“Vinyl is by far the most satisfying medium to collect. It’s got to be one of the best feelings in the world when you unearth a gem amongst the dross in a charity shop.”
“The best record I ever got hold of in that way was The Last Waltz by The Band. It’s one of our biggest influences, as are The Band as a whole (although I don’t think that it’s all that obvious in our music). I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve watched the DVD.
I’m not sure about the rest of the band, but my first experiences with vinyl were listening to my parent’s records, lots of The Beatles and Bob Dylan albums amongst others. Most of the early stuff has stuck with me and some have become influences – it’s hard to beat The Beatles; they did every kind of music brilliantly! I think that early fondness for vinyl probably never leaves you either – I’ve always bought at least a few records each year for as long as I can remember.
That goes for all of us – everyone in the band has a record deck and most of us now buy records over CDs if we can. It’s good that vinyl seems to be making a bit of a comeback.
The last record I bought was the brilliant split 7″ from Adam Stafford and Rick Redbeard on Gerry Loves Records. We’re all really enjoying the new Meursault record as well, and it’s another one from a small independent label, Song, By Toad. I love the DIY approach of the smaller labels, and there’s so much good new music going about if you’re prepared to look for it.
Another great thing about vinyl – you’re much more likely to listen to an album as a whole piece of work, as the band intended it. In the digital age, we all tend to pick our favourites, stick them on a playlist and perhaps not give the album the time or complete plays it deserves. You definitely miss out on something doing it that way. Like watching a film with the scenes in the wrong order. The slow growers on an album are also often the songs you end up liking the most, I think.
As for The Maginot Band, it’s quite an exciting time for us. We’ve been happy with the response to our first single “Slow Down Sundial,” and we’re at this moment about to release our second single “Trees.” Both of them come from the EP, “Peace and Quiet” which is released as a download on 10th September. Finances will dictate whether we follow that with a physical release, it would be nice if we can manage it! We’re trying to arrange a few gigs to support the release, so look out for those. It can be a bit tricky when you’re based in Caithness, but we usually manage to get a few gigs in the Scottish cities organised in the end!”
—Liam (Organ)
Scotland’s The Maginot Band are due to release their debut EP, “Peace and Quiet” via When You Awake Records on 10th September 2012.
