【コラム】オープンリール復活論：磁気が再び未来を記録する

Column en CD Cassette History Vinyl

11 Oct 2025

Signs of reel-to-reel revival — sound as matter is reconnected

Text: mmr｜Theme: What can the analog technology of magnetism tell us in the post-digital era?—The future of “Reel to Real” seen through the reprint of Rhino High Fidelity

2025.The news announced by Rhino High Fidelity as part of their analog reprint series has caused a stir in the audio culture world. T. Rex’s Electric Warrior'' and Yes'sThe Yes Album,’’ both masterpieces released in 1971, will be re-released in reel-to-reel tape format.

Records returned and cassettes were revived.The next thing that is rewound is Reel to Reel. This movement is not just nostalgia.This is a movement to bring back ``sound as material’’ in an era where data is becoming increasingly lightweight and streaming is becoming more widespread.

Chapter 1 Analog after digital — Rebooting “lost physicality”

Spotify and Apple Music have created a world where you can listen to music instantly and anywhere. But there is no sense of touch.The sound became an abstract waveform on the cloud, losing its texture.

Reel-to-reel is the exact opposite. Listeners change the reels, watch the rotation, and “play” the magnetic flow. There is an act of physically handling time.Sound is not just reproduced data, but returns to a phenomenon involving movement and friction.

What modern people are looking for may be this “regenerating body.” Reel-to-reel is a device that encourages the rematerialization of listening.

Chapter 2 Media Theory of Magnetism — What is Recording?

If you look at the surface of the tape with a microscope, you will see countless magnetic particles lined up there. Sound is a physical pattern in which electrical signals are arranged as magnetic shading. Unlike the digital world, which is made up of 0s and 1s, there is a ``continuous world’’ here.

What Reel-to-Reel depicts is not sonic data, but sound memory. It is a technology that prioritizes vividness'' overaccuracy.’’ Magnetized tape contains the atmosphere of the performance, the humidity of the space, and even the engineer’s intentions. In other words, it is a “material time device” that mediates sound.

In contrast to infinite digital reproduction, reel-to-reel magnetism deteriorates, stretches, and disappears. However, it is this “finiteness” that turns sound into a special event.

Chapter 3 Genealogy of analog revival and next wave

Over the past 20 years, we have witnessed the ``analog comeback’’ many times. Records revive the visual ritual** through the “object” of the jacket. Cassettes brought back the DIY spirit and lo-fi freedom.

And reel-to-reel goes even further. It is a return to the ``pure form of sound’’, and the very origin of the act of recording. Determined to engrave sound not on a hard disk or on the cloud, but on the irreversible substance of magnetism.

The analog revival is not just a nostalgic revival; It’s a human counterculture to digital saturation.

Chapter 4 What Rhino High Fidelity presents — “High-Resolution Nostalgia”

For Rhino’s reprint, we have selected two works from 1971 that symbolize the pinnacle of analog recording. T. Rex’s ``Electric Warrior’’ is a glam rock metal heat. Yes “The Yes Album” is a progressive rock acoustic space. The intention is to reproduce them with a quality that is as close as possible to the master tapes.

However, what is important here is not “sound quality”. “High Fidelity” is not only “high fidelity” but also faithfulness to reality. Noise and distortion have been removed by the wave of digitalization, In fact, it was proof of the human imperfection that music had.

Rhino’s endeavor represents a shift from “perfect reproduction” to “honest reproduction.” It is an act of “believing in sound” rather than “consuming sound.”

Chapter 5 Reelism 2025: The birth of a new analog culture

Reel-to-reel is currently undergoing a quiet update. Companies such as Recording The Masters and ATR Magnetics have resumed tape production; Young engineers and artists are rebuilding the “Reel culture.”

In the area of ambient and experimental music, Open reel is being reevaluated as a ``media that shows processes’‘**. Rather than cutting and pasting sounds, I actually cut the tape, splice it, and edit it by hand. This analog operation paradoxically stimulates the creativity of the digital generation.

Reel-to-reel is no longer “vintage”; “Hacker analog” is becoming a symbol of post-digital.

Chapter 6 Reel to Mind — The future of perception expanded by analog

Listening to reel-to-reel is not like rewinding time. Rather, it is an act of reconstructing time. As the tape is played, the number of tapes decreases, and the sound continues to play in a finite space. Its finite nature encourages listeners to focus and immerse themselves.

Just as the infinite loop of streaming gave rise to “listening while listening,” Reel’s finite time will help you regain your ability to concentrate on listening. Analog is no longer retro. It’s another way technology expands human senses.

Final Chapter: Where does the magnetic memory go?

The sounds engraved on magnetic bands are not records of the past, but physical messages for the future. As digital technology dominates memory as “data,” Reel-to-reel is trying to regain its memory as a “material”.

The reissue of Rhino High Fidelity is just the first symbolic step. When sound has gravity again, we will remember the meaning of the act of ``listening’’. Reel is once again turning to record the future.

Appendix A: Chronology — The trajectory of reel-to-reel playback

flowchart TD A1950["1950s: Popularization of home-use open reel (Sony, Akai)"] A1971["1971: T. Rex's "Electric Warrior"/Yes's "The Yes Album" released"] A1982["1980s: The advent of CD, the end of the analog era"] A2000["2000s: Analog re-evaluation and resumption of tape production"] A2025["2025: Rhino High Fidelity announces reel-to-reel reissue"] A1950 --> A1971 --> A1982 --> A2000 --> A2025