There are roughly a thousand websites that will tell you vinyl is having a moment. We’re not going to do that. It’s been having a moment for fifteen years, the numbers are genuinely extraordinary, and if you’re here you probably already know that. What there aren’t enough of — at least not in the UK — are places that talk about records the way people actually talk about records. Not as investment assets. Not as nostalgic props. Just as music you want to own, play, and occasionally evangelise about to people who didn’t ask.
That’s what The Hurd is. A small group of people who between them have spent the better part of fifty years buying, selling, playing, and arguing about vinyl — writing honestly about a world they happen to love. We cover everything from choosing your first turntable to understanding why one pressing of an album sounds better than another, from what’s worth picking up on Record Store Day to what the industry is actually doing behind the scenes. We don’t do hype. We do opinions, and we stand behind them.
The team is three people. James Calloway has been collecting for fifteen years and reviews records with the kind of considered bluntness that comes from owning too many of them. Dan Whitfield spent twelve years managing independent record shops before moving into music consultancy, and covers the UK vinyl scene with the authority — and occasional weariness — of someone who has seen every trend come and go twice. Priya Sharma came to vinyl three years ago knowing nothing and has spent the time since learning everything, which makes her the best person we know to write for anyone at the beginning of that same journey.
We are not affiliated with any label, retailer, or distributor. When we recommend something, it’s because we think it’s genuinely worth your money. When we don’t, we’ll say so. The Hurd is editorially independent, funded by the people who read it, and — we hope — useful.