Dugdale keeps the turntables spinning
West Yorkshire based Dugdale Ltd is doing its bit to help the ongoing renaissance of the record business. Record Store Day is upcoming once again on Saturday April 22nd and music recorded to vinyl LPs, once thought of as nearly extinct, is steadily posting year or year growth in renewed sales.
Dugdale customer The Vinyl Factory represents proof of the new-found vitality in the sector. Situated in boom-town Hayes Middlesex at the heart of the former EMI music recording business The Vinyl Factory now operates as a manufacturer and promoter of niche sounds and attractively packaged reissued material. It is the only major pressing plant in the UK. The Vinyl Factory also currently operates the last remaining gatefold making machine in the world and offers a full range of services, from standard 12”, 10”, 7” formats to coloured vinyl, etched or die-cut records and bespoke editions.
Established in 2001, the company encompasses a record label, vinyl pressing plant, the record shop Phonica and music magazine FACT, in addition to all of its visual arts activities. These include new arts commissions, exhibitions and collaborations between musicians and contemporary artists.
The Vinyl Factory record label releases limited editions made in collaboration with both artists and musicians, accompanied by events and performances. It presses well over one million records a year now and releases to date include well-known legacy names such as Massive Attack, Florence + the Machine, Pet Shop Boys, Martin Creed, Bryan Ferry, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, Oasis, AC DC and many others.
Manufacturing Director Adam Teskey says that ‘the revived sector is still showing growth. We are seeing a great variety of all kinds of music being produced on vinyl. Certain genres, such as rock, have witnessed sustained redevelopment over the past ten years but virtually ever kind of popular music has tasted a little vinyl resurgence.
In many quarters playing vinyl is once more a part of the desirable social scene – part of the trending ‘hipster’ culture, if you will. Teskey adds that ‘presentation and perception of scarcity is everything in this market. Short run, limited editions attractively packaged…these are the typical scenarios that can make a profit. Many of these items are simply bought for their future value. Not only is this a music business but a market for collectors, many purchases are often unopened and unplayed.’
The compression moulding technology needed to manufacture LPs and EPs is little changed since the heyday of the industry. This legacy capital equipment has great value and must therefore be well maintained and cared for. The ‘1400 press’ is the principal piece of equipment and The Vinyl Factory has more than enough capacity to meet the anticipated rising curve in future demand.
In fact, Teskey is committing the business to rebuilding the legendary press once more, equipped with the original drawings and bring one of EMI’s original engineers, Geoff Pullen, out of retirement to help with the project.
Something of a ‘black art’ and a labour of love remains at the heart of the Vinyl Records QA departments. A tried and tested Leak amplifier, Garrard turntable and Tannoy speakers are the principal test instruments for nickel master discs but a good pair of ears remains the final test.
The Dugdale partnership is as old as the Vinyl Records business itself, not least because the PVC resin used in the manufacturing formation is very specialized. Dr Jeff Ryan, Dugdale technical director says that ‘this particular compound reduces the viscosity in order to allow the mould to properly fill and so that the fine grooves on the surface may be exactly contoured.
Each groove has a left and right internal grove which gives the "stereo" sound to a vinyl record.
Dr Ryan also notes that ‘if someone was to use a PVC formulation not designed for records application, the material would not flow to fill all the groves, hence causing noise or what is known in the trade as "non fill”’.
Vinyl record compounds are therefore formulated with very easy flow properties to enable the best possible replication of the intricate groove pattern of the record mould. This is necessary both for fidelity and for good quality of sound reproduction.
‘For the same reason,’ notes Dr Ryan, ‘particulate impurities are a pre-requisite for minimal surface defects. The use of a high purity copolymer with a low viscosity is therefore required along with a careful selection of lubricants to ensure optimum frictional properties that will ultimately maximise the listeners’ experience.’
Dugdale’s sponsorship of the triennial PVC 2017, Brighton April 2017 follows hot on the heels of this year’s Record Store Day on April 22nd. This is an annual initiative – ‘the Xmas of the business really’, notes Teskey - that has helped boost the performance of the industry recently.
Teskey notes that Record Store Day – now in its 10th year ‘becomes more and more organised with every passing year.’ This year will see similar volume to last year and over 500 vinyl exclusives will be released from the UK’s independent record shops on Saturday April 22nd.
Some highlights will include Alice Coltrane’s harp experiments, a Blade Runner picture disc, Wiley’s new Godfather album, a string of Bowie releases, Sun Ra circa. 1973, and a white vinyl edition of Joe Meek’s I Hear A New World. Serious vinyl music buffs will use listings on the
The ongoing revival of vinyl music will be sure to trigger some further joint promotional activities between Dugdale and The Vinyl Factory as the industry continues to revive and go from strength to strength.
