Sydney: A unique album from American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan Shaolin Temple Folktales The concert kicked off at the Australian Museum on Saturday, with fans in attendance describing the music as “very special” and “amazing”, according to organisers.
All time slots have been sold out and there are about 5000 people on a waiting list for the twice-daily sessions at Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art, which will exhibit the single-print album from 15-24 June.
“It’s a small session, with around 30 participants,” a museum spokesman said, confirming that the first listening sessions began on Saturday afternoon.
Legend has it that the album, the only one of its kind in the world, was purchased for $2 million by convicted pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli in 2015.
Shkreli turned it over as part of a $7.4 million forfeiture order after his 2017 conviction for misleading hedge fund investors and conspiring to mislead pharmaceutical company investors.
The album is currently owned by non-fungible token collector PleasrDAO, which purchased it from the U.S. government for $4 million. PleasrDAO is suing Shkreli for making copies of the album and releasing the music to the public.
Music fan Cameron McBride, who was visiting from the Queensland capital Brisbane, said after listening to the album it was “very special”.
“I don’t know of anything in the world that’s as valuable as this song or this album,” McBride told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Another attendee, Hayden Kovacic, from Hobart, said it was “fantastic” to be one of the few who got to hear the album.
“It’s been busy actually,” Kovacic said. A.B.C.“The production was crazy.”
According to the album’s official website, the album consists of 31 new songs that the New York-based group recorded and produced over a period of six years, beginning in 2007, in “original ’90s Wu-Tang Clan style.”
Published June 16, 2024 09:52 IST
