If you’re from the US and reading this on August 12th, Happy Vinyl day to you! If none of those apply, we still have a treat for those purists and vinyl aficionados out there! Many love the warm vintage sound that vinyl has famously been known for and swear by its audio superiority. So on this day, and really everyday, 6AM wanted to bring you the top vinyls sets that you can stream with your favorite techno all-stars.
Dynamic Reflection proudly presents a new vinyl release on their Limited Series (vinyl only) from the Saint Petersburg-based producer Aleksei Nikitin, better known as Nocow. In true Nocow’s fashion, the album encapsulates an array of intertwined genres that goes beyond techno and results in a refreshing take on techno music.
Note: by purchasing the vinyl you will receive an exclusive download code, which gives you full access to the digital downloads of the album + 2 extra digital BONUS tracks.
Since 2010, Jeff Derringer has released his unique brand of techno on such high-powered labels as Electric Deluxe, Soma, and Perc Trax, while touring the world behind his sound. His Oktave events have been a staple of Chicago’s Smartbar for the last dozen years, and have helped build a resurgence in the Windy City’s techno scene.
In 2018, Jeff went on medical hiatus and soon found himself in the ambiguous swamp of the Covid pandemic. After passing through the gauntlet of the last four years undaunted, Jeff has returned with an exciting new direction. The three tracks on Automatic are no-nonsense shots across the bow, built for club devastation; fast-paced, analog-steeped beats made, as Jeff describes it, with as little equipment as possible. Jeff’s Automatic EP is the fifth release on the label Oktave Records, a label that started in 2017 as an offshoot of Jeff Derringer’s long-running event series at Chicago’s Smartbar nightclub.
A new vinyl pressing plant is opening in Southern California to keep up with rising demands for vinyl records. The new Fidelity Record Pressing aims to be the country’s “premier vinyl production facility”, Billboard reports.
The Californian reissue label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi) is behind the new pressing plant, alongside Music Direct’s Jim Davis. Both parties have collaborated with vinyl engineers Rick and Edward Hashimoto — a father and son team who have over six decades of vinyl pressing experience.
TyCo London‘s passion for house music and techno began very early on when he discovered his love of music in the London clubbing and raving seen in the late 80’s early 90’s where he dedicated his time as a DJ and clubber. He would spend hours in record shops in Soho, sifting through vinyls, listening to hundreds of records, and discovering artists which led him to have such a large collection of music. Playing professionally for the last 30 years and producing as a hobby for the last 10 years he is now focused and committed to producing the music he loves. Read more
Record store owners and distributing labels in Germany may run into problems in July when the cost of shipping vinyl-sized parcels will be amended by DHL.
From July 1, shipping costs are set to change impacting the sales of 12-inch records, which could ultimately put many German stores out of business.
Right now, posting one or two records from Germany to the rest of the world — including countries as far as Australia — costs just €5, which is subject to reach as high as €19.89 with tracking come next month. Sending a record to the UK could cost as much as €16.70.
The cheapest option left, record store owners argue, is Päckchen M International, which could still cost two to three times the amount of Warenpost.
“Currently, I can send two 12″ records to the US, Canada, or even Australia for €5. From July, that same parcel will cost €20 to ship,” says Andy Vaz, owner of German record shop Yore Store, chatting to Mixmag.
“They changed the format size of the parcel in a way that vinyl records wont fit for that cheapest rate – we’re missing about 5cm. There’s no way people will want to pay €20 for shipping on a €10 or €15 record. That’s going to affect all German labels of all genres, everyone who sends records via Bandcamp or Discogs, you name it,” he adds.
Vaz, along with other record store owners in Germany whose lifeline banks on this change, have now created a petition asking for the government to recognise what could be incredibly damaging for the German vinyl industry.
“I’ve been doing this since 1998, and the US is our strongest market for selling records. No record shops will be able to survive without that, because we can’t survive just from walk-in customers,” Vaz adds.
Find out how to help, and sign the petition here.
Originally reported by MixMag.
Label owner of Modwerks Records Ø [Phase] presents his next string of digital and vinyl releases. The label first debuted its 12-track minimal techno album by Ø [Phase] himself, titled, Before This. Now the label will be releasing three EPs, with artists Stef Mendesidis and Toru Katsuta on EPs Human Error, Phenomena, and one coming soon in July featuring Setaoc Mass.
Both EPs will feature a remix, a fresh solo cut, and include one of the two album tracks that were originally omitted from the LP vinyl version.
Go back in time, to where 1991 was the ultimate year for techno and house, entering into a new decade at the time, dance music had a whole sound to it. The generation of house and techno listeners today have a small sense of what music was like thirty years ago, almost a lifetime of most people in the scene today. The scene was reaching its highest level in clubs and raves, a world with no phones, just music, and no sleep for days. The familiar tracks that have been played over a span of three decades are hard to believe that these have reached their thirty-year mark. True classics never die.
The tables are turned for an old music favorite. Vinyl is back for old collectors and a new generation is hopping on board. New data shows a major surge in vinyl but manufacturers are having a tough time keeping up. In the first half of this year, vinyl sales have nearly doubled from the same period last year with seventeen million records sold generating four hundred sixty-seven million dollars more than double CD sales did. It’s the highest year ever for vinyl sales in the United States, and there’s about one billion dollars worth of business that can’t be achieved. Vinyl is so popular it’s getting hard for sellers to keep up.
