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Little big history project

I have chosen to focus my Little big history project on the record store RecordFriend Elpees, situated in the center of Amsterdam, which represents much more than a simple shop. It is a representation of the long and fascinating story of recorded music as well as the origins of the materials which vinyls are created with. The historian Esther Quaedackers sees the concept of the Little big history as a method to understand complex processes through three different levels: the material level, the biological level and finally the cultural level of this process1. These levels are all distinct, but we will see through the analysis of records that they are all interlinked. We will proceed to do this by retracing how a simple vinyl record incarnates millions of years of material, biological and cultural evolution.

By using this method of study on vinyl records, it becomes clear that each step of fabrication of records was given birth to by processes that were created long before the musical industry itself. Like David Christian mentions in his Big History, elements that represent our modern world, including elements that help create objects such as vinyls, were created through stars and through the natural, cultural and technological processes in the last billions of years.

The material level of vinyls: the formation of elements and the creation of records:

To understand the production of vinyl records, it is important to first understand its material level. Vinyls are produced with polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a material that finds its origins in chemical elements created billions of years ago in the pure heart of stars. As David Christian explains in the 3rd threshold of his Big History, most of the elements of the periodic table that we have access to today, were created by the explosion of stars. Gravity's force is so intense that right before exploding, the star is smashed with extreme violence, which creates lots of energy and unimaginable high temperatures. This leads to a star exploding into a supernova, which is going to release enormous amounts of elements into the galaxy2. This process led us to the access of all these elements, like carbon and chloride, which is what led us to the creation of so many important objects in our present and modern materials.

Vinyls are created with PVC3, which is created with two elements, chlorine and ethylene. The mix of these two elements at very high temperatures then convert into vinyl chloride monomer4. Ethylene is produced out of hydrocarbon, which derives from hydrogen and carbon. Hydrogen was one of the first elements that was created through the Big Bang5, and it is very interesting to think about how an event that occurred 13.8 billion years ago, led us to the creation of very simple and yet complex objects, such as vinyl's, that led us to the popularization of music in our cultures.

These elements, created with stars and found on earth after billions of years, like salt and fossil fuel, allowed humanity to transform these simple materials into complex substances like polyvinyl chloride. This process, which shows and represents the capability of humans to manipulate earth’s natural resources, is the very origin the industry of vinyl records. The use of PVC to create records capable of capturing and sharing sounds is a perfect example of the way humanity used materials given to them by the universe to create new ways of ways cultural expression and heritage.

The Biological level of vinyls: Human evolution and the impact of music.

While the materials that make up vinyl records are derived from ancient cosmological processes, their meaning and use are based on exclusively human capacities. A fundamental aspect of human evolution, as Christian explains in the sixth threshold of Big History, is the concept of collective learning. This capacity, unique to humans, consists of accumulating and transmitting knowledge from one generation to the next, enabling our species to adapt, survive and prosper.

Collective learning was essential to the evolution of the earliest forms of cultural expression, such as art, language and, later, music6. Music is not only a form of artistic expression, but also a way of communicating linguistic and cultural boundaries. Vinyl records play a key role in this process as vehicles for cultural transmission. They capture not only sounds, but also emotions, ideas and values that can be shared with others across time and space.

In a similar way as the first forms of languages enabled humans to communicate their abstract and complex ideas, vinyl records enable artists to express their emotion and their vu or idea of the world. The grooves engraved in records are a form of collective cultural memory by the way they remember feelings and vibes of ancient decades that will pass on through future generations. This shows us that vinyls are not only material objects; they are living archives of human creativity and the most important invention for the transmission of cultural music in human societies.

The cultural level of vinyls: The innovation of technologies and the spreading of music.

The final level of the Little big history of vinyl records is its cultural level. This is when the innovation of technologies and the diffusion of music all came together. Christian sheds light on the importance of technological innovation in the evolutional process of humanity. Technological progress such as the use of fire, the fabrication of tools and the usage of language were very big events that enabled our ancestors to understand and create the best of use of the environments surrounding them, which helped their chances of survival.

Similarly, the invention and popularisation of vinyl records in the 20th century have revolutionised the way that music was shared and enjoyed. Before the era of records, music was a temporary experience that could only be experienced during live sessions. With the creation of vinyl, music became something that we could possess, share and replay as many times as we desire. This new way of consumption enabled music to spread outside of concerts or generally around the world, which opened the door to the democratisation of the musical culture7.

Records played a major role in the creation of new forms of music expression which created new musical genres, such as the emergence of Rock to the counter-cultural movement in the 1960’s to the birth of hip-hop and the reinvention of electronic music. Each new generation of artist used vinyls to diffuse new messages, new ideas and new feelings that were a reflection of societal, political and cultural aspects of their decade.

Vinyls and the cultural evolution.

Through vinyl records, we witness a sort of cultural flexibility that echoes the evolution of human society. Just like the first humans adapted to new environments through the emergence of collective learning, artists used vinyls as a way of rethinking the barriers of creativity and exploring new forms of music. Records became a space for cultures, ideas and sounds to meet and to influence each other.

Vinyls also played a role into the unique way that human identity was created. Vinyls allowed the emergence of underground cultures and gave a voice to communities and different identities. We can see this in the way that the counter-culture movement found a way, through vinyls, to fight societal norms. Movements like punk, jazz or soul each have their own identity engraved into records8. The reemergence of vinyls in our decade is a proof that the technology of vinyls is and always will be a part of ou cultural heritage.

Finally, vinyl records offer a fascinating insight into how technology evolves and influences society. As an analogue technology, vinyl is both a memory of the past and a symbol and proof of cultural continuity. Despite the spread and popularisation of digital technologies, vinyl continues to captivate today's generation, demonstrating its ability to transcend time and technology. Their recent resurgence also shows a return to a more tactile form of consumption, which show that the physical object becomes an important part of the musical experience.

Bibliography:

Quaedackers, Esther. A Little Big History of Tiananmen. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2022, pages 9-10.

Christian, David. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything. New York: Penguin Books, 2019. Pages 52-53.

Sybridge Technologies. "How Vinyl is Made." June 30, 2021. https://www.sybridgetech.com/how-vinyl-is-made/.

Bartmanski, Dominik, and Ian Woodward. Vinyl: The Analogue Record in the Digital Age. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, pages 3-12.

Christian, David. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything. New York: Penguin Books, 2019. page 48.

Christian, David. Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004, pages 285-290.

Carraher, Charles E. Introduction to Polymer Chemistry. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2017, pages 145-150.

Milner, Greg. Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music. London: Faber & Faber, 2009, pages 101-110.

Frith, Simon. The Cultural Study of Popular Music. London: Routledge, 1996