When siblings London and Abella Glorfield founded their music startup, Kickback, they set out to give tech-fatigued members of their Gen-Z cohort a more analog way to enjoy their favorite music. A four-year stint as a musician signed with RCA Records eventually culminated in London joining Abella in co-founding the brand, which fuses music technology with modern convenience—think Bluetooth-enabled CD players, and a cassette player that also lets users record their streaming playlists onto tapes. Their newest launch, a vinyl player, is also their most ambitious: the founders refused to sacrifice audio quality, aesthetic appeal, or price point.
To realize their vision, the founders enlisted industrial designer Nicolas Patane as their partner. Their Deko record player, an amber acrylic and aluminum piece that launched for pre-order this week, is the result of that collaboration. It’s hard not to see influences from Swedish modernism, Memphis Group and midcentury design in its sleekness of form. On the technical side, it’s compatible with both Bluetooth and analog speakers. And, crucially for a brand that caters to a younger customer base, it’s priced well under $1,000. “The magic really came down to smart material choices,” Patane tells Surface of creating a vinyl player that seemingly has it all, and for a relatively accessible price point.
“We discovered that high-grade acrylic glass not only cost less, but actually performed better by minimizing resonance and vibration. We paired this with thick, brushed aluminum that gave us both the premium feel and acoustic properties we wanted,” he says. “These material choices let us achieve what initially seemed impossible: a turntable that looks stunning, sounds incredible, and remains accessible to our community.”
