I BOUGHT A TURNTABLE

An Audio Technica AT-LP70XBT over a dusty Tannoy speaker

Yep, it’s come full-circle (pun intended). My music addiction began with vinyl in the 1970s, reluctantly switching over to CDs in the 90s, joyfully adopting streaming in 2015, and now I’ve bought a turntable and a few vinyl records again.

First of all, I’d better explain that I haven’t given up on streaming - that is still my main method of consumption. I’m not like the typical old git decrying modernity and stubbornly clinging to the ‘old ways’ - far from it. Streaming is amazing - millions of songs at your disposal for a reasonable fee enabling hitherto unparallelled sonic exploration - what’s not to like?

And no, I’m not going to come out with that old (incorrect) trope - ‘vinyl sounds better than digital.’ Sorry, but it doesn’t. Technically speaking, digital music is of a much better quality than analogue. Digital is clean and doesn’t age or get damaged since it’s just a load of virtual 1s and 0s. Vinyl is 150 year old technology, full of dust, pops and prone to scratching and getting warped.

Of course it’s true that f you played a vinyl record on a good deck with a great amp and speakers, it would sound amazing. But so would CDs or streaming played over the same rig.

So why would anyone want to return to that obsolete medium? Well, there are a number of factors.

First, vinyl doesn’t sound better, but it does sound different. There’s a certain warmth to it. It generally has more low end, and some people like that. It’s no coincidence that nowadays in the world of music production almost everyone is using software that replicates the sonic characteristics of vinyl and tape and old analogue studio gear.

If you don’t like these, you’re a cloth-eared clown…

Then there is the physical, tactile aspect. Playing a record is a ritual. You don’t have the convenience of digital mediums. You’ve got to actually get up off your arse and turn the record over if you want to hear the other side. Then you have the big record sleeve and inner artwork. It’s nice to hold and touch. It’s very much in the same realm as people liking real books over Kindle - you’re more connected, and you actually own the object in your hands, not just leasing it with a monthly subscription. It also forces you to listen to entire albums with the songs in the order their creators intended.

So what brought me back to records? Well, a couple of years ago I got very into the obscure 80s Leeds band Girls At Our Best, and by chance discovered that their iconic first single had been re-released on vinyl. I found it in a local (Japanese) online store, and just had to have it, despite having no way to play. I’ve been displaying it as a piece of art.

Then I got into Welsh-language indie rock band Adwaith, and being a current band, I wanted to support them. The big downside of Spotify and Apple Music is that they pay almost nothing to the artists and it’s harder than ever for minor acts to make music a full-time job. Money can only be made from playing live and selling merch, including vinyl. Adwaith released a stunning double album earlier this year, and I just had to order it.

Coloured vinyl! And what thought-provoking artwork!

I knew at some time I would get a turntable, but then the opportunity presented itself when I discovered I had a ton of points on my credit card and could get a reasonably good beginner’s deck for nothing. For good measure I ordered vinyl copies of a few faves, and dusted down the small collection of records I’ve been keeping in Japan unplayed for the last 30 years.

All in all, it makes a nice alternative to the digital experience and I can fully see why people like the ritual aspect of it - there’s something very satisfying to manually lowering the needle and hearing that click as it hits and the song begins. It isn’t nostalgia, either. It’s a fact that vinyl sales have been on the increase for years. Far from dying out with the advent of CDs, they have made a lasting comeback, not only with those old enough to remember them the first time around. It’s something of a revolution! (Pun intended).