For the past couple of years, my records have lived in the attic. There’s a couple of hundred of them in all, tucked into crates under the eaves and hidden away out of sight.
After several culls over the years on the back of various house moves, these albums and singles are the last ones standing, the vinyl soldiers who’ve survived the ravages of the decluttering reaper.
Then, a bunch of builders came along and took over the house for a few months of disruption, involving rubble, woodworm, missing wall plates, rebuilding back walls, and undoing the work of shoddy Victorian builders. All the crack(s).
When the dust settled – and there was a lot of it – there was plenty of new space, including a wall in a back room that looked like it would make a fine home for a turntable. Re-enter the records.
If you’d predicted a year ago, that I’d be playing these records again, I’d have laughed at the suggestion. There were more than enough other ways to listen to music in this gaff without bringing vinyl back into the equation. From streaming to downloads to CDs (the format that also refuses to die), every base was covered.
Occasionally, I’d get a record from a band or record label in the post. It looked lovely and the artwork was always eye-catching, but I’d nothing to play the damn thing on so that was the end of that. Most of the records ended up in the local charity shop, though I held on to a few because the collector bug never quite leaves you.
It’s the first day of 2017 and I’m standing here looking at a shelf that has an old Pro-Ject turntable and a Denon amp. There are two mighty Awai speakers upcycled from my wife’s 1990s stereo system and a bunch of records lying against the wall. The music format that was overtaken by a bunch of others because of convenience, ease of use and the like is back in my life again.
I’m not alone in this because vinyl is having a moment. Some 3.2 million records were sold in the UK in 2016, the biggest tally in 25 years. Of course, this is just a spit in the ocean in the greater scheme of things. Vinyl accounts for just five per cent of the total album market, with streaming, downloads and CDs (48 million of them flogged across the Irish Sea in 2016) way ahead.
The boost in vinyl sales is driven by many things. For a start, the format is widely available again. The actual number of record shops may be down on previous times, but you’ll now find records for sale here in shops such as Tiger, Urban Outfitters and in the US in homeware store Crate & Barrel.
Record shops such as Dublin’s Tower and the second-hand stores that are still around are dedicating much more floor and shelf space and better placement to records than was the case for the past decade. Tower’s selection in particular covers all bases and the prices are keen.
Many commentators and observers view the return as part of some sort of hipster trend or wave, but that alone doesn't account for the upsurge in sales and interest. There's certainly an element of desire for a tangible, real object in an age when it appears as if all the entertainment we want has migrated to the cloud, something David Sax touches on in his new book The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter.
Cash to the artist
Some will plump for vinyl because they can see that the cash they pay for an album actually gets to the artist. A tenner a month for a Spotify subscription may be amazing value, but many are troubled by the disconnect between that monthly payment and the artists we want to support.
That said, there’s no doubt that some record shops and labels are using the current fondness for vinyl to engage in a spot of price-gouging. Asking €26 for a newly re-issued album that was not very good the first time around is not the way to go.
The biggest revelation for me has been the sound of the damn things. The turntable and speakers have seen better days, but they’re still serviceable, and there’s a pleasing, warm, whole-hearted thump from the records. After a decade or more of listening to streams and downloads, old jazz and soul records sound a million times better on my current wired set-up than they do through Sonos or other speakers. It turns out that the sound snobs may have had a point after all.
This doesn't mean a total reversion to analogue ways. Spending an entire day getting up every 15 to 20 minutes to change the record may be a music fan's take on Operation Transformation, but there are easier ways to soundtrack the working day. There's also the fact that the choice and selection of what's currently available online beats everything else hands down.
But there are times when this tried and tested format still wins. From the tangible feel of the record in your hand to really appreciating the artwork and design of the sleeve to the sound when the needle hits the groove, vinyl still has much to offer. The records won’t be returning to the attic any time soon.
