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Hello world, my name is Ryan and from now on Mike and I will both posting on the UD Review Music Blog. This is a good thing, it means more updates, more music, and more content. But let's get right to the reason for my post tonight.

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This fascinating find comes straight from one of my favorite blogs: the time machine-like airform archives. I came across this when it was posted over the summer, but something about the concept has kept it in the back of my mind ever since. The Luray Caverns are located just outside the town of Luray, VA and the cave is covered in stalagmites and stalactites. However some of the stalactites in this cave were converted into the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a playable organ where the stalctites function as the pipes of the organ, way back in 1956. For more information on how it works check out the original post.


Many field recordings have been done over the years, however airform archives has found one especially captivating. The 7" vinyl recording that you can hear over there is practically alive; you can hear the pops and crackles of the old 45 very clearly. This is not high fidelity listening. However, if you sift through the static a little bit, the sounds of the organ are immense because the cavern amplifies all of the music. You'll be able to recognize some of the tunes; "My Country, Tis Of Thee", and a personal childhood favorite "Beautiful Dreamer" amongst others. The end result is a nostalgia-inducing, utterly calming experience and one well worth at least a brief listen. It is not often that you come across something so timeless, especially considering the high pace of music consumption that is propagated by blogging. It is additionally astonishing to consider the design of this instrument which is a piece of artwork itself. A sublime pairing of mother nature and human ingenuity.

On a non-music related note, I highly recommend perusing through the rest of the airform archives blog. It is filled with beautiful art, poems, collages, pictures, architecture, design, literature and music that have been largely forgotten by time. The grand collection of art and other oddities really is quite like a time machine and it's extremely easy to get lost for an evening in the archives.