“Ha! Well, my first date, I was defiantly underage!”
“When I was an infant, my cot was in my Dad’s study where he had a whole wall of hi-fi equipment, including record decks and old tape machines. The first thing I latched onto and associated music with was the Revox a77 reel to reel tape machine as it was clearly visible to my young eyes! This is where music came from for me in my younger years and then very soon after, those big round shiny records too. To my Dad’s dismay I can just about recall that the records tasted better than the reels as of course it all ended up in my mouth as a toddler.
My Dad’s system was composed of Quad esl57 speakers and 33/303 pre and power amps, so very early on I was developing some audiophile traits. I have now inherited his system and, for me, vinyl doesn’t sound any better than it does on this. So warm and so massive!
I have an old Technics 1210, (bought a pair when I went through the early twenties phase of mixing drum and bass). It’s pretty beaten up but I love how solid it is compared to hi-fidelity decks. I also have an old pair of b&w dn4 speakers which are hooked up most of the time to the 33/303 (as the Quad speakers are massive!) They sound great too, a real soft sound from these guys as they hate being pushed, and recordings off vinyl really suit them.
My first vinyl (apart from the various jazz records that ended up in my mouth and being scribbled on) was Paul Hardcastle’s ‘The Wizard’ 12-inch single, which I remember being very proud of, even though at the time I didn’t have my own deck to play it on (my Dad would have never let it anywhere near his system!) Also my brothers had a lot of Jean Michel Jarre—Zoolook, Oxygene etc., which I inherited early on, all of which has probably shaped my love for electronic music. My favorite electronic record on vinyl is Massive Attack’s Mezzanine. There is something in the grooves on this record that makes it sound so deep compared to disc.
What I love on vinyl and have a lot of is mostly jazz and funk from the ’50s to ’70s. Miles, Herbie, Winton Kelly, Tom Scott, The Meters, Jimmy Smith, Cannonball Adderley, etc. Actually Cannonball Adderley’s Soul Zodiac, Soul of the Bible, Big Man and Country Preacher are some of my favorites as they’re all completely off the hook!
There’s something about the sound of this music on vinyl you just can’t explain. It’s just better, cooler, vibier and more engaging. There is something very ritualistic about playing a record. It’s not just music, something you just ‘stick on’. It demands attention, real listening and an appreciation in its own right. Long live vinyl!”
—Matthias Garrick
Mano’s Daughter’s upcoming EP, “Smart” is released on 31st March 2014 via Smart & Shiver Records.
