Pretty colours, live sets, Great Lives and a (signed) Record of the Month for January.
Hello, Friends.
First order of business this week is On All Fours, the quite brilliant new album from Goat Girl and our first Record of the Month for 2021. We've been lucky enough to have a copy of this for quite a while now and it's a magical combination of being both thrilling on first play and a real grower. We've played it a lot and love it more each time. To celebrate the release, the band have hand signed and personalised a test pressing for us. Preorder the album now on CD or LP (including our transparent pink vinyl copies) and we'll enter you into next weekend's draw.
+ The Guardian | "'We're seen as harmless because we're not men'" [Read More]
We were talking about colour vinyl reissues on Instagram this week and it started quite the conversation about colour vinyl and noise/quality issues again. Here is our take on it; over the last ten or fifteen years, the quantity of vinyl being pressed has gone up exponentially, as has the quality. Whereas years ago there could have been some truth in colour vinyl sound quality, it's just not really a factor anymore (with the exception of picture discs that are a fraction more susceptible).
Unless you have a really solid turntable (that is balanced and not likely to get knocked, banged, wobbled), a high-end cartridge, decent wires and a solid phono/amp with the sort of dynamic speakers that match the rest of the set up, you're simply not going to hear the difference between black vinyl and colour vinyl. If you do have a noisy pressing, thats just dumb luck and the colour thing really isn't a likely factor.
We naturally always stock the black vinyl copies too, but for those with anxiety here, can we point out that CDs on the right stereo can sound AMAZING.
Insert famous John Peel phrase about surface noise here...
+ Discogs | "What You Should Know About Black vs. Colored Vinyl" [Read More]
+ Sound Matters | "Does Colored Vinyl Sound Worse Than Black Vinyl?" [Read More]
+ Vinyl Production | "The Sound Quality of Color Vinyl Records" [Read More]
It was only Thursday that we were talking about James Yorkston's lush new The Wide, Wide River album in collaboration with The Second Hand Orchestra. To celebrate its release, James has recorded a very special, intimate live take of album center-point, Struggle, for us.
You can watch the video over on our Facebook page here.
This week's edition of Great Lives on BBC Radio 4 was a corker. The actor Caroline Catz chose composer Delia Derbyshire as her inspiration and spoke about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and the iconic Doctor Who theme.
It's a great episode, you can listen again all month here.
There are some other great editions still available online too, Simon Armitage nominating Joy Division singer Ian Curtis is especially good.
+ Listen Again | BBC Radio 4 Great Lives
+ Listen Again | Delia Derbyshire
+ deliaderbyshireday.com
Hope you have a great rest of Sunday.
- Drift