It looks like we’re entering a new analogue age thanks to Gen Z
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
We first heard about the brave new world of “digital” at the end of the 1970s. We weren’t sure what that meant, but it sounded futuristic and cool, especially with music. It held the promise of accuracy and greater fidelity that we could feed to our monster stereo systems. Ry Cooder has gone down in history as the first artist to release a digitally recorded album with Bop Til You Drop in 1979.
The CD came along a few years later, adding to digital’s momentum. Soon, all recording studios began migrating from their giant analogue tape machines and consoles to state-of-the-art hard drive systems powered by software like Pro Tools. By the end of the ’90s, everything was digital: CDs, MP3s, personal music devices and so on. Beyond a few outliers who wouldn’t let go — I’m looking at you, Jack White, Lenny Kravitz and anyone who refused to give up their vinyl albums — analogue music was essentially dead.
It’s all different now, of course. Even though streaming is the dominant form of music consumption, analogue is still very much with us. Artists looking for a particular recording vibe seek out studios still equipped with ancient two-inch, 24-track tape machines. Vinyl sales have been on an upward trajectory since 2008. Even cassettes refuse to go away.
But this yearning for analogue goes deeper and much of it lies with gen Z. The first generation to grow up in an always-on, always-connected digital world, is looking for something more tangible. They’re expressing nostalgia for an era before they were born.
