“I can distinctly recall pulling out a 45 RPM record from my dad’s collection. It had a green apple in the center, and I thought it was funny that there was a fruit right in the middle of this small vinyl.”
“I threw it on my little record player and out popped this magnificent sonic magic. It was the song “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles. Those harmonies blew me away and changed my thinking on music forever. I don’t think if I was to have pressed play on a computer to hear that same song, it would have affected me in quite the same manner.
Through the years I developed an affinity for many of the bands and artists I heard on my dad’s vinyl collection; Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Stevie Wonder, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sly and the Family Stone… and the list goes on. The ’60s and ’70s had so much pivotal music made, in all genres. Even with all our technology and hi-fidelity capabilities, you hear countless hip hop artists sampling from this period. If I had to guess, I would say it is likely the most sampled time period that is still relevant and vital in music today. Just listen to “Amen, Brother” by The Winstons. This gem came out in 1969, and since then it has been sampled over 2,000 times. You probably don’t know this group, but you undoubtably have heard at least 1 song containing the famous drum break.”
—Jason
“Vinyl has always carried a kind of unique listening magic for me since I was born in the age of tapes and CDs. All my early vinyl experiences revolved around finding old Tori Amos, Portishead, or Kate Bush albums on vinyl and re-experiencing music I had already consumed on CDs through the warmth of vinyl.”
“As a band, we try to capture that unique energy through the way we release vinyl. Our most recent release, “Ouroboros” EP, is actually the only place our fans can hear the score for the short film we released in conjunction with the EP—outside of the film itself. We wanted to make sure there was a bold, surprising experience awaiting those who took the time to listen through our vinyl completely.”
—Gabby
“Crate digging has become a preferred pastime on tour. From Rough Trade in NYC to Cosmos Records in London, there are always a plethora of good finds to be discovered if you just spend enough time sifting.”
“It can be inspiration enough just to gaze at the art on the labels of these. That is another lost aspect of the way we experience today—cover art. When you would go out to a record store and look at the art on the covers, large format and finely detailed, you would take in the full perspective of what the art was meant to do. Like walking into an art gallery and gazing at the murals, it is all-encompassing, as opposed to streaming it on your phone and looking at the tiny pixellated cover art.
At the same time, we can’t completely knock today’s modern music realm. There has been a major resurgence of vinyl buying lately. We do still think people enjoy the experience of going out and buying a record, then going home to listen to it in its entity—maybe smoke a joint and sip on some tea, or just close your eyes and transcend time.
Records make us slow down and listen, to stop the business of a fast paced day and let the analog sounds launching from your speakers take you someplace else. Just don’t go too far down, cause you will still need to flip to side B eventually.”
—Jason & Gabby
Smoke Season’s current single, “Sweetest Thing” is in stores now.
