Kai Schäfer

Kai Schäfer, is a photo artist known for his series ‘worldrecords’, capturing images of iconic vinyls on the record players that would have originally played them. With a career in photography spanning three decades, Schäfer creates enthralling visual narratives that celebrate the beauty of analogue sound. With their arresting composition and nostalgia, Schäfer’s ‘worldrecords’ have captivated both music lovers and the art world.

Born in 1969 in Solingen, Germany, Schäfer's purchased his first camera aged 15, beginning his passion for photography. Between 1988 and 1992 he worked at the René Staud Studios, which specialised in car photography, before becoming a freelance photographer in 1992.In 2010, he became a full-time photo artist, initiating his ongoing project, ‘worldrecords’, fusing his love for photography and music.

Paying homage to the legendary albums of music history, ‘worldrecords’ takes as its subject records from Rolling Stone Magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the sound systems that they would have been played on. Now comprising over 100 images, this series showcases iconic albums by artists such as The Clash, Pink Floyd, and Kraftwerk.

Each image in ‘worldrecords’ is meticulously shot from above using a special lighting system designed by Schäfer to reveal rich details in the vinyl and the turntable. The photos are printed on a larger-than-life format, allowing each groove, label, and record player arm to be enlarged to nearly tangible proportions, immersing viewers in their intricate beauty. In one photo from 2015, the electric blue surface of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, stamped with its iconic motorway design, is matched with the sleek mechanical forms of the Harman Kardon player, in another from the same year, the candy pink disk of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill fills the frame.

Schäfer's work is a tribute to the analogue era of sound, a heartfelt celebration of its warmth and sensitivity. Foregrounding the art and design of analogue acoustics, ‘worldrecords’ translates its sound into a visual experience. Like a time capsule, these works invoke the memories and emotions of past listening.

Schäfer's success has continued to grow as the ‘worldrecords’ series gained international recognition, being featured in a solo exhibition in Los Angeles in 2013, as well as prominent art fairs, including the Berliner Liste in Berlin, Seattle Art Fair, and Masterpiece London. In 2018, Schäfer released a book of the series to date, titled WORLDRECORDS, in collaboration with HENI Publishing.

Contemporary with the resurgence in appreciation of records as art objects, Schaefer pays tribute to these unforgettable analogue sounds and experiences. Bringing successive moments in audio history before the viewer’s eyes, Schäfer fills music’s art and technology with emotional.