The Vinyl Factory x The Independent
LET’S GET BACK IN THE GROOVE
Published yesterday in the Independent newspaper..
In an unprepossessing industrial estate on the fringes of west London, the fight back of a much-loved music format is being plotted.
Based in Hayes – handy for Heathrow Airport – the Vinyl Factory pressing plant is taking on the relentless rise of downloads and streaming services. Rather than mass producing vinyl, as in its heyday, the premises offer a bespoke service for discerning customers, one helping to carve a niche for vinyl as a desirable, collectable artefact…
Legowelt readies Nacho Patrol LP
Nacho Patrol is the latest guise of Den Haag’s maddeningly prolific Danny Wolfers, who’s best known for his consistently mind-blowing electro work as Legowelt and Smackos. Next month will see the release of the second Nacho Patrol’s full-length, Nacho Patrol presents Africa Jet Band, via the M-Division label.
Peanut Butter Wolf 7″ box set on Stones Throw
Bit of a treat for hip-hop fans, this one. Stones Throw boss Peanut Butter Wolf has re-edited 18 rap classics and pressed his versions onto 7″ vinyl. The resulting box set is called 45 Live and is available for pre-order now, to be shipped on October 13; a mixed CD version of the tracks will appear next month.
71 discs of Miles Davis
How many Miles Davis albums is enough for the casual to middling fan? Two? Twelve?
How Britain got its groove back - Mail on Sunday hearts The Vinyl Factory
Battered by CDs, MP3s and internet streaming, you would have expected vinyl to be long since dead. So why is the west London factory famous for producing Sgt Pepper, The Dark Side Of The Moon and Tubular Bells back at the top of the charts again?
On top of a brown Formica cabinet in a Portakabin office in an anonymous warehouse on the outskirts of London sits the most privileged record player in pop-music history.
The Garrard direct-drive turntable was the first outside a recording studio ever to play the Beatles’ Revolver and Sgt Pepper; the first to experience Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon; it was the first to be challenged by the Sex Pistols‘ God Save The Queen; it was there at the birth of dance music; and it’s still going strong in the age of Arctic Monkeys, Animal Collective and Lily Allen.
Remember all that talk in the Eighties when shiny, allegedly indestructible CDs came out, about how the days of the LP were numbered? Well, just recently exactly the opposite has started to happen: it’s the CD, the experts are now saying, that will soon be obsolete. It’s vinyl that’s here to stay.
Changing methods: The vats of nickel sulphamate solution used to create the ‘master’ and ‘mother’
I’m surprised a vinyl industry still exists, but the fact that it does is tremendous,’ says Roy Matthews, 73, who has been working on and off at this vinyl factory since 1956 and is now its general manager. When he started it belonged to EMI.
Then in 2000 the EMI manufacturing complex was being sold and the plant was scheduled to close. It was bought by a pair of entrepreneurs, Mark Wadhwa and former Olympic sailor Tim Robinson, and now operates as The Vinyl Factory, manufacturing about 2.5 million records every year.
It’s the last of its kind, as the only major vinyl manufacturing plant left in the UK. The equipment and methods are unchanged, from the revered Garrard turntable on which the ‘positives’ (from which records are made) are checked for defects, to the sacks of black (or coloured) PVC pellets on the factory floor.
The pressing machine that today squashes out special collectors’ LP editions of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s Monkey and the recent Pet Shop Boys album Yes is exactly the same one that pressed the original editions of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells and Queen’s A Night At The Opera now gathering dust on your shelves.
Box set of the year. Oh yeah!
Selectism have given us here at The Vinyl Factory the highest accolade..
“I’m a sucker for a bad ass box set especially when it houses some vinyl rekkids. Creative Review comes through with what is arguably the box set of year to date from the Pet Shop Boys. “A collaboration between Farrow and the Pet Shop Boys, and produced by The Vinyl Factory, this version of the album sees its eleven tracks split over eleven separate super-heavyweight 200-gram vinyl records with exclusive b-side instrumentals, each in a coloured sleeve, all housed in a smoked, handmade Perspex case.” 200gram vinyl is about as good as it gets and is usually reserved for the jazz reissues. We’re sure it plays a role in the 490$US price point. Limited to 300 sets.” #banger
Resident Advisor - Die Verboten + Interview
Resident Advisor always have their finger on the pulse and a huge amount of respect from the music industry to pull in a great interview..
Soulwax have joined forces with Riton and graphic designer Fergus Purcell (AKA Fergadelic) for their latest musical project, entitled Die Verboten.
“Live In Eivissa,” their first recorded output, is set to come out next week as a limited vinyl pressing on The Vinyl Factory, who have been busy designing and manufacturing premium quality wax packages for the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, Primal Scream and Damon Albarn. The single 12-inch release comes at a whopping retail price of £30, but there’s plenty more on offer than just the music. “Live In Eivissa” will take up one side of the vinyl, whilst the flip will hold a specially etched design. In addition, fans who purchase the record will even be able to erect a 3-D pop-up pyramid by folding the sleeve correctly, and also be safe in the knowledge that only 300 stamped and numbered copies have been manufactured.
But what about the track? As well as designing the artwork, Fergus takes drumming duties on track, an 18-minute Krautrock-infused session recorded live in the lads’ Ibiza studio, with nods to both Balearic and space-disco sounds as well as more hypnotic German fare. The group plan to follow this release with both an album and DVD, which will drop later this year. We spoke to David and Fergus by e-mail to ask them about the recording, artwork, and what the future holds for Die Verboten.
Who does what in Die Verboten?
Fergadelic: Me Drum.
David Dewaele: We all do a bit of everything. Since none of us are amazing musicians, the only fixed role is Fergus as drummer. The rest just kind of do what is necessary for the track, depending on which piece of gear is standing in front of them at that moment.
Is the songwriting process quite improvisational?
F: It’s entirely improvisational. We work from the studio and our compositions are constructed on the fly. We use a lot of analogue gear, but it’s the digital recording that gives us the freedom to constantly record, compose, collage as we go. There’s no red light fever, no worrying about how it could be played live, etc. I call it “posh jamming.”
D: Yes, a lot of the time we just let the machines guide us, but perhaps somewhere down the line we will use completely different methods. The point is that there is no system.
How did the hook up with The Vinyl Factory come about?
F: ‘Cos they do the best shit; there’s no-one else. They arranged an amazing field trip to the factory where the records are pressed, which sealed the deal!
D: They were also interested in some of the more unorthodox ways of promoting the release.
Soulwax, Riton and more reveal artsy side project; Die Verboten
Mixmag were one of the first to pick up on one of our latest up and coming releases and since then everyone is talking about..
“Soulwax, Riton and artist Fergadelic have teamed up to create an audio-visual side project they call Die Verboten.
The team have created a limited edition vinyl box set called ‘Live In Eivissa’
This hand-numbered and stamped first edition includes an exclusive, 12″ vinyl-only release of ‘Live In Eivissa’, an 18-minute track recorded in Ibiza, on the A-side, and a unique laser-etched artwork on the B-side. Also included is a unique ‘pop-up’ pyramid artwork whose geometric configuration is designed to ‘focus the deep cosmic powers of the vinyl housed inside’.”
Kanye Vs Pet Shop Boys
Thanks to the guys at Limited Hype there is a discussion on the airways ‘Kanye Vs Pet Shop Boys.’
” I know. Not really my thing either. But the packaging of their vinyl album “Yes, Pet Shop Boys” featuring the art of Farrow is just too fresh. It sets the bar high and above Kaws’ work for Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak in my opinion. Nobody really buys CD’s anymore, let alone vinyl, so you really have to appreciate the thought that went into this. Described to be their most ‘pop album’, they decided to go bright and colorful. The limited edition vinyl version of the album was produced by the The Vinyl Factory and features eleven tracks split over eleven separate records each in a coloured sleeve and housed in a smoked, handmade Perspex case! There are only 300 copies of the box set worldwide and one will cost you about $600. Visit thevinylfactory.com for full details and to order a copy.”
The Vinyl Factory is trendy
Yes, artists like the Pet Shop Boys and Lilly Allen, amongst many others (believe us, the list is very long), are making Vinyl sexy and trendy again. Well, we never stopped thinking so, still, it’s nice to get the love. Here’s another piece by the BBC which focuses on The Vinyl Factory Manufacturing plant in Hayes, just outside London. Enjoy!
BBC features The Vinyl Factory Manufacturing
Because we are celebrating the 7 inch’s 60th birthday, here is Bob Bailey, from the Vinyl Factory Manufacturing, showing the BBC how a 7 inch vinyl is made.
“It is 60 years since RCA record company released the first commercial seven-inch single, spinning at 45rpm.
To celebrate the anniversary, BBC News has been given access to a factory that still makes singles.
Bob Bailey is commercial manager at The Vinyl Factory and has worked at the record making plant for 35 years.” BBC
BBC’s Robert Plummer, earlier in January, also celebrated Vinyl and focused on The Vinyl Factory Manufacturing unit.
“The Wombats and Franz Ferdinand are among the artists whose seven-inch vinyl records are being sleeved and boxed at the Portalspace factory (now The Vinyl Factory Manufacturing) in Hayes, on the edge of west London.
As it happens, they are the latest in a venerable tradition.” Robert Plummer, BBC
VF Manufacturing strikes gold
Vinyl Factory Manufacturing (Ex Portal Space records) has just hit 1.3Million vinyls produced in the last 9 months.
The Pet Shop Boys say ‘Yes’ to a VF exclusive Box set
Click here for more information and to purchase >
Hand signed by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, and limited to only 300 copies worldwide, The Vinyl Factory are proud to present a beautiful Boxed Vinyl Edition of the Pet Shop Boys’ new pop masterpiece ‘Yes’.
A highly collectible piece of pop art by a duo renowned for embracing artistic experimentation, this bespoke music and art edition comprises a hand-made oversized box with gold mounted metal tick containing the album’s 11 tracks pressed on 11 super-heavyweight 200-gram vinyl records, with exclusive b-side instrumentals, housed in 11 specially coloured sleeves.
Art directed by iconic designer Farrow working in close collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys, this super limited edition is available to pre-order now. Be quick, these won’t be around long!
Fact Magazine
Talking loud and saying something, FACT magazine uncovers and showcases the best in new music and youth culture from around the world. Fact Magazine is the fastest growing Music Magazine in the planet, with 2 million discerning readers per year in the UK alone.
The printed edition of Fact Magazine has become a collectors item. Sized after the 7” vinyl and mixing edgy graphics with blunt reporting, it has acquired a cult status amongst those who continue to believe that new music matters.
Opinionated, informed, passionate and ever so slightly subversive, FACT isn’t like anything else around… It caters to a discerning, eternally unsatisfied eclectic music lover that needs blunt, honest music reporting.
