Opinion:: Back to Black – The Vinyl Revolution

If you follow the music scene at all, you will almost certainly have come across the latest trend to take the commercial side by storm: ‘Back To Black’. Essentially this is a revival of the prevalence of vinyl records. The question is, is this any good, and are they here to last?

According to Nielsen Music, 2014 was a big year in terms of shifting sales in the music industry. 2014 saw a 54.5% increase in music streams over 2013, with a huge 78.6 billion streams, whereas digital sales overall fell by 9.4%. Most worryingly, shops suffered a drop of a fifth in all digital and CD sales. However, through all of this doom and gloom, there is one glimmer of hope: sale of vinyl records rose 51.8% over 2013 sales, equating to 9.2 million records.

For those who have grown up in the iTunes generation the idea of music being any more than a background activity might seem a bit odd. All you have to do is stick your headphones on and press play. Vinyl however requires much more attention and is therefore bringing the music back to the forefront, making listening an activity, as it always had been pre walkman era. Reading the sleeve, adjusting the speed and turning the record half way through all mean that listening takes time and requires attention. All of this means that you are more likely to listen to the whole album, from start to finish, which is something that iTunes has taken away from us. However, the ease of accessibility to music remains, with free mp3 codes coming with most new vinyl records, allowing for casual listening at home and out and about. This certainly seems to give us the best of both worlds.

As I’m sure everyone would agree, listening to an album from start to finish is the best way to take in a band. Take Quadrophenia as an example, if you were to take 3-4 minutes of it isolated, you would leave the experience condemning The Who and probably never listen gain. As with so many bands, an album is a story, which is painstakingly put together to flow from track to track. Vinyl opens this up to the listener, and encourages you to engage from start to finish, taking in all the transitions and breaks- just as the artists intended you to. Why did we ever leave it behind! 

This revival then, all sounds fantastic. But is it in danger of going too far?

A quick google search for vinyl albums shows the extent of the problem. Page after page of results, from every band, artist and DJ you could imagine. This may sound great, but the prices of these albums are only going to go up as demand and production increases. You can now expect to pay upwards of £25 for an album. It’s become a gimmick. It’s a marketing venture for every name in the business. Step into a high-street music store and the shelves won’t display a select few alt/indie bands, they’ll be filled with every chart song that’s pushed through the radio 24/7. Some would argue that this surge in popularity and availability has taken away the joy of searching through charity shops and car boots looking for that one golden find. I, however, think this surge in popularity is a great step forward. Die hard collectors can still search for their rare first editions, whilst everyone else can enjoy the same great music through re-issue prints in the way they’re meant to be listened to. The whole craze for buying music has been revived, and is now an event, from admiring the art, to loving the sound! Yet you can never judge an album by its cover!

The only fear is that, as with many revivals, the craze may die out, leaving only the few true fans supporting a huge industry. However, thanks to events like Record Store Day, vinyl seems to be ever expanding. The vinyl craze is exciting, and luckily it looks like it’s here to stay! Cameron Gipp

Feature:: Alternative World Cup Anthems Group G

Germany – Can ‘The Thief’

Germany’s Thomas Muller shows his moves

German group ‘Can’ are one of the most influential bands to come out of the fertile Krautrock scene of the ’70s. Indeed, the track chosen was covered by Radiohead, which is a good barometer of their effect on modern day gloom rock. Constant and eerie guitar patterns propel the song along, and provide a basis for weird, raspy, Tom Waits-esque vocal lines. Unsettling and dark, much like the prospect of having to play the almighty Mannschaft.

Portugal – The Vicious Five ‘Bad Mirror’

From Portugal here comes a slab of very 2006 garage rock. Yelps reminiscent of The Hives’ Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist  and sharp as knives guitar stabs generate the racket. Line’s such as ‘We’ve got no self-esteem’, ‘There’s nothing beautiful here’ and ‘we’re all ugly!’ set the tone for the angry nature these Iberian noisnicks generate. Skinny boys in the moshpit.

USA – Speedy Ortiz ‘Eveything’s Bigger’

Brash. Bold. Loud. American’s don’t tend to do things by half-measures. Yet this USA team became strangely likeable due to their endeavour and teamwork. Speedy Ortiz aren’t the most subtle of ‘cool’ indie groups coming through, but their walls of guitar fuzz don’t distract from a catalogue of instantly likeable songs. Taken from their recent ‘Real Hair’ EP, the title of this track is a very apt description of much of what the YOO ESS AYY has to offer.

Ghana – Castro ft. Baby Jet – ‘African Girls’

We can put up with the painfully auto-tuned vocals, Yamaha-keyboard-stock-demo production, awful lyrics (‘dem girls be sexy like cheese’) and just general terribleness because it literally features Ghana’s captain- Asamoah Gyan, AKA Baby Jet. At least he has better rhythm than Thomas Muller…

Lewis Lloyd-Kinnings

Feature: Alternative World Cup Anthems – Group F

Argentina – Entre Rios, ‘Cerca y Extrao’

Despite gaining popularity in South America via a beer commercial, ‘Indietronica’ unit Entre Rios have an impressive catalogue of albums that centre round the combination of mellow, minimalist beats with Isol’s (also an author of Argentinian children’s books) smooth Latin vocals. Could almost be a precursor to current favourites Chvrches and London Grammar.

Iran – Hypernova, ‘American Dream’

Rock music may be illegal in their native Tehran, but after moving to New York Hypernova have been free to merge the classic NY indie sounds of We Are Scientists and The Strokes with a Paul Banks-esque baritone. The track of choice adds another layer of prevalence and suitability for an alternative anthem – countries like Iran need more artistic trailblazers like Hypernova who stand-up against oppressive regimes in favour of a more liberal existence.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Plavi Orkestar, ‘Ljubi se istok I zapad’

Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia, has a surprisingly rich history of alt bands, spanning from folky rock to prog metal. Plavi Orkestar sit somewhere in the middle, and after forming in 1983 have been one of the most popular bands in Bosnian music. Their pop-rock style might come across as slightly watered down to Western ears, but if Plavi Orkestar has contributed to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sense of cultural cohesion then that is something to be celebrated.

Nigeria – Fela Kuti, ‘Water Get No Enemy’

So it seems Afrobeat, under the innovation of Fela Kuti in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, was a striking combination of Jazz, Funk and traditional Nigerian music. It sounds, somewhat unsurprisingly, awesome.

Alex Cheah

Feature:: Alternative World Cup Anthems – Group E

France – Phoenix ‘Trying to be Cool’

If you follow Les Bleus historical ark in World Cup tournaments from 1998, it goes: winners; implosion; runners up; implosion; 2014? If the pattern continues, this talented French side could do well in Brazil this summer, and with the absence of typical trouble makers, i.e. Samir Nasri, they’ve got a good chance of keeping a cool head (see what we did there?!?!) and letting the football do the talking.  Phoenix offer a fat slice of indie-funk-pop in the vein of Foster the People or Grouplove, with that added Gallic sexiness. It’s not hard to imagine Olivier Giroud and Yohan Cabaye listening to this track as they slump against the street corner, comparing designer sunglasses and jackets, and maintaining their coiffured lids.

Ecuador – Fabrikante ‘Chanteoma’

Ecuador come into the tournament as probably the least fancied of all the South American teams, yet they can still put it about, as shown by their muscular performance versus England. Fabrikante is an interesting artist. An entirely a capella musician, he combines traditional Ecuadorian music with the African influences that pervade much of the country. Chanteoma starts with very exposed vocals that are on the edge being in time and musical, but after the ‘drop’ you are left under no illusions as to the talent this guy possesses. Constructing every layer using simply his vocal chords, from a robust rhythm section to dancing backing vox, Fabrikante manages to get the blood flowing with his exciting style.

Switzerland – My Heart Belongs To Cecilia Winter ‘Eighteen’

Before Fun and Mumford and Sons there was ‘My Heart Belongs to Cecilia Winter’. Described by The Guardian as ‘Switzerland’s answer to Arcade Fire’ MHBTCW are folk-indie in the vein of Kodaline, albeit infinitely more interesting. Below is the arty video for their track ‘Eighteen’, showing that continental bands find being effortlessly cool that bit easier than their UK or US counterparts. Thom Luz’s vocals are transcendent, and have that quality of being both intimate and symphonic at the same time. Good job Switzerland.

Honduras – Aurelio Martinez ‘Yalifu’

Aurelio Martinez is an interesting character. Being a politician as well as a musician, he was the first black person to become a deputy in Honduras’ National Congress. A member of the Garifuna community of Central America, he brings both African and Central American flavours to his music. Rich vocals overlay syncopated rhythms and delectable finger plucked guitar parts. Making a career out of representing underdogs, and writing and performing music to this end too, he is the ideal representation of a feisty yet ultimately limited Honduran side.

Lewis Lloyd-Kinnings

Feature:: Alternative World Cup Athems – Group D

England, Radiohead – ‘The National Anthem’

As more regular readers may have noticed, us fanboys here at GOTA never miss an opportunity to shoehorn the Oxford quintet into pieces. Thanks to its fuzzy bass-line groove, ‘The National Anthem’ is the one track off Kid A most people know, but the real artistry can be heard via Thom Yorke’s hyperventilating vocals and the big-bandy brass runs. England might prove underwhelming in a footballing sense, but that sense of national pride can be somewhat resuscitated through boasting about having the best band in the world. Besides, the title is self-explanatory.

Italy, Marlene Kuntz – ‘Serrende Alzate’

Italian rock outfit Marlene Kuntz might have a bad-joke of a name, but they’ve been going for nigh-on 25 years and their body of work encompasses everything from guitar-orgies to Modest-Mouse style indie fluctuations. This particular track has some Dinosaur Jr. as well as some Sonic Youth mixed in with textbook Mediterranean crooning, and the result is not nearly as horrendous as you’d imagine.

Uruguay, Cursi – ‘Viejo Pancho’

Sounding like a mash-up between the Chilli Peppers, Stevie Wonder and Jamiroquai, Cursi are a pretty well-established band in their native country who have been dropping the funk since their 1999 debut album. The acid-jazz and electronic influences prove a welcome break from most of the wincingly bad stuff that South American bands churns out. Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan look like they want to start one of these said acts, and one shudders at the thought of what’s coming out of the speakers in the Uruguay dressing room. A real barrel-scraper.

Costa Rica, The Great Wilderness – ‘Dark Horse’

There’s a few decent bands out of Costa Rica at the moment (which is more than can be said for their footballers), but The Great Wilderness are probably the best of the bunch, with high-profile publications and highly established bands in the Western sonisphere taking interest. Despite featuring vocals fittingly reminiscent of amazon-induced air-sucking ,‘Dark Horse’ is raw and arresting, well-suited for live performances with its post-punk guitar attack and herky-jerky basslines.

Alex Cheah