For a niche American jazz label, vinyl is the future

Peekskill, New York

JAZZ pianist Elan Mehler hovered over a vinyl-cutting lathe at Masterdisk studios as a mastering engineer laid a blank disc onto the plate and paused for a moment, listening for hints of interference as the blade sliced across the surface.

The men were in Peekskill, an hour north of New York City, to cut master recordings for Newvelle Records, the small label that Mr Mehler, 37, founded two years ago with his business partner, Jean-Christophe Morisseau.

The discs will be sent to France to be r…