“My first experience with vinyl records came when I was about 8 years old. It was Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions. I think along with the fact that it was my first vinyl experience, it was my first experience with Stevie Wonder.”
“I was immediately interested and curious about how this huge machine at the time worked. After asking my dad how he placed the needle on the record, he showed me and the music began to play. This is obviously one of the great albums of all time so the sounds were amazing as the record went around and around.
Another thing I remember was the fact that the artwork was amazing. I was probably more intrigued with the art than I was with the music at the time. My parents played this record and many others all the time and I loved how the speakers stood taller than I did. There is a certain sonic texture that even now is just much more rich than any other type of way to listen to music. It almost seems fatter. The presence of the sound waves seems thicker to me. My uncle Kirk Whalum would also make sure we had all of his vinyl records in the house.
The most recent vinyl I purchased was the Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool special edition book with multiple vinyl records in it. I’m a huge fan of Radiohead and the experience of being able to have that was special to me. I pay attention to things like that. I feel like it enhances the consumer’s connection to the art that you’re presenting.
It’s important to me to get my music pressed to vinyl. If not for the superior sound quality, for the nostalgia.”
—Kenneth Whalum
Broken Land, the new release from Kenneth Whalum, is in stores now.
