Apollo Masters Fire: Where Now for the Record Industry? …For readers in the UK and Europe, I can offer some degree of relief, as many mastering facilities across the region use lacquers from the Japanese-based manufacturer, MDC. One such mastering house is Alchemy Mastering in West London. Alchemy founder, Barry Grint spoke to us shortly after the fire to explain how the situation might affect his business. “In the short term, there is little change,” Barry explains. “The current position is that MDC will continue to supply their clients with the same volume of blank lacquers as they have historically used on average. They are not going to take on new clients, nor increase their prices.” We were able to confirm the security of production further when speaking with French-based producers, MPO International. Their CEO, Alban Pingeot, echoed Barry’s reassurance. “Europe is mainly served by MDC (somewhere around 80%), so the fire will not affect our business short term. We might notice some delay over the coming months with new releases, and the market price for lacquers and cutting could be under pressure. For now, at least, it’s business as usual.”
Medicine Hat, AB | Medicine Hat’s record man bringing back memories one groove at a time: After the closure of the long-standing Arcade Records in 2013, Medicine Hat was left without a dedicated vinyl music store. That is until 2016 when Big Al’s Records moved in downtown – first to a location on Third Street and then to its current location on North Railway. And despite the advent of CDs and digital streaming services, the turntable is still spinning at Big Al’s. As for the name of the shop, owner Dale Brigham said, “my middle name is Alan and Big Dale’s didn’t sound right.” But as for the reason for opening up the hot wax business, Brigham said that had as much to do with the heart as the sound of the music format. “My wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 50,” said Brigham. “And it’s funny because music is the only thing she remembers. She doesn’t remember her family but play an Aerosmith song—and she is non-verbal—she will spit out the words to an Aerosmith song and tap to the music. That’s why I got in, to bring people back their memories.”
Paducah, KY | Unique spin: Local craftsman makes liquid-filled vinyl records. Vinyl records’ resurgence over the last decade has seen whole communities of collectors and craftspeople spring up around the country. Records aren’t just black pieces of vinyl anymore though — now, they can be tie-dye, all shades of the rainbow, shaped like a ninja star, or even liquid-filled in the case of one Paducah artist. Matt Ortt, a Princeton native and local resident for the past two decades or so, has created liquid-filled records and music accessories for four years, but he’s been a fan of vinyl for much longer. “Honestly, I’ve always been a music fan, and I think any hardcore music fan gravitates towards the format,” Ortt, 40, said in his workshop Thursday. “The sound, having the physical copy, the art, all of that stuff attracted me to records when I was younger.” Something of a tinkerer, Ortt started his journey by making 45 adapters out of resin because, he reasoned, there was “really just about every kind of accessory that you could think of, but for the most part those adapters have remained basic little pieces of plastic.”
Even If You Don’t Watch High Fidelity, Please, Please Listen to the Soundtrack: The reboot of High Fidelity is all about a record store owner (played by Zoë Kravitz), so it makes sense that the show’s soundtrack would be top-notch. Over the course of the 10 episodes in the first season, viewers get to hear an eclectic selection of amazing music, bridging many genres and embracing little-known songs as much as massive hits from music icons. Where else could you possibly find a soundtrack that seamlessly incorporates Celine Dion, David Bowie, Frank Ocean, Aretha Franklin, and a slew of bands in different genres who you might not have heard before? Ahead, we’ve rounded up the amazing soundtrack from High Fidelity — keep reading for your latest playlist.
Nick Hornby approves of gender twist in Hulu version of ‘Excessive Constancy’: Nick Hornby’s hit novel “Excessive Constancy” has been reimagined as a Hulu sequence with Zoë Kravitz because the lead — and the writer endorses the gender twist. “I assumed it was actually cool, particularly after I came upon who the lady was going to be,” Hornby advised The Submit’s Nicki Gostin at a New York screening. “I by no means thought it was about guys notably. I assumed it was about music and relationships.” The 2000 characteristic movie version starred John Cusack as a record-store proprietor combating love and in pursuit of making the proper mixtape for all of it. Today its music obsessed writer says, “I do make Spotify playlists — however they can’t be pretty much as good, since you haven’t spent the entire three minutes listening to the music. So many instances you get the thought for the following music whereas listening to the earlier music . . . so that they’re inferior.”
