d like your help to free it from the machine, to turn this work into a vinyl LP.

OK, so what can I do to make that happen?

A very good question. ‘Body 115’ by Jan Noble & Jack Arnold will officially be released late in 2025 but early-bird donations will ensure YOU get to hear it first AND get your name on a recording steeped in history. You can help now.

• Follow us on Instagram and share our story and live shows
• Donate. We’ll send you a listening link and add your name to the credits
• Subscribe to poet Jan Noble on Substack and get a weekly poetry newsletter as well as access to audio and text of this work