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goobatrooba 13 hours ago [-]
Quaint but really not worth reading. There was no mystery, just an author that decided to try to give an LP he bought to a choir member. Then he does some internet sleuthing and identifies locations but none of the people.
He fires off a few emails and that's it. He doesn't even follow up as he doesn't want to come across as a stalker - definitely a wise move, but then why write an article about it if there's nothing to report?
wartywhoa23 13 hours ago [-]
> but then why write an article about it if there's nothing to report?
Maybe in the hopes that some relatives or acquaintances would read and pass the word?
I find the article cute, for one. A little thing in itself in a world obsessed with immediate results, for a change.
robinsonb5 13 hours ago [-]
I know that church, and I know one of the people in the photo on the sleeve - and have sent the blog post their way - so it's definitely nice to have seen it.
I didn't expect to see that church mentioned on the front page of HN, and it's very unlikely I would have seen the blog post any other way!
austinallegro 12 hours ago [-]
Author here. That is wonderful to read (and I had hoped it may strike a chord - excuse pun - with someone somewhere).
As was pointed out, this was an experience for me discovering obscure information (like the very loose link to Def Leppard, the guy screening Raiders of the Lost Ark in his home cinema in 1983 etc) from a super obscure vinyl record with very little else to go on.
Really glad to hear the information has been passed on. 10 years later and I still haven't played the record!
Thanks for checking out my post and I hope folks get something out of it.
Maybe the album will find its way back home to the hamlet of Toftwood after nearly 50 years!
xg15 13 hours ago [-]
Found it a bit funny that the author became so involved with finding the people behind the record without ever listening to the actual record (or having any interest in it, really). It was really sleuthing for the sake of sleuthing.
...but at that, impressive.
wartywhoa23 13 hours ago [-]
It would be really nice if the author digitized the record and uploaded it to YouTube!
Now I cannot confirm it, because I don't have the time, but I would put money on his son, if its the same Jolly, being a teacher at the local high school (northgate)
The church for the photo isn't in dereham, I dont think, its not scarning or tuddenham. its also not toftwood anglican.
dereham/toftwood had a fairly strong musical tradition, with st nicholas having a large choir untill at least the 2000s
gwbas1c 10 hours ago [-]
More than 20 years ago, in a Goodwill, I came across a "weird" record. The theme was that a guy multitracked and electronically altered his voice to be a choir of ~20 voices.
I almost bought it for the entertainment value, but when I flipped it over, it was all very religious themed songs. Stuff about the devil. I thought to myself that I just couldn't sit through that and put it back.
I wish I bought the record, though. I'm sure it was good for a laugh.
ilamont 10 hours ago [-]
The multitrack reel-to-reel tapes and two-track masters are likely sitting in boxes in someone's basement or storage unit, along with scores or hundreds of other recordings from the same studio (or record label, if they took possession).
Music studios are (or were) terrible businesses. Typically they were started by a certain type of musician who liked the process and maybe invested in the gear to record his or her own music, and then decided to turn it into a business. They required constant, expensive technology upgrades. They also require a steady stream of clients which is so hard to maintain as music evolves and new up-and-comers choose or are steered toward other studios.
I worked, briefly, in a London recording studio. It had a good run because its co-owner had a steady stream of Hollywood work and could afford the upgrades to the latest technology, which in turn attracted the latest pop artists. But even it struggled with the analog to digital conversion wave. A problem with the property that required extensive construction work derailed operations for months and it never recovered after that.
The arrival of PC recording software is often cited as the death knell for professional studios, but I think the model died decades earlier and was only sustained by constant supply of briefly successful and competent musician/producers who thought they could make a business out of their talents and gear.
If you're interested in this type of thing, check out "Sound City" (2013) which tracks the journey of a Neve console through LA recording history and eventually to Dave Grohl's private studio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwskv2G0X8A
xg15 13 hours ago [-]
Btw, "Fijnaarts Jeugdorkest" seems to be a recording from the youth orchestra of the town of Fijnaart, Netherlands.
What a charming read. I love this type of adventure.
ErroneousBosh 12 hours ago [-]
> With thanks to Alphabet’s wonderful mapping technology I immediately discovered the church was still standing today. What is more amazing is that the stained glass window that features so prominently on the album cover is still there!
Yes, it's remarkable. A double-skinned brick building completed in 1969 is actually still standing! Amazing work! How did these long-forgotten artisans manage to make mortar that would stand up for almost 70 years? It's just incredible!
wartywhoa23 9 hours ago [-]
On the other hand, there are examples of very flimsy and unreliable reinforced concrete / steel column 1776' tall structures completed in 1973 that failed to stand for more than 30 years. Baffling indeed, one might suppose they ought to be more advanced than the church in question.
ErroneousBosh 4 hours ago [-]
Which ones were they?
Edit: downvoting doesn't tell me what they were. You could have it the reply link instead.
He fires off a few emails and that's it. He doesn't even follow up as he doesn't want to come across as a stalker - definitely a wise move, but then why write an article about it if there's nothing to report?
Maybe in the hopes that some relatives or acquaintances would read and pass the word?
I find the article cute, for one. A little thing in itself in a world obsessed with immediate results, for a change.
I didn't expect to see that church mentioned on the front page of HN, and it's very unlikely I would have seen the blog post any other way!
As was pointed out, this was an experience for me discovering obscure information (like the very loose link to Def Leppard, the guy screening Raiders of the Lost Ark in his home cinema in 1983 etc) from a super obscure vinyl record with very little else to go on.
Really glad to hear the information has been passed on. 10 years later and I still haven't played the record!
Thanks for checking out my post and I hope folks get something out of it.
Maybe the album will find its way back home to the hamlet of Toftwood after nearly 50 years!
...but at that, impressive.
Now I cannot confirm it, because I don't have the time, but I would put money on his son, if its the same Jolly, being a teacher at the local high school (northgate)
The church for the photo isn't in dereham, I dont think, its not scarning or tuddenham. its also not toftwood anglican.
dereham/toftwood had a fairly strong musical tradition, with st nicholas having a large choir untill at least the 2000s
I almost bought it for the entertainment value, but when I flipped it over, it was all very religious themed songs. Stuff about the devil. I thought to myself that I just couldn't sit through that and put it back.
I wish I bought the record, though. I'm sure it was good for a laugh.
Music studios are (or were) terrible businesses. Typically they were started by a certain type of musician who liked the process and maybe invested in the gear to record his or her own music, and then decided to turn it into a business. They required constant, expensive technology upgrades. They also require a steady stream of clients which is so hard to maintain as music evolves and new up-and-comers choose or are steered toward other studios.
I worked, briefly, in a London recording studio. It had a good run because its co-owner had a steady stream of Hollywood work and could afford the upgrades to the latest technology, which in turn attracted the latest pop artists. But even it struggled with the analog to digital conversion wave. A problem with the property that required extensive construction work derailed operations for months and it never recovered after that.
The arrival of PC recording software is often cited as the death knell for professional studios, but I think the model died decades earlier and was only sustained by constant supply of briefly successful and competent musician/producers who thought they could make a business out of their talents and gear.
If you're interested in this type of thing, check out "Sound City" (2013) which tracks the journey of a Neve console through LA recording history and eventually to Dave Grohl's private studio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwskv2G0X8A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fijnaart
I'll get my own coat.
https://youtu.be/mA19d7OoS38?t=110
Yes, it's remarkable. A double-skinned brick building completed in 1969 is actually still standing! Amazing work! How did these long-forgotten artisans manage to make mortar that would stand up for almost 70 years? It's just incredible!
Edit: downvoting doesn't tell me what they were. You could have it the reply link instead.