Phaidon’s New “Turntable” Book Explores the History of Vinyl Technology

As Millennials and Gen Z’ers continue the trend of acquiring more analog music and throwback audio devices, the popularity of record players and DJ turntables has increased. As a result, Swedish House Mafia and IKEA recently collaborated on a record player release, and in the world of publishing, Phaidon’s new “Turntable” book explores the history of vinyl technology.

Titled “Revolution, The History of Turntable Design,” the new book comes in a hardback format with 264 colorful pages and includes 300 illustrations of turntables and record players created since the 1950’s. Written as a follow-up to the acclaimed “Hi-Fi: The History of High-End Audio Design,” the publisher explains that the new tome explores “the design, history, and cultural impact of turntables and vinyl technology: the twin powerhouses of the ‘vinyl revival’ phenomenon.”

With the rise of hip-hop in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, DJ’ing and turntabling witnessed an astronomical peak, which set a precedence for the musical device, thus allowing it to become a cultural institution in and of itself. And with the help of television shows like The Get Down placing a spotlight on the early days of hip-hop, the turntable is once again in the spotlight.

Additionally, with more music artists releasing special-edition vinyl for fans, the interest and demand for record players have also increased.

The new “Revolution, The History of Turntable Design” book retails for $89.95 USD and is available for pre-order now on the publisher’s website – with shipping on October 19.

In other music news, Kid Cudi says he likely won’t release another LP following ‘Entergalactic.’