Today – April 15th of 2026 – is the official release date for the vinyl version of #maxialbum.
Formally closing what, in many ways, was my biggest album project to date.
Why Vinyl? Why not!
Ever since the project was specified in September of 2024, there was the idea of a vinyl release. First formally specified on November 19th that year, the Project Specification read:
(project management sidenote: the format was not defined by „Target format defined“ milestone, rather much later).
Already at that point in time (composing had completed) it was clear that the entire album would not fit onto a single vinyl LP. And while single vinyl was somewhat out already at this point, I somehow wanted a physical release.
But why? With the decision having been made „later“ (more specifically, late in November ’25), there were the important factors: cost. And style. And in the end, style did win.
The Cost Perspective
For an album that lasts for about 55 minutes, the factor between a (visually beautiful) CD release and a (visually beautiful) vinyl release for a small run is roughly 4.5. That’s right, the vinyl thingie sets you back more than four times as much as the CD one. Then again, a CD is a small thing. A double vinyl album isn’t. I only had one father.
A certain tipping point was a conversation I had with the premastering engineer on the project, Christoph Stickel. Most of Christoph’s work is for businesses like Deutsche Grammophon, or ECM. And what he told me somehow struck a chord: product managers at Deutsche Grammophon had run a thorough analysis and found that their customers expect a vinyl release. Not necessarily for listening. They take the vinyl package, sit on the couch, cue up the album on Spotify, and admire the beauty of the vinyl release.
That’s not something you can do that well with a CD. So (double) vinyl it was.
A Project Completed
And this formally completes the project. In some way, it started with my father’s passing two years ago. It got started for good in September of 2024, saw the recordings happening between January and September of 2025. The digital release happened on Christmas Eve 2025 (which would have been my dad’s 90th birthday), and with the vinyl release, this project has come full circle.
I’m hugely happy right now.
…aand: Pictures!
