The Great Vinyl Pressing Back-Up of 2021

Instead of saying that it has been too long since our last post, apart from the semi-abstract direct reference which has just taken place, I shall report on the reason for that delay. This reason is also the title of this post.

There is a moving wave of worldwide fatigue, which is likely the result of reverberatory echoes from realms colliding. Because of this fatigue, there has been a decrease in available hands and a decrease in available physical materials, of all types. However, there also seems to be a moving wave of increased creative output, which is usually due to "realm seepage" (see footnote [1] below). In the physical and human realm to which we are directly connected, this has a strong link to humans consuming and enjoying this creative output, including in the physical formats. Specifically, along with the above-mentioned crosswaves of realm collision, there has been a steadily increasing demand for vinyl records. More people want to press vinyl records, more people want to buy more vinyl records, and so even more people want to press more vinyl records.

It makes sense. While electromagnetic waves are typically used to listen to vinyl records, they are not necessary. Given the proper long-lasting diamond-tip needle, an oscillating crank for steady rotation, and a purely geometric amplification of the resulting soundwaves, vinyl can be enjoyed without a single electromagnetic wave. This is not true for any other format other than live performance. Given that solar flares (which have recently increased, also a likely result of realm collision -- see [2] below) have the potential to destroy any human usage of electromagnetic waves, many music-enjoyers have been investing for a possible future. [Note: Vinyl records can be destroyed by very high heat, but the Double Eagle Science Team has been studying EM-free cooling techniques; publication in preparation.]

All of this has resulted in The Great Vinyl Pressing Back-Up of 2021. At all pressing plants in the world, there are long waits for vinyl pressings, and there is a plethora of new vinyl releases every week at the same time. Specialty pressings are especially backed up. It has all been interesting and exciting to be a part of, and to boot Simon Fletterman of Twice As High Records enjoys a good long session of delayed vinyl gratification.

To cut to the chase, the first full-length vinyl LP on Twice As High Records, "Thru the Clouds of Smoke" (TAH-002), is still in queue at Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland, Ohio. The front/back cover art is here, credit to the artist and my friend J. A. Cruse:

This extra time in queue has given me time to work on the inserts for the record, including the liner notes, a promo postcard insert, a cover sticker with a quote from a JJS News World Services review, and hopefully some homemade download cards. If you haven't preordered yet, now is a good time to pull the trigger, as we have promotional TAH Records magnets to give away with the preorders as well. Go here to preorder or stream:
https://doubleeagle.bandcamp.com/album/thru-the-clouds-of-smoke
Or go here to stream:
https://soundcloud.com/tah-records/sets/thru-the-clouds-of-smoke-lp

While 12" records (like TAH-002 above) and 7" records (like TAH-001 and TAH-003, see https://doubleeagle.bandcamp.com/merch) are the most common, the next most common size is the 10" record. The records prior to the 1950s were 10" records, and were shellac instead of vinyl, and required a different needle than modern ones. Once 7" and 12" vinyl took over, the 10" record was not used very often apart from test pressings (or acetates). These played an important role in Jamaican music in the 1970s. At that time, DJs/lyricists would cut live tunes in the studio which were pressed directly to a 10" record, called "dub plates", which were then immediately brought to dancehalls and soundclashes to bump the absolute latest big sounds. It was a point of pride for a dancehall dj to constantly have brand new dub plates as part of a sound system in the dancehalls, and to have ones that could defeat any other contending sound systems.

This brings me to the announcement of the next release on Twice As High Records, which is The Stress Cones Dub Plate 10" (TAH-004). The Stress Cones consist of Black Eye Butterfly (@ivanc) and Billy Korg (@nupulse), who together have created some fantastic reggae tunes. This release has been mentioned by us here before, and it has even been revealed that this will be a translucent green 10" vinyl release, but now we can announce that the mastering of the tracks is done, the artwork has been finalized, and the ordering of this record has been placed at Precision Record Pressing in Ontario, Canada, with an approximate pressing date of March 15, 2022. In fact, the artwork proof was just sent to me for approval today, and so things seem to be moving along, even with the Great Vinyl Pressing Back-Up of 2021. It seems The Stress Cones have the magic force that has been filtered through the realm collision shrapnel, and here is the cover art representing that magic force:

Twice As High Records will keep you informed of developments on this release, which I predict will have a steady flow like waves upon a beach.

Next in line on the TAH Records release slate is a Rising Star LP, which will be a compilation of artists involved with Rising Star. This release has been mentioned here as well, but details are to come in the future, since enough has been on the plate of TAH Records in learning to navigate The Great Vinyl Pressing Back-Up of 2021. However, a related project does have some details which can be revealed. As you all know, Rising Star is among the absolute best NFT-based games out there, and the value of the NFTs in the game are given by the quality of the art and design, as well as the quality and originality of the game itself. A beautiful feature of the game is the Records page, where one can purchase NFTs of songs of artists involved in the game, where this NFT comes with a download of the song, has function as an NFT in the game, and also has staking available for players, which is rewarded with starbits when sales are made. As has been announced on the weekly radio show Radio Evolved (every Sunday at 8pm UK time, on YouTube, Twitch, etc.), there will soon be vinyl-backed NFTs on the record page. This means that along with a download of the music and the NFT, the NFT will be able to be exchanged for a physical vinyl record of the release. The records themselves will be limited and have their own value from all facets mentioned above, and I happen to know that the first vinyl-backed NFT will be an extremely rare 10" record by the one and only LANG|V (@langvmusic). This record has a pressing of fewer than 15 copies, with the original and addicting sounds of the one and only LANG|V. The details are too fresh to continue, and I think I might burst with excitement from delayed vinyl gratification session. Stay tuned in...

[1] We are talking specifically about type 2 realm seepage as detailed in Section 2 of "Theoretical and experimental seepage from realm collision" by W. X. Selsner, Realm Theory Weekly, issue 37 (2007).

[2] For increase in solar flare activity, see:
https://www.bradford.ac.uk/news/archive/2021/solar-flares-could-soon-be-on-the-increase-says-university-of-bradford-professor.php
and
https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/science/space/solar-cycle-25-could-be-one-of-strongest-on-record-if-forecast-is-correct/67-c20caab4-5b94-4229-b2a3-e15396aa827f
For the connection to the current realm collisions and the effects of human musical enjoyment, see:
"EM Outage from realm collision, increased solar flares, and the music of humankind," Double Eagle Science Team, DE Sound Lab Technical Report #20202020.

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