I’m old-school in that I like to have my art in a physical form. I like my paintings on canvas, framed, I like my poetry published in a printed book, and I like my music reproduced on vinyl. So, I had a selection of tracks from my album, “Divan”, cut on a 12 inch vinyl record.
The company that did it is called Little Elephant Custom Vinyl, and they (the owner and operator, Rob Courtney), delivered a good quality product. The sound is pure, clear, and as rich as you can get on an analog recording, and the album sleeve and centre labels are nicely printed and assembled. I had concerns that my artwork was too dark, but it turned out well.
Moreover, Rob was pleasant to deal with, and delivered as promised.
Of the work that was involved, the trickiest parts were to compile the songs so that they have an exact playtime of 20 minutes or less per side, and the graphic design of the gatefold sleeve and centre labels that had to meet precise specs.
The record goes with the published book of the album, which tells the backstory of the tracks. This I wrote, designed and published as usual using Blurb‘s Bookwright software. There was too much to explain, reference, and credit, for me to fit it all into liner notes – so a book it was.
I had a small print run, enough to send copies to the people who had been involved and who had helped me to create it, as a thank-you. (And also, to credit them, formally, in the book.)
Afterwards, looking at it, I realized that quite a lot of thought had gone into each of the songs, since the text is about the compositions, as well as the lyrics, and the process of producing the song. To get from the concept to the products took more than a year.
In any case, I am quite chuffed with this, and have proudly added my very own record to my collection that sits with my turntable in the lounge.
To quote Seth Godin: “Look. I made this.” It somehow makes it all real, this ephemeral business of making music.