“Ting tager tid”. Dette udsagn er noget, der manifesterer sig ekstremt tydeligt, når man, som band, skal producere vinyler. Fra starten af processen (efterår 2021) med vores debutudgivelse ‘Tidsrum’ var vi meget determinerede omkring, at vi ville have et fysisk produkt. Vi ønskede at kunne sidde med et materielt produkt i hånden og tilfredsstillende tænke; det her har vi lavet.
Valget af produkt faldt ret hurtigt på en vinylplade – vinyler er noget, som de fleste af os har en samling af og lytter til jævnligt. Der er bare noget over den lyd, som pickuppen laver, når den rammer pladens yderkant. Men det er nemmere sagt end gjort at få lavet. For det første har ingen af erfaringer med at sende en plade til produktion og designe den – så vi har alle famlet i blinde og måtte prøve os frem. For det andet ramte vi benhårdt ind i en corona-præget periode, hvor der for alle vinylproducenter var mangel på materialer til at producere dem. Det resulterede i meget lange produktionstider for alle producenter. Da vi endelig fandt en producent, der kunne nå det inden for en overskuelig fremtid, bragte andre overvejelser sig på banen. Hvordan skulle pladen se ud? Hvilket materiale skulle sleevet laves i? Hvem skulle designe sleevet?
Vi lavede et fælles moodboard med idéer og tanker omkring pladens udseende og sendte videre til en kunstner – her måtte vi have en professionel til at hjælpe, da vores erfaringer med design og artwork ikke rækker langt ud over Paint. Da vi efter lang tid fik sendt vores skabeloner afsted til producenten, begyndte ventetiden på at få et testpres på vinylen – men ventetiden blev dog udfyldt med andre ting, vi skulle tage stilling til. Vi ville gerne lave et “indlæg”, som skulle bære sangenes tekster trykt på sig. Et indlæg er et lille sammenfoldet brochure-lignende objekt, som ligger indeni sammen med selve vinylen. Vi ville gerne materialisere vores tekster, da vi altid fundet det vigtigt at skabe en musisk og tekstlig sammenhæng i vores sange – derfor skulle dette selvfølgelig også være en del af pladen. Indlæggene skulle printes og igen måtte vi ud og søge efter hjælp – her et sted som lavede kunstprint.
Test-presset på vinylen kom. Vi godkendte dem. Vinylerne kom. Vi nummererede vores plader. Indlæggene blev printet. Et blev lagt ind i hver plade. PVC-lommer blev bestilt. PVC-lommerne kom. De blev lagt uden om sleevet. I dag (d. 23.02.2022) har vi, som et menneskeligt samlebånd, endelig fået pakket den sidste plade. 237 plader. Men det er desværre først nu, hvor det virkelig tidskrævende og svære arbejde starter – pladerne skal sælges. “Ting tager tid”.
// Maerkeström
English
The Vinyl Production Process
“Things take time”. This statement manifests itself clearly when a band wants to produce vinyls. From the beginning of the process (autumn 2021) of the release of our debut album “Tidsrum”, we were very determined that we wanted to end up with a physical product. We wanted to be able to hold an actual product in our hands and contentedly think: we made this!
Our choice of product quickly landed on the idea of a vinyl record – most of us have a collection of vinyls that we listen to regularly. There is something special about the sound of the pickup when it hits the outer edge of the record. But producing a vinyl is easier said than done. First of all, none of us have experience of sending a recording into production, let alone designing it – so we all worked blindly and by trial and error. Secondly, we were hit hard by the corona period, when all vinyl producers were struggling to obtain the materials needed to produce the thing! This resulted in very long production times for all production companies. When we finally found a company who could make our vinyl within an agreeable timeframe, other questions presented themselves. What should the record look like? What material would we use for the sleeve? Who would design the sleeve?
We got together to make a mood board with ideas and concepts for the way we wanted the record to look, and this was sent to an artist – we needed the help of a professional, as our experience of design and artwork only extends as far as Paint. When we finally managed to send our templates to the production company, the wait for the test press commenced – however the wait was soon filled with other decisions to be made. We wanted to have an “inlay” with the lyrics printed. An inlay is a small folded brochure-like object, which is inserted with the vinyl. We wished to materialise our texts, as we have always found it important to create a connection between the music and the lyrics in our songs – something we also wanted to be part of the record. The inlays had to be printed, and once again we had to seek help – in this case at a place that makes art prints.
Then the test press for the vinyl arrived. We approved them. The vinyls arrived. We numbered them. The inlays were printed. We inserted one into every record. PVC pockets were ordered. The PVC pockets arrived. They were applied to the sleeves. As of today (23.02.2022), we have finally – like a human production line – packaged the last record. 237 records. And now the really time consuming and difficult work begins – the records must be sold. “Things take time.”
// Maerkeström