An album so rare and valuable that only a few have ever heard it will be at display at an Australian gallery, giving the public a chance to experience its exclusive tracks. The album, *Once Upon a Time in Shaolin*, recorded by the Wu-Tang Clan in secret over six years, is housed in an ornate silver box. Only a single CD copy exists, making it the most expensive album ever sold.
Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) will host small listening parties over ten days in June, where the public can hear a curated 30-minute sample of the album. The album is part of Mona’s *Namedropping* exhibition, which explores themes of status, notoriety, and “the human pursuit.”
“Every once in a while, an object on this planet possesses mystical properties that transcend its material circumstances,” said Mona’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, Jarrod Rawlins. He emphasized that *Once Upon a Time in Shaolin* is more than just an album, which is why it was included in the exhibition.
Recorded in New York City and produced in Marrakesh between 2006 and 2013, the album features the nine surviving members of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as pop artist Cher and *Game of Thrones* actress Carice Van Houten. The group intended to elevate the value of music, which they felt had been cheapened by online streaming and piracy, by offering it as a commissioned commodity in the style of a 400-year-old Renaissance approach to music.
The album comes in a hand-carved nickel box with a leather-bound manuscript containing lyrics and a certificate of authenticity. There is also a legal condition preventing the release of the 31 tracks for 88 years. Producer RZA compared the album to a Picasso artwork or an ancient Egyptian artifact, emphasizing its uniqueness as an original rather than a master copy.
Only a few people have heard snippets of the album. In 2015, a group of potential buyers and media heard a 13-minute section, and disgraced pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who purchased the album for $2 million, streamed clips of the music on YouTube to celebrate Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory. After Shkreli was convicted of defrauding investors, he was forced to hand the album over to US prosecutors in 2018, and it was subsequently sold to the digital art collective Pleasr.
Pleasr stated that the Mona listening parties, scheduled from June 15 to 24, align with their vision of presenting the single-copy album as a piece of fine art.
