This blog post is best read at 33⅓ RPM...

Last week I received the test press for our first ever vinyl release, and unsurprisingly I'm absolutely buzzing!

Many years ago I made a promise to Gozer Goodspeed that whenever we released our first record it would be his. Today I am keeping that promise, and we are delighted to announce that his most recent album Escape Hatch Fever will soon be available on record.

The release date will follow, these pictures are of the test pressing - which I'm sure you'll agree looks awesome! I can confirm it sounds great too, and I've sent Gozer Goodspeed his copy to have a look and listen this week to make sure he's happy with it.

We may decide when we've listened a few more times to tweak the master to better suit the format before we release it to the world, so bear with us while we make sure we get this 100% right.

Let's be honest though, if you've waited this long a couple more months isn't going to hurt...

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Lets talk about Vinyl

Lights And Lines has always been a label focused on physical music releases. All of our major releases are available on CD (my personal favourite format!), and we've put out a couple of limited edition cassette tapes too.

Obviously vinyl is massive. We haven't avoided it because we didn't want to do it, in fact it's been part of our plans since day 1. But the reality is that pressing records in small batches is expensive. And we are only a small label.

Traditional vinyl manufacturing demands big up-front costs, large minimum orders (usually 100-300 min), and long lead times (3-12 months). That kind of risk is tough to justify when you’re running on tight margins, with DIY ethics and zero corporate backing.

Don't forget that as a label we'd multiply all of that risk if we released everything on vinyl. We'd very quickly be tens of thousands of pounds in debt before we even have a chance to sell a single record!

Up until now it's been a huge barrier...

Thankfully, things are changing. We’ve found an on-demand vinyl service that allows us to produce high-quality records without having to commit to hundreds of units at once. No big cash flow hits. No sitting on piles of unsold stock. No compromising on the music.

Although still quite new, this approach so far seems to be a great way forward, and ultimately it means we can finally offer vinyl as an option. Plus we're in early here, I fully expect this service to get even better over time and offer a lot more options.

Holding this first test press in my hands was a moment of pure joy. After years of pushing this label forward with CDs, Tapes, and Digital releases, hearing Escape Hatch Fever spinning on vinyl feels like an important milestone. A warm, crackling, needle-dropping kind of moment. A sign that what we’re building here can keep growing.

We’ll be announcing full details of the release soon, including how you can pre-order the finished record, if you want to be one of the first to own a piece of Lights And Lines history.

PLUS we're building out plans for some VERY limited edition records in the future, and a new subscriber tier with something EVEN MORE limited just for them. The fun starts now!

In the meantime, thank you for supporting independent music. Whether you stream, buy merch, read our blog, or share our artists work with friends, it all helps.

We’ve always said we're here for the long haul. And now, we’re finally here on vinyl too!

Mike Five

Label Owner

Lights And Lines