A Love Letter to Vinyl
For Chris Bailey, a man who has been enamoured with records from the moment he first met a Technics 1210 turntable, music has always been an affair of the heart.
Tech Producer of the award-winning BBC Radio 2 show ‘For the Love of Hip-hop’ and former Head of Radio at the Ministry of Sound, Chris' involvement in the industry is founded in a love for the stories that music can tell.
He established his production company in 2008, developing radio and podcasts for clients around the world. After a decade of building his business, however, Chris decided he needed something of his own.
“I wanted to do something for ten years of the company, but I thought hang on, I’ve spent all this time working with people on their projects, I want to work for me. I want a show again.”
And so, Vi4yl was born of his love for all things records.
The project began with an initial rotation of four weekly mixtapes, all spun by Chris himself. Three of the mixes were a House, Old Skool and Mash Up show, selected from the immense collection of records Chris had built over the years.
The fourth was a conversation. Speaking to those he had met from his time in the industry, Chris would ask guests to bring four of their own records that, to them, hold importance, and to speak on what they meant to them.
“It was being done before I ever did it, desert island discs have been going for billions of years, it’s just a fantastic format.”
The likes of Maxi Jazz, Pete Gooding, Marcia Carr and countless others all spoke on the show, detailing why to them vinyl holds such value.
“I got to talk to people I really admire, some of them my closer friends, some of them not, about a format that is just magic. I don’t know anything else physical that can make you feel like that.”
Today, the show is in its 324th week, standing in its commitment to sharing the love that the ‘plates of sound’ can bring.
At the beginning of the project, Chris made the decision to film the interviews and did so whether they happened in Ibiza or Amsterdam. Albeit with a camera he admits he still can’t use properly.
It was from those conversations that Chris built his love letter to vinyl, ‘The Vinyl Documentary’.
Built upon stories and insights from DJs, music academics and record enthusiasts, it explores a love for records the world over.
For those who’ve seen the film, they’ll know of the authenticity that bleeds through in each conversation, camera angle and cutscene.
In this, there was intent. Chris admits he first approached the film in the wrong way. “It’s no secret when I train presenters and do radio, my one thing is be yourself,” he explains. “I wasn’t being myself. I was trying to make a documentary that wasn’t me.”
Initial responses to the piece informed him it felt like a radio show. His response was that it was, that was how he could make the narrative work.
Perhaps that feel is aided by the sound of the film. No screening of it is ever the same, with the soundtrack to the documentary being mixed live on vinyl by Chris himself. An element of the film he can mould anew with each showing, viewers are immersed all the more into the world he creates.
First shown at the Bad Hand Warehouse in Bournemouth, the documentary has now been played at the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester and the Ministry of Sound workspace in London. It was last played to a more intimate audience in the basement of The Four Horsemen, where Chris raised more than £200 for the CALM charity.
Chris admits records are all he’s ever known. They’ve been his way to share music since he began mixing at university in the 90s. “I associate the music at that time with just an absolute adoration of what was happening in the scene,” he says. “It is cemented into records, they are time machines.”
The film acts as a reminder of the weight those records still hold. Tangible objects you can touch, smell and hear.
“There’s a reason I’ve made the documentary happen. I think it’s so important to not just live in the online world, it’s that message I want people to take away from it.”
The love letter to vinyl was made to be seen and experienced. For those who’d share in the celebration of the beloved format, Chris is ready to make it happen.
Website → theboyinthecorner.co.uk/vi4yl
Instagram → @vi4yl
