12 November 2012
Newsdesk
In an unlikely coupling and an even more unusual business deal, legendary porn actor Ron ‘The Hedgehog’ Jeremy is set to finance the next album by Finnish/Swedish act Pepe Deluxe in exchange for an exclusive EP which he will get to keep the only copy ever to be made!
The idea was the brain child of Pepe Deluxe (aka James Spectrum and Paul Malmström). Having promised to donate all profits from the sales of their latest ‘Queen of the Wave’ album (The Deluxe Edition is out 12th November) to the John Nurminen Foundation to clear up the Baltic Sea, the duo needed to raise funds to begin work on their next musical project.
In keeping with their unique way of working, Pepe Deluxe decided that instead of trying to sell lots of copies of their next record like other musicians, they would make just one record as a unique art piece - in a similar way to how an artist creates only one painting or sculpture - to be sold to the highest bidder.
On trying to seek a suitable music connoisseur willing to pay enough for an EP to cover the costs of writing, recording and production of the next Pepe Deluxe album, Malmstrom and Spectrum discussed the idea with old friend Olli Hietalahti, the CEO of One Eyed Spirits in Helsinki. Hietalahti’s company manufactures ‘Ron de Jeremy’ rum named after the well-endowed actor. In a twist of serendipity, the legendary porn actor Ron Jeremy (famed for holding the world record for more appearances in adult films), is also a big music lover and on hearing the idea immediately agreed to act as patron to the project, “I thought that the idea was crazy, but since the music’s good and they're Olli’s friends I said why not?” - Ron Jeremy
A spoken agreement has been made on style and length of the forthcoming record by the musical duo and Jeremy, with Malmström & Spectrum confirming that it will be a “funk EP”, something the pair have never done before. The EP master tapes will be destroyed after the vinyl is cut to make sure there will never be any copies made.
Malmstrom & Spectrum have said of the project: “Historically, the patrons, such as kings and popes, have provided support to musicians, painters, and sculptors. Now that album sales keep falling, those artists who do not want to tour constantly need to find new ways to make a living. We hope that our example will be a source of inspiration and help to reintroduce the phenomenon of patronage to the world of popular music.”
The deal was signed 8th November in New York and Pepe Deluxe will soon begin work on Ron Jeremy’s one-off record.
