The sound of anticipation comes in various forms: the crackle of chip packets during a film's trailers; the sibilant tweenie chatter that cascades into squeals at a One Direction gig; the sober shushing before a highbrow recital.
Or the frisson that ensues when an old-fashioned turntable stylus alights on a spinning vinyl disc.
That surface noise (in technical terms, the conversion of vibrational energy into an electrical signal that is amplified and then converted back to sound) is not unlike the scratch of a match being struck, often the introduction to a larger conflagration.
In the age of digital, a medium hailed for its ability to pristinely transport waveforms from source to speakers by way of turning beats into binary data, there are some who derive no small pleasure from such aural imperfection.
As one famous DJ once said: ''Life has surface noise''.
The drummer for Dunedin band The Verlaines since 1992, Darren Stedman has been involved in his fair share of albums over the years. And today will be no exception.
However, Stedman won't be found in a studio. Instead, he and others will be attempting to hawk a curious collection of vinyl from the relatively snug confines of his Dunedin shop.
He and business partner Alastair McDonald operate liquor outlet Castle MacAdam Wine (and neighbouring venue Taste Merchants) in Lower Stuart St. However, the focus from 9am to 4pm today will be on other interests.
Self-described ''music freaks'', they are holding a vinyl record fair involving about 10 stallholders, who will be attempting to offload a wide aural assortment, encompassing everything from refined jazz, pulsating dance-club tracks, punk and indie bands to relatively rare selections.
''I have an interesting record by the Catlins River Boys, circa the early 1960s, on the HMV label. It's got a similar guitar style to Peter Posa - that muted playing,'' Stedman says of one of his more eclectic items.
Having held a similar event earlier in the year, Stedman says he has been surprised at the level of interest in vinyl releases.
''The people are not who you'd typify as a vinyl nerd or music geek. There are all sorts. There seems to be a real popularity for vinyl, from newcomers to people who have always had an affinity for it.
''I've always been keen on vinyl and enjoy flicking through bins at second-hand shops to see what might tickle my fancy, something that might be a bit unusual or cheesy as well as the classic stuff. It's a collectable thing, I guess,'' Stedman says, adding his music collection is a 50-50 split between vinyl and CDs (which are optically read digital storage discs made from polycarbonate).
''I think if something has been well recorded it is going to sound good regardless. Instruments do sound different if they've been recorded on tape and you are listening to it on vinyl, but I don't obsess about that kind of stuff.
''A CD case is just a piece of plastic. Sure, vinyl is plastic, too, but the package has a lot more to it. It's like owning books. If you have that tactile connection with it, people can see that. It says something about you, doesn't it?''
Another who is hoping to pass on examples of his eclectic collection to others this weekend, Danny Still might have hung up his DJing earphones but the echo of old vinyl albums still throbs loudly for him.
''Regrettably, I am no longer Djing. I keep only my dearest records for use at home and hence, am this weekend selling nine crates full of lounge music, disco, '80s pop, house music and early hip-hop, including a few hundred 45s.''
''And I love that all that amazing sound is just being transferred from one ridged groove via a diamond-tipped stylus.
''I understand what's physically happening - yet it still blows my little mind.''
Ian Henderson, owner of Dunedin independent label Fishrider Records, has released a number of albums on vinyl, primarily because there is a renewed interest in the format.
With digital music increasingly available for free, artists and labels need to provide something that has a value beyond just the music, he says.
''My experience over the past three years is that there is almost equal interest in vinyl, CDs and paid digital downloads of albums. In fact, vinyl outsells the other formats initially,'' he says, pointing out it might have to do with pressings of only 150-300 copies.
''Then CDs eventually catch up and sometimes overtake many months later. There is also a lot of interest in vinyl from mail-order customers overseas. Mail-order is more likely to be for vinyl than CD, even though postage costs almost as much as the record now.''
Henderson says there is a ritual to the vinyl experience that has as much to do with the overall package as it does the music.
''There is a certain era of music I seem to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of. I'm pretty sure this is the result of listening to albums repeatedly while absorbing every word and image on the cover and inner sleeve.
''The main thing for me is the size of the object and the packaging, and also the very tactile nature of it ... then all the variables of the equipment.
''To me, vinyl albums are real time capsules - the music, the cover, the life these records have had. So, like old books, they have a value way beyond just the music, which you could hear via Spotify if that was all you were interested in,'' Henderson, also a drummer in various Dunedin bands over the years, says.
''People often talk about music being `free' through digital downloads, etc. But when I add up the costs of accessing `free' music via the internet, which requires computer equipment and an internet connection, it seems to me a very expensive way to get something for `free' - and you have nothing to show for it except a file on a computer hard drive.
''I still use a stereo system I bought in the 1980s for less than the cost of one year's internet connection fee.''
John Ransley, co-owner of Dunedin audio-visual shop Totally Wired, says in any given week he'll still listen to many more hours of music via digital means than vinyl.
''It's fantastic for continual replay, for portability and consistency. But I value the time spent playing vinyl records more, digging though shelves for discs that may not have been spun for years in some cases, enjoying new LPs and just thrashing the old favourites.''
He believes the process of listening to a vinyl record also offers a reward that is increasingly under threat in an age of consumer-friendly playlists: by its physical nature (and with two distinct sides), an album demands a choice to listen to a specific recording in an intended order for a set period of time.
In short: ''It's an event''.
Be there
Vinyl Record Fair at Castle MacAdam Wine/Taste Merchants, 36 Stuart St, Dunedin, today from 9am-4pm.
