Karen Emanuel

A VINYL-pressing company is celebrating its 33-and-a-third birthday this week.

Key Production Group, in Tileyard Road, King’s Cross, was founded by CEO Karen Emanuel in 1990. The vinyl-pressing, CD-producing, and DVD-replicating company has curated an exhibition of what they see as the best record artwork of the last three decades.

“Thirty-three-and-a-third is the rate at which an album turns round, and we’ve been pressing vinyl since I opened the doors in August 1990,” said Ms Emanuel, who lives just on the edge of Tufnell Park.

She added: “I feel very proud. I still get a thrill about what I do. My first client is still a client of mine; I’ve got quite a lot of staff here who have been here for 20 years plus, and a lot of young people as well. Everyone’s so deeply passionate about the music – it’s great.”

Ms Emanuel says that her business has seen a huge spike in vinyl sales. She added: “People inherently like to collect and show off. And human beings tend to want to connect, and when you’re really into an artist, you want to feel connected to the artist, and you don’t feel as much connection through streaming as you do when you actually hold something. Vinyl is beautiful – it’s an artwork, it’s an art piece.”

The Key Production Group exhibition is running in The Vinyl Cafe until December 13.