The Decibel ensemble is devoted to using amplification, recording and playback devices (speakers, tape, computers) for the performance of new music, setting such sonic elements alongside live acoustic instruments such as flute, percussion, strings, clarinet and saxophone. Each of the pieces in Revolution: A Concert Dedicated To The Vinyl Record incorporated elements from a vinyl record, be this through the use of turntables, the playing of sounds sourced from vinyl, or in one instance broken vinyl records being incorporated into the score itself. The concert was in a sense a companion to Decibel’s 2009 premiere with Tape It, which featured analogue tape materials. Sampling of one kind or another provided a common – but not universal – feature within the program of Revolution, as well as there often being a sense of ghosting or haunting of musics leaking from the past into the present, and of the repetitive, cyclical locked groove of which vinyl is comprised.

Revolution by Decibel. Photo supplied

The program overall was however notable for the relative scarcity of hip-hop or contemporary avant-garde turntablism itself such as is produced by the likes of DJ Spooky or Christian Marclay. This decision...