“I associate vinyl records first with my dad. It’s something we can connect with, his memories beginning long before CDs and tapes, and mine from childhood—flashes and images of record covers, hearing the hiss, fuzz, and pop as the needle was gently placed on the grooves. My father no longer uses the Technic record player of my childhood, (he swears he gave it to me, but in my many moves I can’t be sure. I think it’s in the attic at my parent’s house).”
“One of my earliest childhood memories: my parents had friends over for dinner. We go into the living room after eating, my Dad puts on a record and I start dancing on the pea-soup, green shag carpeting, and everyone is laughing and having a good time. The record he put on was apparently my favorite, Halloween Party featuring “Monster Mash,” and of course Screamin Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.”
My dad loved rock and roll. His collection was made up of mostly ’60s and ’70s psychedelia and rock. Santana’s Abraxas (“Black Magic Woman” is still one of my favorite songs), Abbey Road, The Who’s The Kids are Alright, Pet Sounds, Hendrix’s Are You Experienced, and Creedence Clearwater Revival were in rotation. A childhood (and current) favorite was Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors. The cover engendered the need to dress in a leotard, ballet shoes, and tights for an entire summer.
Another album cover that made an impression on me was Boston’s self-titled album, the one with the big UFO in the center and the two little ones behind it. I thought it was super cool and mysterious and I loved the ’70s font, although I can’t ever remember listening to the album.
Juxtaposed with this diet of rock and roll was a healthy dose of classical music. We had the Smithsonian Collection of Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos.” Beethoven’s 7th was a favorite, and a recording of Canadian Brass playing Baroque music. Listening to Bach on vinyl is a wonderful experience.
When CDs hit the market, this warmth in sound waned for a bit—CDs don’t have the magical object appeal of a big vinyl record. Luckily my family was behind the times, and we didn’t get our first CD player till well into the ’90s. Sadly, we forgot about vinyl for a while and let the player gather dust along with my dad’s collection.
Luckily my roommate in college had a record player, and I started buying records at thrift stores. There was a nostalgic aspect to my first purchases; some of them being The Kids are Alright, Rolling Stones’ Hot Rocks, and Rumors.
When I met my partner and bandmate Jeremy Barnes, he had an incredible collection of records from Eastern Europe and the Balkans with amazing covers of shepherds in big furry coats holding baby lambs and huge Romanian and Hungarian State Orchestras with cimbaloms and dancers in folk costumes. We would sit in his one room house by the fire for hours listening to the sounds of these far-off places. Hearing these incredible old recordings, studying each cover, sparked my curiosity and desire to travel, if only through the drop of the needle from the warmth and comfort of the indoors.
My interests continued to expand to other folk music and non-western music, which luckily for me are cheaper than most vinyl. One of the first non-western records I purchased was Muzikas’ Blues for Transylvania. On tour in Sweden I bought my first Bulgarian record. It was on the state label Balkanton, and it had a beautiful cover of a Bulgarian textile with bright flowers that was truly psychedelic.
Finding records from all over the world is such a joy, from the Levant and Middle East, Turkey, Morocco, the Caucasus, India, South America, American folk and rural music, and Africa. I find the term World Music antiquated and Western centric, but it’s the first section I’m drawn to in a record store.
My musical interests continued to grow beyond borders. A truly religious musical experience was hearing Alice Coltrane’s Journey in Satchidananda for the first time. Something about the combination of her beguiling harp playing, the chill inducing tambura, the wash and jingle of percussion, Pharoah Sanders interweaving meandering melodies on soprano sax, and the lush bass playing of Cecil McCree and Charlie Haden is a mesmerizing journey to another dimension.
Terry Riley’s A Rainbow in Curved Air was also a life changing album for me, the cover with his face floating in the sky above a pastoral scene, with the title on his forehead is unforgettable. Another acquisition in minimalism was Harold Budd’s Pavilion of Dreams, which led me further back in ambient music history to the British Library music composer Basil Kirchen’s masterpiece, Abstractions of the Industrial North.
A Hawk and A Hacksaw has always put our albums out on vinyl. Jeremy Barnes and I started a label in 2010, Living Music Duplication, on which we release our music, as well as some of our favorite musical projects—Cüneyt Sepetçi, Thor & Friends, Lone Piñon to name a few. Being involved in the production and distribution of vinyl feels rewarding and a natural progression in my life. The ability to write and record the music, design a cover, and receive the lacquer pressing a few months later is akin to a meditation.
You have to practice patience to truly appreciate the final manifestation. It’s like receiving a postcard from the musical past, that you wrote to yourself.”
—Heather Trost
Heather Trost’s Agistri arrives in stores Friday June 2, 2017 via Living Music Duplication—on vinyl.
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