In rotation: 5/14/19

Kelowna, BC | A vinyl record maker came across this old Kelowna album and has a great idea: Scott Gibson has embarked on one of the most cheerful sounding missions to ever hit YouTube. Gibson, whose company Sleepovers for Life makes small batch vinyl records, is an avid record collector who recently came across an odd and unique find — an album from the 70s by a band called The Country Happy Gang that was based in Kelowna. “When I found this record I was really curious — who were these people who put out a vinyl record in 1974 in Kelowna, which was a fairly small town at the time?” he said, in a YouTube video posted this week by Anthony David Creative. “What was the process, who were the people who did it and where are they now?” Armed with those questions, he and his team have set out with the objective to find some, if not all, of the members of this band and hopefully hear their story.

New Orleans, LA | Students of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts have released their first vinyl record: NOCCA Students Announce First Vinyl Record Release Party. Media Arts students at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) have developed their first vinyl record, Mars Fest. On May 15, they’ll celebrate it with a release party. The album takes its name from NOCCA students’ annual music festival, which this year took place on Valentine’s Day. Mars Fest is a compilation of 15 songs produced by more than 20 NOCCA Media Arts students. Manufactured by New Orleans Record Press, the vinyl was pressed in front of the students. “It was amazing seeing the process first hand,” shared Media Arts Sophomore Andrew Kende. “It wasn’t like ordering it online at the click of a button.” Having a tangible, locally created piece of work takes on real significance in the digital era. Media Arts student Trunks Sims said, “We are official because we are on vinyl and everyone else is just on the internet…”

Records a treasure trove of classic tunes and cash: Everything old is new again… and some of it is worth a whole lot more than you would ever have thought. With the birth of the crisp, clear sounds of the compact disc in the 1980s, few expected vinyl records would make the resurgence they have over recent years. In fact they have become so strong, hitting more than $20million in new sales in Australia last year, that the Australian Recording Industry Association has launched a new weekly vinyl albums chart. But there is also quite a lot of money about for the right sort of old vinyl as well. USQ Senior Lecturer in Media Studies Daryl Sparkes is a die-hard vinyl lover. He has a collection of about 1000 albums, including jazz and blues from the 1920s-40s, a bootleg copy of The Doors in 1970 playing the Isle of Wight which is very close to his heart, picture and coloured discs, and other limited releases and music which never made it to CD.

The latest turntables to help you take advantage of the vinyl revival: It’s back to the future when it comes to vinyl records with the format enjoying a resurgence. And as a result there are a number of turntables that have been released to keep up with demand. Vinyl sales accounted for one of every 10 physical music formats sold in 2018 and grew by 23 per cent in the same period. Artists are also re-releasing their albums on vinyl to meet demand. Audiophiles will swear vinyl sounds a lot better and warmer than the cold and sterile digital sound. They call it “perfectly imperfect” which refers to the amazing high fidelity sounds along with the crackles that are a by-product of the vinyl format. But you can’t listen to a record without a turntable and there are now plenty to choose from. Here are the latest turntables Tech Guide checked out.

David Bowie’s The Mercury Demos to be Released in June: David Bowie’s 1969 demo tape, recorded to secure a record deal with Mercury Records, will be released on June 28th via Parlophone as The Mercury Demos. Comprised of 10 recordings, the new Bowie collection contains an early version of ‘Space Oddity’ and nine previously unreleased songs. Recorded with John Hutchinson, The Mercury Demos will include the following tracks: Space Oddity, Janine, An Occasional Dream, Conversation Piece, Ching-a-Ling, I’m Not Quite (aka Letter To Hermione), Love To The Dawn, Love Song, When I’m Five and Life Is A Circus. The release of The Mercury Demos is part of the ongoing celebrations for ‘Space Oddity’ – which turns 50 this year – and follows the recent release of Spying Through A Keyhole and Clareville Grove Demo collections. The Mercury Demos will come in a replica of the original tape box and will feature a vinyl LP, a print, two photo contact sheets and sleeve notes by Mark Adams.

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