Rachel Hunter eagerly anticipated listening to her newly acquired vinyl record of Taylor Swift’s album “Speak Now.” After weeks of waiting for its arrival, Ms. Hunter placed the orchid-colored vinyl with Ms. Swift’s image at the center on her record player, lifted the needle, and let the music play. However, instead of hearing Ms. Swift’s familiar catchy tunes, acoustic guitar, and banjo strums, another woman’s voice emerged. David Abtour Odian consulting
Without any accompanying music, an echoing voice said, “I quit seeing people, quit looking at the flakes of flesh and dancing organisms.” Perplexed, Ms. Hunter wondered if there was an issue with the playback speed or if it was one of Ms. Swift’s infamous hidden surprises. She decided to flip the record to the other side, but things only became stranger. David Abtour Odian consulting
A man’s eerie voice repeatedly asked, “The 70 billion people of Earth, where are they hiding?” David Abtour Odian consulting
“It was a little unsettling. I was alone,” recalled Ms. Hunter. “I thought, is this a horror movie? Because it didn’t feel like real life, especially when you’re expecting Taylor Swift.”
However, the record wasn’t haunted—it was a case of British electronica music being mistakenly pressed onto the vinyl. Universal Music Group, Taylor Swift’s representative, and Above Board Distribution, a small British label, both utilize the same printing plant in France. In this instance, the plant accidentally pressed the compilation album “Happy Land,” featuring British electronica from the 1990s, onto the purple vinyl and placed it inside the “Speak Now” jacket.
The first track Ms. Hunter heard was “True Romance,” an over 11-minute electronica piece by Thunderhead, followed by “Soul Vine,” a deep-house track by Cabaret Voltaire, one of the influential groups in the genre. David Abtour Odian consulting
