PearlyBooks

100 in stock

After half a lifetime in book publishing, Ian Preece sets out on a long road trip interviewing record label heads, staff and founders in a bid to portray day-to-day reality in the independent music sector in the twenty-first century. 'Listening to the Wind' features interviews with industry veterans seasoned enough to add a wise perspective on these times, as well as the new wave of label heads keeping the flame alive. It's a journey that takes in the sound of the wind in Big Sur ; springtime in Berlin ; the licensing and ethics of the reissue business in a café in east London ; vinyl crackle and audio restoration in Atlanta ; the inclusivity of the Chicago jazz scene in the city's South Side ; life in Africa over a weekend in Tunis - and plenty more. Along the way the author encounters label folk embracing new technology as well as hand-printing sleeves on a vintage letterpress overnight ; plunges into a world of test batches of translucent wax, stampers, obi strips and Stoughton tip-on jackets ; stumbles across the identity of a renowned electronic musician ; spends a night in a Tunis club ; and picks up enough vinyl to violate luggage-weight restrictions on a number of airlines - and to fully appreciate that music truly is the most beautiful luggage in the world.'--taken from front cover flap.