At Rotator we always like a challenge! So a request for a double groove, double album was something we were delighted to get stuck into
Whats a double groove I hear you ask..... well, a double groove is when two separate tracks run concurrently in interlocking grooves. Therefore when you drop the stylus down on the record, you aren't sure which version of the track you're going to hear. Theres not many records produced like this, and 1201_Alarm had been around several companies trying to get their record manufactured. Technology like DMM isn't too friendly towards things like this, so it required a proper old school vinyl cut... and at Rotator, that's the only type of vinyl cut we will use. So it was great to have the opportunity to make this record. The first three sides of the album are standard, albeit beautiful, jazzy dancey loungey music, but when we reach side four there's two versions of a 9 minute track existing as the double groove, each version with radically different vocals. I must have listened to the start of this about 50 times when the test pressing was produced... I just found it fascinating that I couldn't choose which version I got to hear. The album is housed in a gorgeous full colour glossy gatefold with cartoon imagery and the overall package has been hugely successful surviving several months on the Jazz FM play list and also getting BBC Radio 2 airplay whilst reaching #5 in the iTunes Jazz charts....all of which is no mean feat for an independent release!
A privilege to be part of something so unique
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