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Phil - The vinyl album was definitely my introduction to rock and progressive music from an early age. With two older (and very hip) sisters, I spent many an hour just leafing through their record collections, marveling at the art whilst being captivated by the incredible music. Yessongs, Nursery Cryme, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans, Wish you were here, all experienced for the first time as an impressionable teenager on my sisters’ top of the range systems. Vinyl was art, it was expression, it was talent, and it was all so inspiring. I soon wished nothing more than to release a record of my own one day.
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I can’t tell you how thrilled we were that Chris and Plane Groovy wanted to release “One for Sorrow, Two for Joy” on Vinyl. Chris has an amazing ear, and only great music recorded to the highest standards makes it onto the Plane Groovy label. Fans of the band will already know how much we reject the brickwall limiting that’s so prevalent in modern music production. Never the less, we remastered the album specifically for this vinyl release to allow even more of the natural dynamics to come through. Those who turn to vinyl to experience true dynamics, and a natural band sound, should love what the format does for this music.
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Amy - Born in the early eighties, I was a card-carrying member of the mixtape generation, and vinyl was always just something my Dad had. Cabinets and crates of monochrome gatefolds holding the works of the classical masters, and sepia-toned compilations by The King's Singers or the Black Dyke Mills Band. It only now occurs to me, with no little shame, that the whole concept of rock music on vinyl is a realisation that came to me only in the last ten years or so. Certainly I have no experience of poring over large format artwork, no childhood memories of putting needle to groove.
And yet, a few months ago I purchased my first two vinyl albums from a market - a dusty Jethro Tull and an equally worn Leonard Cohen. To my surprise, buying them gave me the same thrill as seeking out an exciting secondhand book, or finding a great vintage coat, like making a tiny piece of history live again. Once we'd got them home and dusted off the record player, I found that the sheer analogue physicality of handling a 12" album gives it a sense of reliability; more solidly satisfactory than digital formats. Listening to the hiss and crackle made me feel I could connect to the music in a more genuine and immediate way than if I had selected a CD track or loaded a digital playlist.
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| However, declaring one or other format to be superior seems futile, like comparing the typewriter and the touchscreen, or a stately old Morgan with a zippy new Toyota. Digital is efficient but vinyl is evergreen. My foray into the vinyl realm has, I'm certain, only just begun. |
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Thomas - For me vinyl is both about nostalgia and quality. I love lowering the needle onto the vinyl and hearing that initial spark before the bird twitter of Close To The Edge, or the percussion of Lark’s Tongues. But the real strength of vinyl for me is when all hell breaks loose - when those sharp transients are allowed a little more room - compressed by mechanics and preamps instead of top-limiters.
Also, vinyl comes with a fantastic format for album cover art. When I grew up there was no internet for reading about a band or an album. Instead there was the album cover, the text and the artwork, so I learned to appreciate these as part of the experience of an album. On a CD, the artwork has to be miniaturised leaving less room for the art and, of course, this changes the whole experience of an album.
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Being able to release music on vinyl is a great privilege for me. It's an audio experience lost on CD and a chance to make the artwork something extra special. |
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Click on the album image to order One for Sorrow, Two for Joy
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