INTERVIEW WITH VINYL AMBASSADOR by Gilles Laferriere
CHAD KASSEM DURING MY VISIT TO CHICAGO’S AXPONA 2023, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF INTERVIEWING CHAD KASSEM, OWNER AND FOUNDER OF ACOUSTIC SOUNDS, ANALOGUE PRODUCTIONS, QUALITY RECORD PRESSINGS, BLUE HEAVEN STUDIO, AND CO-OWNER OF ACOUSTECH MASTERING. CHAD WAS VERY GENEROUS WITH HIS TIME AND SPOKE CANDIDLY ABOUT HIS LIFE, ASPIRATIONS, AND THE 10
NUMEROUS CHALLENGES HE FACED WHILE BUILDING HIS THRIVING ENTERPRISE.
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had is a significant figure in the audiophile community. His reissues under the Analogue Productions label that I’ve purchased over the past two decades are some of the best-sounding records in my vinyl collection. Chad’s relentless pursuit of the highest quality reproduction of music on vinyl has played a crucial role in the medium’s revival. I met Chad early in the morning for our conversation. I began by inquiring about his background, including his origins, teenage years, and how he ended up in Kansas. “Well, I’m a half Cajun. My mother speaks French, and the family spoke French, and a lot of people in Southwest Louisiana still do because it’s where the Cajuns that came from Nova Scotia ended up. It’s a very unique part of America. The culture is just so different. They have their own language, their own music, their own style of food. And that’s where I was raised. One thing about the Cajuns and people from Louisiana is they like to have fun.”
I told Chad that I’d been to New Orleans so I had an idea of the fun he was talking about. “New Orleans is a bit different than where the Cajuns are,» he said. «The Cajuns are really in Lafayette, west of New Orleans. Now, New Orleans has this. There are a lot of similarities. But if you want to find where the most Cajuns are, go a little further west. “When I grew up in Lafayette, bars were open 24 hours. You could buy beer at 12-yearsold. Lots of drugs and a lot of festivals. Every weekend there’s a festival: crawfish festival, crab festival, shrimp festival, jazz festival… any excuse to have a party. And the weather is warm, so people don’t really sit home and
