4 days ago
New vinyl factory opens in Clane, Co Kildare
A new vinyl factory has opened in Clane, Co Kildare, as the popularity of records continues to rise, particularly among younger listeners who are swapping their phones for the turntable.
"It is taking up most of the space in record stores all over the world," said Chris Keena of the continuing rise in vinyl sales.
Mr Keena is the Commercial Manager of Anthem Vinyl, Ireland's new and only vinyl factory.
"It's the format that has survived everything. People will always go back to vinyl," he said.
The factory will be pressing vinyl for a wide range of Irish musicians from 80s stalwarts Cry Before Dawn, who are making their first vinyl EP since 1989, to new Indie band Delush from Dublin, making their first ever vinyl.
Factory founder Brian Kenny said they can now offer musicians the chance to curate and produce their work at scale.
"Each machine will produce a record every 30 seconds, so in a standard week, we can produce 8,000 records pretty reliably."
The band Delush visited the plant to see their EP 'Famous' coming off the pressing line in bright pink.
"It's important to us and the consumer for the same reason. It's the connection, it's to physically hold the music, seeing it, the artwork and style that is unique to the band," said band co-founder Scott Leigh.
"It's a piece of memorabilia that you can hold on to," said Mr Leigh, who has a turntable in his bedroom that helps him unwind in the evening without the distraction of the phone.
"If you are on the phone listening to music, you're easily on Instagram or something else."
Back in Dublin city, all generations are browsing row after row of vinyl at Spindizzy Records in the Market Arcade on George's Street. It started as a stall in 1996 and has now recently expanded to a shop with an impressive array of vinyl.
"There has been a constant and enduring interest in vinyl," said shop manager Enda Gogarty.
Vinyl collector Paul McDermott often visits on a Friday to pick up his pre-orders and browse the second-hand arrivals.
"I think people like the physical copy ... I even see it with my own kids; they are suddenly taking an interest in dad's record collection, which hitherto they never would never had before!".
