What happens when a horror story about cursed vinyl records is turned into an actual vinyl record? That’s the eerie premise behind Old Records, a new audio drama adaptation of a story by Junji Ito pressed onto actual vinyl.
The project transforms Ito‘s unsettling tale into an immersive listening experience, blurring the line between fiction and reality. The concept comes directly from the source material: a story about mysterious records with a dark history, now brought to life as an actual piece of vinyl that listeners can spin themselves.
Junji Ito is widely regarded as one of the most influential horror manga creators of all time. Since debuting in 1987, his work – including Tomie, Uzumaki, and Gyo – has defined modern Japanese horror with its surreal, deeply unsettling imagery.
The four-time Eisner Award winner and 2025 Eisner Hall of Fame inductee worked directly with the creative team to adapt “Old Records” into an audio format, ensuring the project maintains the eerie spirit of the original story.
The English-language version of the audio drama is narrated by Poppy. Known for her genre-defying career, the two-time Grammy-nominated artist has spent the past decade weaving together elements of pop, industrial, and metal. Her album I Disagree made history when she became the first solo female artist nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
The Japanese-language narration is performed by Shoko Nakagawa – widely known in Japan as “Shokotan.” A beloved figure in anime and pop culture, Nakagawa has contributed to major franchises like Pokémon and Dragon Ball and performed the opening theme for Gurren Lagann.
The vinyl’s visual design was created by Acky Bright, a Japanese illustrator known for his bold black-and-white style and collaborations with companies including DC Comics, Marvel, Netflix, BMW, and McDonald’s.
Bright designed the record jacket and packaging for the release – which features one particularly macabre detail: Junji Ito‘s actual bloody handprint incorporated into the artwork.
The story itself was adapted into audio form by Ryan Cady, a writer known for work with Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including titles such as The Punisher, Venom, Green Lantern, and Batman: Urban Legends. Cady has also collaborated with musicians including Poppy and Machine Gun Kelly on graphic novel projects, making him a natural fit for bringing Ito’s work into the audio medium.
Pre-orders are available here on Kickstarter, considering the whole thing already smashed its goal.
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