Above the Fold

A digital 'zine by Original Fuzz about creativity and making stuff.

★  May 08, 2024  ★

Podcast Episode #48: Leesta Vall Sound Recordings

Featured photo for Podcast Episode #48: Leesta Vall Sound Recordings

This episode is for the true vinyl heads, audiofiles, and analog recording nerds. We talk to Aaron Zimmer of Leesta Vall Sound Recordings about recording music directly to vinyl with a vintage lathe.

This completely analog way of making a record was pioneered by Alan Lomax, the original ethnomusicologist who brought us the foundational blues and folk recordings in the American music canon.

Now Aaron and Leesta Vall are the only people left making records in this way with a vintage 50s cutting lathe and a tiny studio in Brooklyn.

Each record they cut is completely one-of-a-kind, just an artist's performance directly to vinyl and nothing else. Aaron walks us through how this unique recording process works and explains why he will never allow anyone to make digital copies of his records.

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The mixing room at Leesta Vall Sound Recordings

The mixing board at Leesta Vall Sound Recordings in Bushwick, Brooklyn

The live room at Leesta Vall Sound Recordings

Another shot of the live room at Leesta Vall Sound Recordings