Shellac Sisters, DJs who play 78s
David Pescovitz at 9:29 AM Friday, Mar 21, 2008
The Shellac Sisters are a London DJ troupe that spins exclusively 78rpm records. No Technics 1200s for this crew. They use 1920s wind-up gramophones and wear period clothing. From their Web site:
We have a vast collection of 78s covering all styles of music from the twenties through to the fifties… Big band swing by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and The Andrews Sisters, classics like Tea for Two and The Lambeth Walk, novelties by Noel Coward and cheeky music hall acts, 1920s flapper favourites, Hollywood movie classics from Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Marlene Dietrich, jumping jive by Cab Calloway and Louis Jordan, 1950s rock'n'roll from Elvis and bombshell hits from Marilyn Monroe, romantic serenades by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, latin exotics by Carmen Miranda and Perez Prado… tea dancing foxtrots, quicksteps, blackbottoms and cockney knees ups!
Link to The Shellac Sisters page,
Link to The Shellac Sisters on MySpace
13 Comments • Add a comment
Jack The Tab
@Jahknow (#1), Psychic TV reference?
can I have their numbers?
PLEASE, I beg of you, DO NOT play vintage 78 rpm records on vintage wind-up "gramophone" players.
These are not floppy disks -- you don't need obsolete play-back technology to listen to this obsolete info-storage technology.
A turntable made in 2008 (with a well-chosen needle) will produce vastly better sound and, most important, will do vastly less damage to the record.
If you care about these records, do not ruin them by gouging them with 1920's players. A foolish mistake that I see over and over and over and over and over. It isn't cute or or sexy or clever. Please stop.
re: #4 -- if that's true about the damage to the records, still it's not true about the cuteness and sexiness of using old players.
Perhaps the solution would be found in a modded/retro-steampunk turntable.
Cute + rational = cuter
The thing is, the 78 era encompasses 75 years of history. Wind-ups, with steel or bamboo needles, are only appropriate for records made before 1925 or so. People in the 40s and 50s played their 78s on electrical turntables just like we do today. Monochord is correct: playing Nat King Cole on a windup turntable is criminal abuse, and would have been recognized as such even when the record was new.
Hey, #5, this is Boing Boing. There are no problems that can't be solved with a little steampunk! Heh.
No, seriously, I agree it would be better to work up something retro and interesting with "safe" technology. One reason they use the wind-up players is to be mobile -- they don't need to be plugged in. So some alternative energy ideas could be incorporated. A dance-powered record player?
It doesn't really sound like the Shellac Sisters' records are all that rare. By ruining them, they only make the remaining copies more valuable. And anybody evangelizing about old music can't be all bad.
What bothers me much more is that there really (really) are many aspiring record collectors who go out and buy a Victrola first, before they even own any 78s. They then want rare records to spin on their players. It's a holocaust. A shellacicide? Scratch n' snuff?
I hate to think of someone encountering The Shellac Sisters and thinking "Hey ... good idea!" No, bad idea.
Ooohh you dusty old men - how about living for today and enjoying life instead of sitting complaining in your museum! I notice these dj's also wear clothing from the same period as their 78's but you don't find women moaning about how shocking it is that a 1940's dress might get worn out or that this might increase the price of other vintage dresses! Shame on you.
As a lover of nostalgia myself I believe in enjoying these wonderful items to the full. Yes my gorgeous 1920's dresses will one day wear out but people are dazzled and inspired by them and the world is a more interesting place because of likeminded people and The Shellac Sisters. Otherwise we may as well all stay at home and look at our gramophones and frocks carefully preserved in a glass cabinet.
Fabulous idea - go Shellac Sisters!
steampunk this:
http://www.elpj.com/main.html
As the proud owner of numerous gramophones I can assure Mr Monochord that they are definitely not "obsolete playback technology"! Still going strong after 80 years they will certainly outlive me!
Glad to see they're still being enjoyed!
I play lots of acoustic 78s on my Victrola - I even have some of the new-fangled TWO SIDED ones!
Fans of ancient recorded media can listen to the antique phonograph music program on WFMU, live on Tuesday nights or to the vast number of archived shows.It alternates either with The Edison Museum collection or the Old Codger - in any case, 78s own that slot.
http://wfmu.org/playlists/AP
KAB makes a custom 1200 that can play 78s. In fact, it's probably the best turntable on the market that can. I believe grado makes a special cartridge as well.
http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/1200bld.htm
I think that a lot of 78s were cut at anywhere from 60-80 rpm, so having +-8% pitch control would be ideal.
I have no idea what sort of phono preamp you would use, I don't think the RIAA EQ works on 78s.
Hi there is no problem playing 78rpm on old players the problem is that you have to change the needle every side. If you don't the needle wears out becomes square at the end and will then cut your record up! If you do the records will not wear out. You can buy the needles on ebay in packs of to hundreds or even thousands as I do for little money.
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