RECOMMENDED: Vinyl lecture @ Borgarbókasafninu Grófin, Reykjavik / 2026.01.21. 🇮🇸

Lecture: Vinyl's most improbable comeback, and Iceland finally is getting a record factory

One of this century's unlikeliest resurrections has been that of the vinyl record. Although assumed by most to be discarded by the end of the twentieth century, the report of its death was an exaggeration. Instead it has been steadily growing in popularity for the past two decades.

A record factory will soon rise in Iceland, the first one since the mid-1980s, by the name of Thermal Beets Records (https://thermalbeets.is). What makes them unique is that the records will not be made from vinyl plastic, but actual sugar beets! Their first 100% fossil-fuel-free plant-based record release was made for Iceland Airwaves's 25th anniversary in November 2024.

To discuss the resurrection of the vinyl record and this new innovative project, is new Reykjavík resident Larry Jaffee, co-founder of Thermal Beets and Making Vinyl, as well as the author of the 2023 book 'Record Store Day: The Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century' (Rare Bird Books, Los Angeles). The free lecture will be delivered in English.

ADDRESS:  Sérfræðingur I Borgarbókasafninu Grófin I Menningarhús Tryggvagötu 15 I 101 Reykjavík

 

 

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Illustration: guidetoiceland.is