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Paying Homage to the 12-inch Single
The digital world allows us to revel in the aesthetics of the smooth. Playing music with a low friction digital interface is practically effortless. This may be greatly appreciated; as fast, easy and cheap access to digital music that provides a soothing panacea in a rat race world. But, what of listening at the other end of the audio spectrum, deep in analog territory, in stark contrast with digital devices that allow rapid selection and playback of music, the 12-inch single – or maxi single – looks like the anachronistic relic it is. Oh, but what a relic.
Like all vinyl choices, the 12-inch single is an impractical one from the point of view of macro economics; economy of effort in playing, economy of practicality in ownership (and storage), and economy of cost. Using these metrics, the 12-inch is a dismal performer, but shift the data points to reflect enjoyment of listening, and quality of sound and suddenly the numbers tell a different story.
Suddenly engagement becomes a key criteria to the equation. How engaged are we with digital playback vs. analog playback?
Living at an increased velocity reduces our faculties to care about ourselves and the world and diminishes rich experiences.”
–Paul James
Digital music which is enjoyed fast and smoothly may be experienced unconsciously, with little perception, judgment or reflection. (While it is a well-established trend that most people are not listening to digital music attentively, it does need to be acknowledged that digital music doesn’t have to be experienced this way.) Underlying the consumption of digital music is reduced attention, and increased disconnection and distraction. Digital music experiences can be quick, shallow and aloof. Only around 50 per cent of the time do digital songs get listened to all the way through. Many songs get skipped in the first few seconds. This occurs even though the average song length has declined from four minutes in 1990 to three minutes today. Like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, when we gain pace we compromise our ability to notice, perceive and appreciate the finer nuances of music and also life.
Living at an increased velocity reduces our faculties to care about ourselves and the world and diminishes rich experiences. In haste, each moment is more easily forgettable and less impactful. Experiencing the 12-inch single can be an act of independence and rebellion from fast music consumption, curated playlists, and music that is chosen for us. Playing a well-crafted 12-inch single provides the opportunity to have a more immersive listening experience, one where we savour the beauty of the music. As Byung-Chul Han says: “Beauty does not promote itself. It does not tempt you to enjoy or to possess it. Rather, it invites you to linger in contemplation.” Twelve-inch singles can encourage listeners to immerse themselves more deeply in the music, to be present, and to attend to each passing moment.
First, a little history, why have a 12-inch Single? Whither the seven-inch single of yore? The popularity of disco music spawned the creation of a 12-inch single. Disco songs were longer than other pop hits. This presented a problem for DJs, who were using seven-inch 45 rpm records. The seven-inch vinyl format could only fit about three minutes and 30 seconds of good-quality audio which was not big enough to play the new disco mixes. Disco music was squashed to make it fit on a seven-inch single. In 1976, an accidental discovery by disco pioneer Tom Moulton provided the solution: a 12-inch single. By stretching one song across 12 inches of vinyl, a format typically reserved for albums, long dance tracks had room to breathe. The 12-inch single was created because Moulton ran out of seven-inch discs and thought ‘Why can’t we use 12-inch blanks?’. The sound of the 12-inch single was a surprise, the record company immediately loved it.
By the ‘80s, the 12-inch single dominated pop music. It not only changed the sound of records but allowed music producers to experiment with song length and structure. DJs and club-goers sought longer tracks that allowed for extended dance sessions. The 12-inch single kept people on the dance floor. Overall, wider grooves, larger physical size, and specialized mastering processes allowed many 12-inch singles to have better sound quality than other formats. The larger size of a 12-inch record allows for wider grooves and greater separation between tracks, reducing the risk of groove distortion and crosstalk between adjacent tracks. A recording made without limiting or compression will require wider grooves, which means less playing time. With a 12-inch single limiting and compression may not need to be applied for space reasons, therefore allowing a 12-inch single to have better dynamic range.
The 12-inch single promoted and allowed for the creation of extended mixes, remixes, and instrumental versions of songs. Over time, the 12-inch single became an accepted format for various genres, not just disco, but soul, funk, punk, and rock. The 12-inch singles often featured extended versions of songs, with longer instrumental breaks, additional verses, or extended outros. Artists such as New Order, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and even Kylie Minogue became known for the number and variety of remixes and club tracks that record labels would release as 12-inch singles. Thanks to DJ culture the 12-inch single has been a mainstay up until more recent times. Modern technology has provided DJs with alternative methods, such as special control vinyl and digital downloads, reducing the need for physical 12-inch singles. Additionally, the resurgence of vinyl has led to massive backlogs at plating and pressing plants, making the production of 12-inch singles less feasible due to extended waiting times. Also in recent years, increased production costs have made them less economically viable to produce. There still is, however, a large and broad back catalogue of 12-inch singles that can be collected. The 12-inch single offers the opportunity to expand your music collection into genres and avenues that you may have ignored. Some 12-inch singles may also be useful for testing the performance of an audio system.
An example of a 12-inch single that I’ve turned to time and again – for various reasons – is Donna Summer “I Feel Love.” It remains a timeless classic that continues to be enjoyed by audiences around the world decades after its release. Produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, the single was one of the first disco hits ever to be released in a 12-inch extended version – 16:50 minutes long.
“I Feel Love” is an outstanding example of music that takes advantage of the 12-inch single format. It is one of the all-time great 12-inch singles, in my opinion. Listening to the track on a 12-inch single is exhilarating. The cut has a propulsive power of a different era, one of more naked musicianship and singing in one take. When it was recorded “I Feel Love” had a marked complexity greater than the average song, particularly for melodic complexity and chord-bass melody. As song complexity has declined in the current era, “I Feel Love’” sounds even more special. It was recorded without pitch correction and significantly less use of dynamic compression than is applied to contemporary music. Summer was an exuberant singer, the rises and falls of her vocals beautifully render a relentless spirit, and a fast-pounding heart. Her singing is not overstated, she has a bell-like shimmer in the higher registers and in the lower registers her voice thrums with visceral resonance. Both the artistry and recording quality of the track are excellent. It made innovative use of the Moog synthesizer. Summer’s warm and velvety voice contrasts with the mechanic, repetitive sound energy of the Moog. While the Moog of the ‘70s is antiquated technology, it is not only capable of making some truly unique sounds, it also can convey an organic feeling that contemporary synthesizers lack.
Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte’s production on “I Feel Love” is first-rate. Layers of synthesized sounds and electronic textures are expertly balanced to create a rich and immersive listening experience. To dial in the right punch the bass drum (created by session musician Keith Forsey) was combined with synthetic drums and throbbing ostinato. It sounds like a giant’s hammer on a wall. A delay was also added to the bassline. This created a strobing, flicker effect, intensified by putting the original bass signal through the left speaker channel and the minutely delayed pulse through the right speaker. The song seems to shimmer convulsively, it seems so alive that most other music sounds like wallpaper.
“I Feel Love” is a song that you can return to, it has such a wholesome poignancy. You would be hard-pressed to find many, if any, contemporary artists with Summer’s emotional power. She has an almost plain speaking, effortless expression, she sounds so believable, and she sounds honest. “I Feel Love” conveys brilliantly the rhapsodic state of being in love with love. With the consummate expression of simple words “I feel love,” she conveys the experience of romantic love and a love that encompasses all aspects of human existence. It is a love that transcends boundaries, both physical and emotional, and connects the individual to something greater than themselves. She sings with a conviction that feels spiritual. Summer’s delivery captures the euphoria and sensuality of the song’s lyrics, making the listener feel as if they’re being transported to another dimension.
The 12-inch single “I Feel Love” has an artistic quality and value that well exceeds its cost. It reminds me of one of the themes of Quadrophenia by The Who, the need to ‘joyfully celebrate the moment’. It may also in reflection foster a deeper insight, that gaining some self-understanding is essential to lasting joy. “I Feel Love” obliterates the tyranny of the clock – the everyday world of work, responsibility, and money – and creates its own time, a moment of pleasure, ecstasy and motion that seems eternal.
While physically “I Feel Love” is only a 12-inch piece of plastic it expresses an ethos that has grown even more important with the passing decades since its release. To play the song is to experience again a place of glistening optimism and embrace the potential for love to bring about profound change in our lives.
Another landmark in the history of the 12-inch single occurred when New Order unleashed their fifth single, “Blue Monday.”
This self-produced track clocked in at seven minutes and 29 seconds and the band specified that it should only be released as a 12-inch single. Blue Monday became one of the best-selling 12-inch singles of all time selling more than a million copies. Its innovative use of synthesizers and drum machines influenced countless electronic and dance music artists. The song’s popularity endures to this day.
The sonic benefits of the 12-inch single format can be fully appreciated on a high‐quality sound system. The 12-inch single allowed artists and recording engineers to push the boundaries on songs that were already fine music. Besides improved fidelity, the 12-inch format allowed songs to build, construct themes not to be rushed, and new layers and instrumentation that could be added.
The listeners’ tastes and listening preferences will determine what 12-inch singles they may prefer. However, a few 12-inch singles that listeners might overlook follow.
“I’m Going Slightly Mad,” Queen. This is a gothic and hauntingly beautiful song. Freddie Mercury’s expression is beautifully nuanced. It is not mere cliché; it is a tongue-in-cheek take on dark humour. It is unique in an artistic way. “I’m Going Slightly Mad” is an ideal song to play when the world seems especially manic, or when inflated seriousness is too much to take and you would like to come down to Earth.
“Body Rock” by Maria Vidal is a high-tempo dance single with a rocky edge. It has a gradual build-up and an uplifting vibe. It also has a youthful and fresh sound. Vidal’s smooth measured and nuanced singing is a good contrast to harder synth sounds. The music also effectively nurtures the desire to ‘rock your body’ when experiencing this music.
In “Hey, Little Boy,” Chrissy Amphlett demonstrates her humour and her ability to call the listener to attention. Very few singers have her depth of attitude. Her songs could sometimes be punctuated by a snarl. She was a sexually suggestive warrior who could also convey vulnerability. Her singing was multi-dimensional. “Hey, little Boy” feels like a real passion play.
The nostalgic “Night Swimming” by REM can conjure up deep longing, and beautiful feelings. It can evoke memories of old friends and times when you were living in the moment, and you didn’t have a care in the world. It celebrates the frivolity and boldness of youth. It conveys the magic contained in these experiences.
By returning to 1982-3 and the introduction of the CD we can gain a different perspective on the analogue and digital divide. The CD was an exciting development. It claimed to provide sonic improvements over records. In terms of technical measures such as signal-to-noise ratio, and dynamic range records were inferior. The idea that the CD format was a technological and sonic breakthrough generated excitement, interest and uptake. People appreciated the opportunity provided by digital music. Yet few people had become aware of the technical, sonic and artistic developments made with 12-inch singles. Outside of some knowledgeable dance music fans, most people did not know about the capabilities of the 12-inch single. The 12-inch Single narrowed the gap between the technical capabilities of CD and records. Now recording engineers did not have to remove notes under 40 Hz, and in some cases 50hz, add compression and reduce channel separation. The 12-inch single was an important breakthrough that did not receive the recognition it deserved. Now all these years later it is good to address this oversight and pay homage to all those responsible for some glorious music that is available on the 12-inch single.
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