Five years after the founding of anflow records in October 2020 and seven albums later, it's time to take a look at how things stand. CD albums have now become little more than merchandise: concertgoers increasingly no longer have CD players, and with the disappearance of CD players in cars, the last bastion has fallen... Streaming is currently the most popular listening model, and I am no exception. It is a great luxury to be able to listen to albums by newly discovered musicians in depth after hearing an interesting jazz program, for example...

When I was starting out as a jazz musician, I first had to go to a record store and order the album I wanted, especially if it was by a new artist. Back then, vinyl was the only format available. It often took several weeks before the album finally arrived. This is something we can philosophize about... Which way is better? Immediate availability or a longer period of waiting, eagerly anticipating the moment when you finally hold the vinyl album in your hands and begin the ritual of listening: placing the record on the turntable, lowering the arm, hearing the initial slight crackling before the music fills the room...

For my small, niche label, I have decided that this could be the way to release future albums in a way that covers costs, something that is no longer possible with conventional CD albums. Especially since analog sound is considered to have more warmth, so there are more and more vinyl fans. However, as this is still likely to be a select audience, direct sales via the website are coming back into focus alongside concert sales. Only time will show whether this will be successful...

My entry into the world of vinyl will take place in 2026 with the release of the album “Schwebend” by my European Quartet. The band is a real stroke of luck: we fit together perfectly right from the first rehearsal! It's as if we've known each other for years... The latter also applies to pianist Tilman Günther: we've been playing together for more than three decades. He can be heard on several of my albums and is very familiar with many of my songs.

In my opinion, my own albums are still an important step in my artistic development. Vinyl now seems to me to be the better medium for this. The technically limited playing time of an LP (ideally max. 20 minutes per side, otherwise the audio quality suffers) increases the chance that the gentle listener will find time in an increasingly dense, planned world to listen to an album in its entirety and also appreciate the artistic concept. Paired with the ritual of playing records described above, this can be an oasis of relaxation, a chance to relax and take a little break from our hectic world.

However, further development cannot be stopped, and so digital marketing via streaming platforms remains an integral part of my label. Even though this generates virtually no revenue in the niche market of small labels focusing on jazz (which flows almost exclusively to the major labels), this marketing channel at least helps to motivate listeners to attend concerts.

For new albums on my label, it's clear that the CD album is a thing of the past, but the even older past is back with the revival of vinyl albums! And I'm back where I started: my first albums were purely vinyl albums, including the debut album Answerin' by my former Saarland quartet Rebop, which was only released as a vinyl album at the time and is still not available digitally...

Florian Döling, October 2025