The practice of minimalism is very personal and the uninitiated may presume that the idea is to “own” as little as possible. For me, it’s about taking away the distractions so I can truly appreciate the things I love. Over the past couple of years I rediscovered Minimalism through the work of Japanese author Fumio Sasaki:

“Why do we own so many things when we don’t need them? What is their purpose? I think the answer is quite clear: We’re desperate to convey our own worth, our own value to others. We use objects to tell people just how valuable we are.”

Fumio Sasaki, Goodbye, Things.

This was an epiphany for me. I realised that for a number of reasons, I had been doing exactly that. I started to question what I owned, what was its purpose and did it bring me happiness?

In the months that followed I streamlined my collections of ‘things’ to the stuff that, to quote Marie Kondo, “sparks joy“; a move from unconscious collector to conscious curator. I also started to ask important questions when making purchases such as, “do I really need this?“. It’s a process which needs constant practice and refining. I often find myself with clutter to clear but the process is extremely therapeutic, the clarity of clearing clutter acts as a catalyst for cleansing the conscious.

I still own things, I make purchases, I collect records, cassettes, guitar pedals and microphones. I make my selections thoughtfully and when I do, I overwhelming find that I treasure these possessions more than previous purchases I’ve made with little conscious effort.

As label owner I am keen to bring this practice into my business. We inhabit a space where one could consume all things digitally and thus those ‘things’ would have no physical presence in our world. Digital streaming has replaced tangible formats such as the Musicassette, Vinyl, Video Tape and more recently, the DVD. Currently, all you need is a smart device or computer to create, mix and distribute music. If you have been reading my previous posts you’ll know why I don’t think that is necessarily a good idea for creativity.

Therefore, some thought is required into the way we create, store and distribute music. The Musicassette, although a niche market is appealing, because it’s possible to hold minimal stock and create orders in-house and on-demand. However, with vinyl releases, careful consideration the number of copies produced is required, as they will need to be stored in preparation for fulfilling orders.

We now live in a culture that is, once again, starting to appreciate experiences over things. There is still a place for the collector but, personally I find I enjoy my own collections more when I have mindfully curated them to a core of items which bring me the most joy. I often find myself suggesting to undergrads and postgrads that they “narrow down” their research and that is quite literally at the heart of my practice as a Minimalist-Collector.

Stu Welsh

Owner & Curator here at Fiercely Indie. Stu’s background is in Sound Engineering and Education. He leads undergrad and postgrad courses at dBs Music, acts as Producer for Live in Session and, is a huge fan of vintage recording gear.

* A minute deviation in the thickness of the oxide layer can cause a huge change in output level (up to 1dB per 1/10,000th of an inch).

To many, the format** that crams four tracks (two each side for stereo playback) into just over an eight of an inch, has had its day. However, what makes the format particularly appealing for small labels, like Fiercely Indie, is that anyone with a decent cassette recorder and a printer/copier can make a limited edition, small run of cassettes in-house. Unlike vinyl, which requires a complex physical manufacturing process, they are currently the only viable analogue format that can be created on-demand.

** The Compact Cassette, or Musicassette (MC), we use today was introduced in 1963 by Philips and remained one of the two most common formats for recorded music from the 1970s into the 1990s alongside both the vinyl record and, later, the compact disc.

All in the Name of Research

This week I’ve been doing (the most enjoyable) market research. Purchasing small, special and limited run cassettes. Listening on my Nakamichi Dragon Denon DRM-550 deck, examining the various approaches and generally learning more about underground cassette culture.

When the drums kicked in on the blue Intravene tape, I was instantly transported back to mid-nineties; just from that beautiful lo-fi, saturated cassette tone. Whether that’s just nostalgia, I’m not sure, but it’s been a long time since I blindly purchased this much music and enjoyed listening to every single track.

Love them or hate them, there’s something about an analogue format which can be used as an outlet for creative expression both in terms of music and artwork. I very much look forward to continuing my research and experimenting with the medium of tape as we release some small run, limited edition Musicassettes over the coming months.

Stu Welsh

Owner & Curator here at Fiercely Indie. Stu’s background is in Sound Engineering and Education. He leads undergrad and postgrad courses at dBs Music, acts as Producer for Live in Session and, is a huge fan of vintage recording gear.

The other week we were honoured to host the excellent Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, an academic and author specialising in fan culture, the cult of dead celebrity, music and music heritage.

Jen’s guest lecture was excellent and our students are still talking about it now.  I took the opportunity to ask her to sign my copy of ‘Why Vinyl Matters’, which she graciously did, with her usual flare.

So why does vinyl matter?

Well, firstly, this isn’t going to be a book review.  The book is excellent though, go and buy a copy immediately, if you don’t own one already (I imagine a lot of people reading this already will). Perhaps a better title for this post would be ‘Why does vinyl matter, to me?’.

Why does vinyl matter, to me?

I’ve tried answering that question a few times, over a coffee, with hastily handwritten notes, discussions with academics, being cognisant when playing vinyl, and it’s a tough one to answer.   Not because there aren’t any reasons, but because there are so many and the majority of them are equally as applicable to any physical, analogue format; but I will attempt to keep this about vinyl.

For me, it has little to do with sound quality.  I am well aware of the format’s sonic limitations and will happily (academically or otherwise) debate formats, sonic perception and audio objectivity vs. subjectivity.

However, this post is not about the sonic pros and cons of the format, instead it is about interaction, experience and human nature.

Digging

There is just something more authentic about being able to flick through a big crate of vinyl albums than scrolling through Spotify.  The feeling of the record sleeves under the fingertips, the special “flick” you learn and improve at, the way the cardboard brakes on the air pressure between the sleeves as one 12″ cascades into another.  A short pause … stopping on a classic cover, or some interesting art I’ve not seen before. The role of the physical format here, one could argue, is almost as important as the music itself.

Ritual

Sliding the vinyl from the sleeve, that distinctive papery crumple.  The very-careful balance we learn, of holding the disk between the fingers and palm of the hand, before placing it on the turntable.  Placing or lowering the needle gently and precisely into the groove.  That pregnant pause before that first subtle crackle comes over the speakers, shortly followed by the sonic signature of that particular pressing.

Entropy

Listening, really listening, sitting in the ‘sweet spot’ between the speakers and actually hearing the record.  Knowing that every play will wear the needle and the groove very subtly; meaning that one play, almost indistinguishable from subsequent plays, is actually unique and will never be exactly the same ever again.  A sonic sacrifice.

Knowledge

Reading the liner notes; before the days of the Internet, so much information came from those notes.  Who played what and on which track, who wrote each song, where it was recorded, who engineering it, who the producer was,  where it was pressed …

The artwork, often full of glorious studio or tour photos.  I still study all the studio pictures closely, occasionally I find a piece of studio or music gear I am not familiar with and that leads me on a new mission to learn about it.

Artwork

Then there’s the artwork, presented as either a 12″ square or a 24″ x 12″ rectangle if it’s a gatefold. Die-cuts (ELP – Brain Salad Surgery), embellishments (Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers features a zip on some pressings), coloured vinyl (which is making a comeback), picture disks (Tool – Lateralus features the art of Alex Grey), shaped disks, inlays, inserts, posters …  I fear we have lost the art of the record.

Experience

During the last century and, to some extent, the start of this one, we lived in a world of collections, where the idea of owning and currating physical objects was celebrated.  Storing them, maintaining them, interacting with the medium itself. 

However, this process has been largely supplanted by streaming media. Spotify and Apple Music means we can listen to any album, at any time without having to own or store that physical copy. Therefore, it could be argued that, the idea of a tangible format become less about access to the music we love and more about having a authentic experience.

Social

I find this ritual highly social too.  It’s great to have friends and family over to hang out and play records.  It’s fun to teach people, who have never had the pleasure of placing the disk on the turntable, or the needle in the grove, how to go about it.  It’s a memorable experience which adds ‘weight’ to the music. That interaction is almost impossible to replicate with modern digital platforms.

That is why I love vinyl.

And, then, all too soon, the last record of the night spins out and the needle sits in the dead wax at the centre of the beautiful black circle …

“Click!“

Stu Welsh

Owner & Curator here at Fiercely Indie. Stu’s background is in Sound Engineering and Education. He leads undergrad and postgrad courses at dBs Music, acts as Producer for Live in Session and, is a huge fan of vintage recording gear.