With records thankfully being once again, more easily found for our purchasing pleasure, the upswing in popularity for vinyl records over the last few years isn’t a huge surprise really!
Why? Well for most of us, we used to love it or now curiously want to love it, basically because we are music lovers at heart. If listening to music on vinyl was a part of your childhood or adolescence then you know the thrill and surge of emotions you feel when suddenly spying a 33 inch LP in your local department store or best loved op-shop! Oh, how it all comes flooding back, the memories of taking home and unwrapping your prized possession and marvelling at its smooth, black, grooved newness (or sketchy pre-loved state, but still in awe that it was now yours) then pouring over the cover art in the book could be glossy, or recycled bamboo, and filled with beautiful artwork and words from the music makers…while listening and learning the words to every single track.
The vinyl crackles and hisses occasionally and there’s always that background static you can hear … then you know its vinyl. It’s authentic. It’s an experience. And it’s happening again. Vinyl sales have hit a 25 year high seeing a whole new generation (and some stayers who never gave up) discovering the difference between a download that can be kept or erased with the press of a flat screen and the feeling of owning a real piece of music history. Double that up as a keepsake to share with or pass on to your friends and children that gives a hugely satisfying sensory experience and you’ll know what it’s really all about!
So where do you start? Not everyone has a record player in the hallway cupboard!
Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Marlon Brando were big vinyl fans. Doesn’t mean they were the tech experts of their time though. Steve Jobs had pretty much every access to technology known to man and still loved vinyl, probably had some pretty decent audio gear too. Anne Hathaway, Vanessa Paradis and Kristen Stewart can’t get enough, but I bet they have help with their set-up! With an increasing number of rock and indie bands now releasing on vinyl again, Rockit Records are making it easy and inexpensive to start or expand your turntable set-up with a super convenient one-stop shop and laid it all out in their buyers guide so you know exactly what you need and of course what you might just plain want!
Is it possible then to blend an old-school medium with the modern conveniences we’ve become used to?
It would seem entirely possible! The Rockit Records range varies widely in looks (from Star Wars theme to retro and sleek) and is a bit exciting really, because while they all look so cool, the functionality is even cooler! One particular piece of eye/ear candy is the GPO Ambassador. Not content with just being sexy in cream or royal green, you then get to find out it has a built-in rechargeable battery (take and play you say?), Bluetooth out to your choice of speakers (big and loud people, big and loud), will play 3 speeds of record (33/45/78) and wait for it…has a USB port (and stick included) so that you can send your music to a digital format! Seriously, check it out here.
