Our thoughts go out to the family of a visionary that changed our worlds. We will miss you Steve-

1. Light In The Attic: A young but fierce reissue label. Founded in 1990, this label has been extremely active and ingenious in their selection of their catalog. LITA’s standards are high and it shows in the details of their product. They also act as a distribution company for other common minded labels, banning together to insure success.

2. 4 Men with Beards: What makes this label one of the best in the business is their ability to offer so many different genres, but they all seem to have some sort of cross section, releasing titles from artists like Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Stiff Little Fingers, Funkadelic, and De La Soul. Who are these men with beards? That I cannot say, but they do good work.

3. Sundazed: Founded by Bob Irwin and his wife Mary 1989. Bob became well known for his ability to restore the recordings from vinyl records for the CD format. This grabbed the attention of major labels, and allowed them to reissue their back catalogs on the (at the time) new format. Since then Sundazed has been successfully releasing records from the 1950s to 1970s.

4. Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs: Audiophile would be the best way to describe MFSL. All masters are created from a combination of first generation tape and a proprietary restoration system to improve sound quality. Most of their catalog from before 1980 was pressed at the JVC plant in Japan using their top secret compound called “Supervinyl”. The plant closed in the early 80s and the recipe for compound still remains a mystery.

5. Rhino: Probably the most well known reissue label. Releasing classic American rock albums from the likes of The Ramones, Chicago, and Led Zeppelin, their catalog is just massive. Not only are they keeping these titles in print, but they offer custom packaging and box sets, that will make any collector go crazy.

6. Speakers Corner Records: Dedicated to keeping the MPS records catalog in print. MPS records catalog dates from 1920 the early 1980s, with genres ranging from all forms of jazz to afro beat.

7. Music Matters: Blue Note and Impulse reissue label. Consistent in their ways, all records are pressed on 180g, cut at 45rpm, and are contained in jackets designed to perfection, creating a product any picky collector would be pleased with.

8. Plain Recordings: Awesome rock reissue label from the Bay Area. With releases from artists like Mr. Bungle, The Breeders, and The Lemonheads, their records are by no means lost or hard to find, they just belong on vinyl.

9. Numero Group: With over 60 titles to date. This label cares to be known for their attention to details, often times including more than just a high quality 180g LP in their packaging – it’s not uncommon to see a full product including 45s, DVDs, and cassettes.

10. Smithsonian Folkways: Originally founded by Moses Asch in 1948. The label was donated to the Smithsonian in 1987, under the agreement that none of the 2,000+ titles would ever go out of print. The label specializes in world, jazz, folk, and blues.

Vinyl releases are what Suburban Home Records are known for. (That and the Drunk Dial Hotline on their website: http://www.suburbanhomerecords.com/). We asked Owner Virgil Dickerson, why pressing vinyl is important to him.

“I love the sound of vinyl, I love that you must devote your entire attention to listening to a record, and I love that in this crazy, fast-paced world we live in, when you sit down to listen to a record, for me, it’s therapy. I love the convenience of digital music, but with vinyl, you get a completely different experience and for all those reasons and more, I love putting out records.”

Suburban Home’s latest release Introducing by Kay Kay and His Weather Undergound has been in heavy rotation on our office turntable. I was thrilled to catch Kay Kay and His Weather Underground play Bottom of the Hill a few weeks ago. We asked them why pressing vinyl is important to them as artists and this is what they had to say:

“It’s tangible- it adds to the sound in so many ways” said front man Kirk Huffman. “It makes listening to the music more of an experience.”

After the show, and in between the rush of fans storming the merch table, I was able to talk to Thomas Hunter. “When I was a kid, I would save my money and ride my bike to the record store to see what I could get. Records have always been a huge part of my life. When I listen to music, I listen to records, so when I make music I want to release it in that form.”

As I was leaving I overheard one fan asked for the new release on CD and the room got quiet. Thomas’s response to this: “Oh, you mean you want a mini record?”

To label Bosco Delrey’s debut LP as diverse would be an understatement and would be to sell short its startling and indefinable originality. Everybody Wah, out now on ever-present DJ/producer Diplo’s Mad Decent imprint, is a one of a kind amalgamation of wildly varying influences that unexpectedly, and at times miraculously, fuse to create thirteen unique, fuzz-drenched tracks of mildly lackadaisical, lo-fi garage-dance-rockabilly that bounces from psychedelic Southern boogie to punk rock to island-rhythm dancehall and back again without skipping a beat.

Delrey, a New Jersey transplant from Tennessee, recorded with Doug Easley (White Stripes, Wilco, Sonic Youth) in Memphis utilizing an arsenal of distorted and acoustic guitars, vintage synthesized instrumentation and a wide range of propulsive sampled drumbeats. His often soulful vocal drifts back in the mix throughout, heavy with delay, acting as the only connection between the eclectic track list.

“Don Haps” starts out with a thick, low-down Rock n’ Roll guitar groove and builds on a kick-heavy, handclap rhythm with piercing electric distortion and atmospheric synths. “Go Slow the Bones” breaks from an overdriven tom-driven pulse to a spaced-out xylophone and organ wash. Then, there’s the manic, nearly Kinks-esque gem, “Archebold Ivy,” in which a bouncing harpsichord is matched by a singsong vocal and topped by increasingly distorted synths and random electronic odds and ends that could be called pop if it wasn’t so bizarre. The great surprise of Everybody Wah is how undeniably catchy it all is. Be it the smooth doo-wop of “Insta Love” or the rabid, out and out dance explosion of “Cool Out,” Bosco Delrey has fashioned a refreshingly odd and casually danceable collection of idiosyncratic songs that would be equally at home with fans of both Sun Records and Beck, in the car or in the club.

“[Bosco is] a sort of garbage can Elvis from New Jersey… teaspoon craziness, a pinch of rockabilly, and full cup of soul dressed in a leather jacket. He can’t be topped as far as song writing… He’s doin’ the music I wish I could if I had bought a guitar.” -Diplo

Click here to view the embedded video.

Larry and His Flask hail from Oregon and have one of the most unique sounds ripping through the Northwest music scene right now. Their fourth full-length album All That We Know does anything but disappoint and really shows how far they’ve come from busking on the street. All fourteen tracks sound different than the one before it, most likely because of how many instruments this six-piece group plays, a total of ten instruments, along with each member lending their voice to the songs.

Some tracks that stick out are the short but sweet like “I’ll Be Gone”, a strong a cappella that quickly becomes a cacophony of strings over fast paced percussion, all lasting under two minutes. The band takes a less foot stomping, more seat swaying tone on “Slow It Down”, a vocal, feel-good ballad.

Larry and His Flask, along with local label Silver Sprocket, decided to get All That We Know pressed in three different colored vinyl: green, gold, and blue. So make sure you get your hands on these limited edition records quick!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Record Pressing is proud to announce its very own Anamanaguchi/Starscream split 7″ record was featured as the number one pre-order on Insound!

The limited white color vinyl pre-orders are only available through the online music retailer. Make sure to reserve your copy! Release date is set for June 21.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Brian Shimkovitz has been sharing his collection of rare tapes and vinyl from all over the world for a few years now (totally free online) but he also DJ’s them live all over the world, whether it’s in Brooklyn, Paris, or Ghana. He does it all simply because he wants more people to hear all this incredible music he scours the earth for, and he’s good at it. I found out about Awesome Tapes From Africa from a guy who had just spent the last three months living in a cave in the middle of the Arizona desert. Seriously. If you’ve got some funky Afrobeat you think is rare, send it his way. But odds are he’s already got it. I caught Brian while he was on tour in Europe and got to ask him some questions.

Record Pressing: So for those who don’t know, what is awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com?

Brian Shimkovitz: Awesome Tapes from Africa is a place to listen to and download interesting 
music you might not hear elsewhere.

RP: Very cool, and how did it all begin, what led you to global crate 
digging?

BS: I started doing the blog as a way to share the bizarre and fascinating music
 I picked up while living and studying in Ghana on two separate trips a few
 years ago. Since then I have been finding tapes around NYC and Paris and
 people have been sending them to me. I search all over Brooklyn for tapes, 
but in West Africa shops are all over the place. It’s a lot of fun talking 
to the men selling music because they let you listen whatever you want.

RP: Do you remember the first vinyl you got from Africa?

BS: I found a bunch of Nigerian Juju records for cheap when I was in college just 
visiting record stores here in NYC. They were dusty but amazing.

RP: So what does your vinyl collection look like today?

BS: I mostly collect and listen to disco and early house and techno 12″s.

RP: How does the sound quality of all these recordings compare from a 
cassette or CD to a vinyl?

BS: Some of the cassettes sound great, others are poorly duplicated or were 
taped from a record (so you can often hear the needle crackle). When I DJ 
this music it definitely sounds different from someone DJ’ing using super
clean vinyl or CDs.

RP: What’s the perception on vinyl out there? Is it an exhausted medium, or 
are artists still pressing them today?

BS: There aren’t any record pressing plants in West Africa any more, to my 
knowledge. There used to be a big music industry with most of the major 
labels running businesses there, but several factors contributed to their 
ultimate failure, including the rise of cassettes as a medium. Piracy is
 rampant in Africa.

RP: I heard you brought tons of American records to Ghana to trade, what was
 the idea behind that and how did it go?

BS: Well, I didn’t bring tons but I brought a few stacks and it was good fun
 sharing them with dudes I hung out with there. I traded some for African 
records because more younger guys are figuring out some foreigners are into
 collecting them. I traded a Nas record for an old super trashed Fela album I 
don’t have.

RP: Is there any vinyl out there that you’re still dying to get your hands
 on?

BS: I would love to find some vinyl of Boubacar Traore’s recordings.

RP: So to wrap things up, when’s your next trip?

BS: I hope to visit West Africa again in September. But who knows! It’s a long 
expensive journey.

Enjoy a FREE hot dog/sausage and beer with Record Pressing at 475 Haight Street this Saturday, in recognition of the only holiday in the world dedicated to music!

Admittance fee: Receipt from any local record store dated within the last week (April 9 – April 16).

AC/DC, Shoot to Thrill / War Machine – 7″

Adele, Rolling in the Deep – 10″

Arctic Monkeys, Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair – 7″

Bad Brains, Pay to Cum – 7″

The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations / Heroes and Villains – 78rpm Double disc reissue

Beat Connection, Surf Noir

Big Star, Third – 12″; 1 in every 300 will contain an actual test pressing from the 70′s

The Bouncing Souls, Live at Generation Records – 12″

Built to Spill, Ripple – 7″; Track cover of the Grateful Dead’s, “Ripple”

The Clash, The Magnificent Seven – 7″; Red vinyl + bonus 4-track CD

Daft Punk, Tron Soundtrack – 12″

Danger Mouse & Daniele Lippi (Ft. Jack White and Norah Jones), Two Against One / Black – 7″; ROME project

The dB’s, Picture Sleeve – 7″; First new material in over 20 years

Death Cab for Cutie, …In Living Stereo! – 7″

The Decemberists, Live at Bull Moose – 7″

Deerhoof / XIU XIU – Split 7″

Deftones, Covers – 12″; Covers of The Cure, The Smiths, Drive Like Jehu, The Cars, Duran Duran, and Lynyrd Skynrd

Dio, Killing the Dragon – 12″

The Doors, Rideres on the Storm – 7″

Duran Duran, Girl panic!

Eric Clapton, Unplugged – 12″

Fela Kuti and the Africa 70, Monday Morning in Lagos Parts 1 & 2

Flaming Lips, Heady Nuggs: The First 5 Warner Bros. Records 1992 – 2002 – 5 12″ box set

Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues / Grown Ocean – 12″

Flogging Molly, Don’t Shut ‘Em Down

Franz Ferdinand, Tonight – 12″ EP

Freddy King, Wash Out – 7″

Gorillaz, The Fall – 12″

Green Day / Husker Du – Split 7″

Jimi Hendrix, Fire – 7″ Red vinyl & limited 3-track CD single

Jimmy Eat World, Bleed American – 12″ Deluxe 3LP

Karen Elson, Vicious / In Trouble with the Lord – 7″

The Kills, Satellite – 10″; Mixes by Mad Professor

Mastodon, Live at the Aragon – 12″ 180g

Michael Jackson, Hollywood Tonight / Behind the Mask – 7″

The New Pornographers, Moves – 7″

Nirvana, Hormoaning – 12″ Reissue

Of Montreal, The Past is a Grotesque Animal – 12″ single

Ozzy Osbourne, Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman – 12″ Reissues

Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What

Pearl Jam, Immortality / Rearviewmirror

Peter Tosh, Legalize It / Equal Rights – 7″

Queen, Keep Yourself Alive – Limited 7″ of Queen’s first single

Raphael Saadiq, Radio / Can’t Jig Anymore – 7″

Red Hot Chili Peppers / The Ramones, Havana Affair – Split 7″

R.E.M., Three – 7″ 3 box set

Rolling Stones, Brown Sugar / Bitch / Let it Rock – 7″; Single replica of original EP

Rush, Caravan / BU2B – 7″

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Class Mythology EP – Double 7″ orange vinyl

Sonic Youth, Whores Moaning – 12″ Reissue

Syd Barrett, Syd Barrett: An Introduction to Syd Barrett – 12″ 180g; Double disc featuring tracks from Pink Floyd and solo recordings

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, You’re Gonna Get It – 12″

The Velvet Underground, Foggy Notion – 7″

The White Stripes, Lafayette Blues / Sugar Never Tasted So Good – 7″

The White Stripes, Let’s Shake Hands / Look Me Over Closely – 7″

Yeasayer, End Blood – 7″; Single of 2 unreleased tracks

If you can take care of a pet rock, you can take care of your vinyl collection. It shouldn’t be a challenge, and most advice is a no-brainer, but there are certainly a few tricks that can prevent damage in the long run.

Here are the basics:

1. Don’t stack records: records are made of a polyvinyl chloride that is soft and malleable. The weight of stacked records and other weighted objects can deform the circular shape and distort the sound producing grooves that guide the needle, a problem that cannot be fixed. The best way is to sort them vertically, but be careful not to pack them too tight, as this will have the same effect you are trying to prevent.

2. Don’t leave you records next to a heat source: Like most plastics, vinyl has a low heat capacity and will begin to melt at temperatures rising from 70 degrees F. This means that heaters, ovens, microwaves, fireplaces, and other places that receive direct sunlight are poor places to shelve your records. I would suggest a bookshelf in a room with a moderate temperature.

3. Moisture is a vinyl serial killer: Once your record covers and sleeves get wet, they will start to mildew, and aside from smelling terrible, they will be worthless. If you are storing them in a garage, don’t store them on the ground or next to a water supply.

4. Don’t Leave your records out of the sleeve: The sleeve is like the force field on the Millennium Falcon, once the shields are down, all the knicks and scratches will add up and eventually render the record unplayable. Would you participate in a fencing match naked? Hopefully, you get my point.

5. Don’t play your records with a dull needle: Although cartridges can last several years, it is important that the needle remains sharp. Otherwise, as the needle dulls it will increase in surface area, and the effect is kind of like trying to jam something large into a small hole. As I explained earlier, once the grooves are compromised there is very little you can do to salvage them.

6. Be careful to whom you lend your records: Just as you wouldn’t lend your car to a random person you met in Compton, you should take similar precautions when lending records. Make sure that the lendee will care for your precious collection with the same meticulous care that you would. Small children, drunk friends, and crazy ex-girlfriends are a few examples of people you might want to think twice about lending to.

General Maintenance:

When it comes to vinyl a little tender love and care every now and then can go a long way. Serious damage is typically the result of long-time neglect.

For example, if you handle your records frequently, it doesn’t hurt to wipe them down with a fiber-less clothe (the type of cloth you would wipe your glasses with) and some gentle ivory soap; stay away from alcohol, sticky substances, and corrosives.

This will eliminate residue build up and dust particles that get trapped in the sound grooves. It’s particles as such that are responsible for those snaps and pops that most vinyl lovers live for; however, if not washed occasionally, your vinyl will sound like a bowl of Rice Crispies. This is also bad for your needle as the dust will collect on the tip.

With this being said, if you plan to store your records away for a long period of time, consider putting them in airtight boxes or purchasing poly-sleeves. Also, keep in mind that record covers are equally if not more valuable than records themselves so bent corners, wrinkles, scratches, and tears can seriously impact a records total value.

The best way to protect covers is to rack them vertically and to purchase poly-bags (European style record jackets). Finally, the best way to prevent damage to records is to take care when playing them. Be careful when changing tracks, try to handle them by the edges, return them to their sleeves when done, etc.

Alright, now that you know the ins and outs of record maintenance, you can sit back, relax, and get groovy.

STANDOUT TRACKS: “Canada,” “Black Valley Fight,” “Minx”

Recommended If You Like: Catchy pop with a post-punk twist

With their sophomore album Cities Can Wait, out April 5th, North Texas outfit The Demigs have created a sound clearly born of elder statesmen, but possessing a unique chemistry and energy all its own.

The album kicks off at once louder and softer that one expects, the initial cleanly strummed chords of “Red Palomino” snap quickly to a bright, forceful noise of disortion and reverb of mid-’90s proportions, only to fall away again to make room for Demiligio’s gentle, polished vocal. The album rides the loudquietloud wave throughout, building layers of fuzz on a solid, time-honored pop foundation. Filled with catchy hooks and quirky lyrics, the band strides confidently along the line between Brit Pop sheen and post-punk noise throughout the album’s first half.

With “Black Valley Fight,” an editorial on the nature of piety and sobriety, the tempo and mood start to shift. The pulsing Southern boogie lick of the verse erupts into an explosive buzzsaw chorus. This is the first appearance of out and out aggression, and the sudden range grabs the listener immediately. From that point on genres blend more freely, and the emotional arc of the album comes into focus.

Starting side B, the tender, breezy “Both Hands Out” features steel guitar, banjo, fiddle and a bouncing, Country-Western bass line backing up a tightly constructed, medium-paced pop gem of a vocal line. Immediately after comes “Minx,” where minor-key fuzz introduces a decidedly darker tone, filled with a lush mix of piano and wailing, reverb-laden leads that owes more to classic shoegaze than the bright rock of earlier tracks. “Chambers Full of Tracers” follows, a dark, quiet, fingerpicking sketch that is pure country-folk. The lyrics and tone slide slowly closer to melancholy throughout the second side, but the energy never lags.

Recorded and produced by the band, Cities Can Wait was created over a period of four years, and it shows. The lush production is dense, but never overcrowded. The layers of instrumentation are subtle and complimentary, experimenting with everything from phased out synthesizers to glockenspiel to the aforementioned banjo, and the band never loses sight of its strength amongst the noise. Their keen ability to craft tight, catchy pop songs anchors the album throughout, from the bright, open chords of the opening tracks, to the more melancholy second half. The Demigs succeed not by creating something wholly new, but by taking what is long familiar and making it sound fresh.