The Heart of the City That Once Was

A vinyl record – a shiny black disc carrying sound now becomes a carrier of history. Its surface is covered with tiny scratches and other signs of wear and tear. It is a fragment of our memory, telling us a story of a time we may never forget. 

When I think about this record, I try to imagine how important music was in those times. Perhaps what sounded from the disc was some military song, or maybe a voice bringing people news from the war front? The sound once concealed in those grooves is no more, but the physical presence of the item reminds us of the people who spoke through it. 

Looking at this record from a different time, we may notice how far we have come in terms of the formats of recording and playing sound. Mere several dozen years ago, gramophone records – made of vinyl or, earlier, of shellac – were the only widely available medium carrying music and sounds. Today, in the digital era, physical media are becoming a thing of the past. 

Music has become almost entirely virtual – streamed online directly into our ears. We no longer need gramophones or record players. All we need is an Internet connection and a digital device of our choice. What is more, the rise of Artificial Intelligence technology has rendered the creation of new music an entirely digital process, too. Today, AI is able to compose tunes in a wide variety of styles – jazz, pop, or even classical music are hardly a challenge, and the artificially “written” music is barely distinguishable from this created by man. 

However, when I look at this old record, I come to appreciate the magic of these old formats and their analogue sound. Perhaps one day we will be able to transfer the sounds ensnared in this disc into the digital world… Until then, it is a valuable keepsake from a past era – the era of records, phonograph needles, and analogue sound recording.

In our digital repository, the object can be viewed in the highest quality.

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Supported by Norway and EEA Grants from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and the national budget #EEAGrants #Funduszenorweskie #EOG #EEANorwayGrants