It was a retirement project “to keep me out of mischief and give something back to the local scene,” he says, but Downing has since put out 75 records, from the wonky weirdo punk of Dearthworms to the psychedelic krautpop of Sister Wives, which he personally cut in his shed at the bottom of the garden.
Downing then began running his own micro record label in Sheffield, Do It Thissen (that’s “do it yourself” in Yorkshire dialect), specialising in music from his home region.
If you want to buy a bespoke, brand-new machine to cut your own vinyl records at home, there seems to be just one man who can help you.
Using a diamond needle, lathe-cutters can turn blank vinyl discs into your very own record – with a pressing run of however many or few you fancy.
Ulrich Sourisseau’s workshop is in a disused railway station in a remote part of the Black Forest in Germany, and he is in extremely high demand.
