The Democrats Are Winning the Record Store Battle: Doug Emhoff and California governor Gavin Newsom went vinyl shopping in Philly before the presidential debate, the latest example of the Harris/Walz campaign’s music geekdom. …Early Tuesday afternoon, hours before the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, a woman walked into Latchkey Records, an indie record store in south Philadelphia, and asked owner Marc Faletti about his stock of Depeche Mode and other new wave records. After taking a few photos of what was in stock, like rare DJ mixes of the British synthpop band, she said she’d be back. Faletti recalls that, a half hour later, “a guy with an earpiece” entered the 1,000-square-foot store and started asking about its entrances and exits, and if the bathroom locked. The woman—who turned out to be part of the Harris team, along with the Secret Service agent—then returned with a startling piece of news: Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, and California governor Gavin Newsom would be coming by in 20 minutes to shop for vinyl.
Miami, FL | Terrestrial Funk Record Store Is Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time: Terrestrial Funk has quickly become a beloved fixture in the burgeoning corner of an area known mostly for luxury retail. Bright-orange couches, shelves of locally made apparel and crafts, and well-curated racks of vintage T-shirts aren’t the most distinctive things about the new Terrestrial Funk record store in the Design District. That would have to be the two enormous speakers sitting in the middle of the shop. Standing floor to ceiling between the bins and the marble sales counter, the JBL speakers were salvaged from the movie theater at the Dolphin Mall, where they sat behind one of the screens. The sounds of Hollywood action films flowing through the stacks have been replaced by a new soundtrack of funk, boogie, soul, house, and other genres found mainly on vinyl, all sounding crisp and clear. How does such a massive sound system end up in a relatively small record shop?
Nashville, TN | Nashville record factory innovating with vinyl after 75 years in business: For the past 75 years, everything from the Beatles’ first U.S. record to Taylor Swift’s latest hits have been pressed at the factory along Allied Drive. America’s oldest and largest historic record-pressing plant is innovating in Nashville. United Record Pressing is trying to keep up with the growth of vinyl by using new technology alongside Music City’s history. For the past 75 years, everything from the Beatles’ first U.S. record to Taylor Swift’s latest hits have been pressed at the factory along Allied Drive. “It’s not been easy every year, so it’s been special to celebrate that longevity,” Director of Sales and Marketing Cam Sarrett said. “There is the art object of a vinyl record that’s really special, and I think different than other formats.” During the 1990s downturn of vinyl, United Record Pressing was down to just 12 employees. The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a vinyl resurgence that now has more than 120 employees producing around 8 million records every year.
Pittsburgh, PA | Robotics meets vinyl records, thanks to this Pittsburgh entrepreneur: Maximillian Obasiolu’s experience at Carnegie Mellon and a local accelerator helped him launch Lead-In Record Co. To build a hardware startup, come to Pittsburgh. Yes, software as a service — and now AI — has long dominated the flashy narrative of nascent companies, but physical tech still reigns in certain markets. Just ask Maximillian Obasiolu, founder of vinyl manufacturing company Lead-In Record Co. It’s the local hardware scene that’s kept him in the area, where he’s building his startup from the ground up. “The robotics scene here is top tier compared to other cities in the country,” Obasiolu told Technical.ly. “Pittsburgh punches well above its weight class because of the educational institutions here.” It all started in 2021. Now 26, Obasiolu came to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to pursue a dual master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering and engineering technology and innovation management. He stuck around because of the other opportunities.
UK | Kinks’ classic Pye record label revived after 40 years: Music producer Tony Currie has ‘rescued’ an iconic record label from obscurity that epitomised ‘cool London’ in the 60s – releasing hits by The Kinks’ and Sandie Shaw. He has bought the rights to Pye Records, set up in 1955, that helped shape the rock’n’roll era and the Swinging Sixties with groups like The Kinks who emerged from Muswell Hill onto London’s music scene in 1964, writes Allis Moss. The Kinks recorded hits at Pye’s Marble Arch studios in Great Cumberland Place, like Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Waterloo Sunset, Dead End Street and Death of a Clown. So did Dagenham’s own Sandie Shaw with her Puppet on a String and Those Were the Days. Pye stopped trading by 1989 and the label was dropped in a wrangle over trademark renewal. Pye Records Ltd was officially liquidated in December 2013. But now entrepreneur Tony, a former BBC regional presenter, has acquired the trademark and relaunched the label from his Scottish island home.
Queen to remix, remaster and expand 1973 debut album in various formats: Hollywood Records will release a remixed/remastered/expanded version of Queen’s debut album on October 25, 2024. Along with the vinyl LP and CD reissue, the re-titled Queen I will be available in as a 2-CD deluxe edition, a LP picture disc and cassette. Plus, there will be a 6-CD+1-LP box set collector’s edition and a 7-inch single “The Night Comes Down” will lead these releases. Queen guitarist Brian May insists, “Queen I is the debut album we always dreamed of bringing to you.” …Over half a century since its release and a vital chapter in the band’s story, Queen’s self-titled 1973 debut album has been remixed and restored by Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J Macrae and Kris Fredriksson to sound the way the band always wanted it to. A new tracklisting, alternative takes, demos and live tracks have now been added to create the most complete version of this pivotal work. This is the very first time that a Queen album has ever received a new stereo mix.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Soundtrack Gets Vinyl Release from WaterTower Records and Waxwork: In partnership with Warner Brothers’ WaterTower Records, online physical media boutique Waxwork Records is releasing the soundtrack to “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” on vinyl. Featuring Donna Summer, Bee Gees, Tess Parks and original orchestral cues from Danny Elfman, the music from Tim Burton‘s horror comedy sequel will be available Sept. 9 as a deluxe double LP with “Beetlejuice Splatter” colored vinyl, a Sandworm etching on Side D, all new artwork by Phantom City Creative, heavyweight gatefold packaging with matte satin coating and an 11″x11″ art print insert. Elfman served as composer for the original 1988 “Beetlejuice,” which famously featured “Day-O” and “Jump In The Line” by Harry Belafonte. His other collaborations with Burton include “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Corpse Bride,” “Big Fish,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Sleepy Hallow,” and “Mars Attacks!”
Check Out The Stunning Look Of The Matrix 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition Soundtrack On Vinyl: The Matrix turned 25 in 2024, and Screen Rant is happy to join in on the celebration by revealing the look of its 25th-anniversary vinyl soundtrack from Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings. Lilly and Lana Wachowski’s science-fiction masterpiece debuted in 1999, revolutionizing action filmmaking and greatly popularizing the philosophical idea of simulation theory. The movie also catapulted Keanu Reeves into superstardom and created a signature aesthetic that remains instantly identifiable a quarter century later. As captivating as the story and special effects were in the movie that changed Keanu Reeves’ life, The Matrix’s secret ingredient was its musical score by Don Davis. In addition to scoring the original Matrix trilogy, Davis composed the music for films including Jurassic Park III, Behind Enemy Lines, and Warriors of Virtue.
Debut Judas Priest album to be released “in the way it was always intended to be.” 1974’s ‘Rocka Rolla’ has been remixed and re-mastered by Priest producer Tom Allom in order to get the higher quality sound it always deserved. …The first order of business was to retrieve the original multitrack tapes from storage (which miraculously still existed and kept in usable condition for all these decades) — and to begin the process of resurrecting Rocka Rolla from these multitrack recordings….. With the task of delving back into time and putting the tapes of Rocka Rolla back on the recording studio console, Judas Priest put their full faith in Tom Allom — known in the Judas Priest world for producing the iconic British Steel and Screaming For Vengeance albums among many others. As Tom Allom stated, “What we did with the multitracks is quite unusual, to completely remix an album from that era, from scratch. So to clarify what we’re doing, we’re not adding anything musically. We’re not re-recording any of the musical parts… We’re remixing them, rebalancing them using the technology we have, the modern tools we have now, to sonically upgrade them, and make them sound more powerful.”
