the search for vinyl in Pakistan.

This is an editorial gem. Most of the (web) press articles I find about the vinyl revival come from the western countries, mainly Europe, North America and a bit of Australia/New-Zealand. But this one come from Pakistan. 

Sure, you'll come to the conclusion the passion for vinyl is shared all over the world, or almost. But in this article, you'll also find some poetry, particularly in the first story told. They should even make a film about it : a guy travels miles and miles just to listen to a record at a stranger's house. To me, that's a good pitch. 

Egon's new home.

For his Funk Archeology series, a collection of web articles about digging deeper and deeper into obscure world sounds, Egon relocated from NPR to Red Bull Music Academy. 

The two latest episodes focus on corporate-funded music (Jingle Funk) and Australian music (Digging Down Under).

This guy is obsessed.

Beat Delete.

How many times did you feel awful when acknowledging that you had missed an opportunity to purchase a record, only to see this : "out-of-print" ? 

Well, what if you could suggest labels to reprint that same record ? 

That's the brilliant idea behind Beat Delete, a Ninja Tune-backed website. Of course, suggestions will work better for Ninja Tune and its affiliates, but there are other records in line, such as Mr. Bongo, Celluloid, Motion Audio or Brainfeeder. 

The website works a bit like a crowd-funding platform, so it's not very complicated. A good idea that needs to be extended to much more labels. 

Daft story.

Here's the complete story about Daft Punk from the issue #47 of The Fader. A good read, concluded with the YouTube video of "Electroma", the duo's movie. A weird movie, in the same vibe as Quentin Dupieux (aka Mr. Oizo)'s films. 

diggin guide - Porto (Portugal).

My first time in Porto, and I had everything planned, down to the printed Google map of the interesting record stores. Well, by "interesting" I mean : all the record stores, as I only had three listed. And it seemed it would be it. But for a city this size, it's enough if the quality is met. Once there, the list happened to be extended.

The first stop I did was at CD&GO. CD... well, bad start. But right when you enter the store, there are vinyl records displayed. That's the vinyl trash bin, as well as a few accessories to clean your records. The staff use them before putting the second-hand records into the crates for sale. On the ground floor, you can find a few records, announced as discounted, even if the discount is not as big as you could expect (like 15€ instead of 20€ or so). These are mostly new records. Upstairs is where you wanna be and dig. Both new and second-hand records are waiting for you. The selection is nice. Prices range from affordable to very expensive (for example, a limited edition of "In Utero" by Nirvana, labelled at 100 euros). There's a bit for everyone. All the records, even the second-hand ones, are sealed, but you can ask for a listening session or to look at them. Normally, the condition should be ok.

The place is architecturally quite modern, very lofty, very nicely decorated. The kind of place you would like to live at. The staff is friendly, speak English and will accept your foreign credit card. 

When looking for the place, look up at the end of the Rua Ceidofeita, when you see four Beatles in the sky, you hit the right location.  

Then I headed to Louie Louie, which stands as a reference in Portugal, as they have a store in Lisbon and another one in Porto. The main difference with CD&GO is that they won't take your foreign credit card, so be sure you have enough cash before digging. The shop is not far from the City Hall. Very simply laid down, two lines of crates in the middle and here you go. Some interesting stuff but maybe too much of that 80's sound for my taste. Once again, if you're looking for old Portuguese rock, you'll be disappointed, as these are rarities and as such, rarely hit such public crates. So, maybe you'll have to be satisfied with a couple of compilations (which they have) or reissues (which they have also). 

The listening station is not the most comfortable I've experienced, but still, they will let you listen to whatever you want, as that's good enough. 

As I was walking back to my hotel with my Louie Louie bag, I passed by a shop with no visible sign, but I saw records inside. So I got in. Actually, it was in my list, but I was expecting at least a sign outside, but nothing. This is Muzak. Awesome place. It's actually a space filled with several stands, the records occupying most of the space, but there is also some art and handicraft displayed and for sale, as well as vintage clothes. All this combined gives a nice vibe to the place. 

But, back to the records. Lots of rock and pop, a bit of jazz, a bit of Portuguesa, some classical, some Brazilian stuff, well a bit of everything. And on top of that, below the crates, more crates and more mess with non-organized records, most of them being discounted. And, what makes it probably the best record stores of all, beside the kind and helpful owner, is the listening station. Damn, that seat is comfortable, the turntable is just there, waiting for anyone willing to listen to some record. To be honest, I bought about a dozen records and must have listened to three to four times this amount of records. This place is really Porto's best kept secret in terms of record shopping, as there was nobody waiting in line to push me out of the listening seat.

While talking about record stores with the owner, he even gave me the name of a last one : Porto Calling.

The next day, I went to Porto Calling. It's located Rua Conceiçao, behind the City Hall. When you see the big sign "Hotel Malaposta", you got the right location.
The first impression was bad. I explain : the sign on the door and information on the web state an opening hour at 11am. It was nearly 11:30am, and the shop was closed, with the lights out. Bad. I told myself "alright, let's get back at 2pm, after the lunch break, indicated once again on the front door". So, I came back at 2:15pm. Closed again, but this time with the lights on. "Those guys really have a problem with opening hours"... alright, I went for a walk, with the intent to let the guy take his leak, and found another record store just two streets away.

This one is called Materia Prima, but you won't find any sign saying that. It's written in really small characters (I guess that must be a trendy thing, leaving no trace of your existence, some kind of anti-conformism... or maybe not) on the front but looking at the shop, all you'll see is an art gallery. That's because the space is divided in two : an art exhibition at the front, and a record store/book store at the back, behind the back-door (I hope you still follow). These are two different businesses.
Somehow, Materia Prima reminded me of Flur, the record store located on the docks, in Lisbon (and which happened to be a competitor, as Materia Prima has a shop in Lisbon also) : same kind of selection, made of new labels, modern obscure stuff, brand new records, genres that I don't know (folktronica ?). You'll find some used records, mainly useless, under the main crates. The guy behind the counter is really nice, speaks French and English. You can listen to the records you want (even sealed) on a Stanton turntable. Materia Prima is the store you wanna shop at if you're into new concrete music, and stuff from small labels. They also have CD's. I wasn't sure about payment by foreign credit card, so I just handed cash. Fair prices, most new stuff being tagged at 20€.

After I bought one record from Materia Prima, I tried again Porto Calling, and the loud music told me it was open. Indeed it was. One thing record stores owners should know is that very loud music inside the store is not a good thing... anyway...
Porto Calling is mainly about rock. No stuff from nowadays, but only vintage music, either used or reissued. Actually, it's kind of the perfect fit with Materia Prima. Porto Calling have a strange way of organizing records, so you may have to go over all the crates. For example, artists are organized by first names : Neil Young is in the "N" section. You just have to know it, as it seems to almost be the same in other shops. A Technics turntable is available to listen to your selection in order to make sure you don't purchase shitty stuff.
Considering Portugal is home of quite a few labels specialized in reissues (Groovie Records, Golden Pavilion, etc.) and with Spain and its own labels close-by (Vinilissimo, Wah Wah, etc.), Porto Calling manages to get some interesting reissues at good prices (between 15€ and 20€ generally). They have some interesting Italian psychedelic/progressive records that I saw for the first time. Overall, the shop is a good spot. In a chat with the guy behind the cashier (he was not the owner), I learned that the guy from Muzak can be considered an expert at mixing old school 7" records in parties.
By the way, once again, cash is the better option.

Porto met my expectations, that I didn't place too high anyway. But it's a nice place for record shopping. Records are not overpriced, and for a city this size, having around 5 good stores is a good ratio. Plus, all the staff I met were nice, helpful, and took good care of their respective places.
Maybe the city is missing a few flea markets and/or impromptu locations, at least I haven't seen any. But again, if there had been one, it would probably had been filled with traditional folk, probably not the kind you're looking for.

Have a good dig in Porto !

a sad place.

Some sad pictures of a sad place (at Les Mains Noires), now forgotten because it doesn't exist anymore. 

Somehow, I don't understand the author's sorrow. Why didn't he share the info earlier ? I mean... this sounds to me like the typical digger's selfishness that we all feel when digging. We don't share anything, we don't exchange tips, we just keep everything to ourselves... 

That's the saddest but truest part about it. 

Egon's record collection.

I realized just a moment ago that I didn't share one the latest posts by Dust & Grooves. And that's an important one, as it's the one showcasing Egon's record collection. 

A long-time friend of Peanut Butter Wolf and Madlib, involved in the foundation of both Stones Throw and Now-Again, Egon's the man behind the resurgence of many forgotten artists from all the continents. Lately, he has been obsessed with Africa, and most notably Zambia and its sub-genre, Zamrock. 

I need to warn you : Egon owns records you wouldn't dream of having because of their price. But well, he didn't get them for free, he paid for them. With "buckets of money", as he says. 

A very selective, but impeccable in taste, collection. 

British Library.

Watch the British equivalent to the vinyl collection of Radio France. 

Hailu Mergia (bis).

Just one day before I blogged about Ethiopian keyboard player Hailu Mergia, the Washington Post coincidentally published an article about the same Mr. Hailu. A similar article emerged from the Washington City Paper. 

Why from these newspapers of Washington, exactly ? For those who live around DC or those who've been there on vacation or for a business trip, you already know there is a big Ethiopian community in DC. More than that, most of the taxi drivers there are Ethiopians. And one of those cab drivers is precisely Hailu Mergia. Yes, the same guy who sees his vinyl album going for sale over $3000 on the web. 

Nowadays, Hailu Mergia's life is far from music, but he still rocks the Yamaha DX7 with passion. 

amicalement.

It seems like Mr. Oizo is making a habit out of his new releases : he makes them available on the web for download, opening pre-orders for vinyl copies at the same time. A good move from Quentin Dupieux who, besides new music, also had a movie out recently ("Wrong Cops"). 

His new EP is titled "Amicalement". It contains 4 tracks, including one (short vocal) featuring by Marilyn Manson, also featured in Dupieux's latest movie. Mr. Oizo's touch is undeniable, electronic mixes with funky samples. A nice recipe.  

To download the new EP and live the Oizo experience, head to Oizo3000. 

"You look like shit when you dance". 

treasures at Winnipeg.

Diggers, you know it's pretty rare to find a sealed vintage original in a crate. But, be reassured, it's not impossible. One shop in Winnipeg, Canada, seems to be pretty well stashed with those rarities. it's called The Winnipeg Record & Tape Co. Can't do more explicit than that. 

How did the owner do that, you may wonder ? Well, he bought entire record stores which were about to close down with old untouched stocks. Pretty simple. 

Read the entire story at Winniepeg Free Press. And to get more acquainted with the stock, visit the website of the store, even if it looks like you made it in html coding in the middle of the 90's. 

Rick "God" Rubin.

Linked from the always good Pipomixes, here's a priceless interview of the most influential man in the music industry : Rick Rubin.

Who dat ? Rick Rubin. You don't know him but you know him. First, because you have to. Second because you listen to him everyday, so to speak. He worked in the pop genre, the rock genre, the rap genre, and other kinds of music.

It's just impressive.

And this man litterally looks like God. And he may as well be God. Proof ? He gets the cutest ladies.

Jess Rotter.

New stuff at Dust & Grooves with an interview of Light In The Attic's illustrator Jess Rotter. 

As usual, nice photographies (what an apartment !) and cool stories about record digging. Well, working at a record label surely helps (can it be considered cheating at this game ?), but still, those dedicated and passionate people are inspiring. 

riddim story.

In the current times of the music industry, heavily linked to the strict rules of intellectal property/copyright, the riddim is a strange (cultural ?) element. It looks like an open-source/copyleft/proto-Creative Common instrumental track, on which any guy with enough guts and charisma is allowed to toast. 

Well, I guess current riddim producers have sorted the legal issue out since the phenomenon appeared, but still, the scheme is pretty original, and quite sane in my opinion. 

Red Bull Music Academy just published an article about one of those riddims, the worldwide famous "Dem Bow", popularized by Shabba Ranks, and adapted until recently in the most annoying reggaeton anthems such as "Gasolina". Follow the history. 

Hailu Mergia.

More music from Ethiopia ! 

It has been on the agenda for a few months already, it's now out : the new reissue by Awesome Tapes From Africa is Hailu Mergia's "Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument". Originally a cassette tape, Awesome Tapes released it as vinyl, and also obivously as a tape. 

For those who don't know, Hailu Mergia is the author of one of the most expensive (because rare) Ethiopian records ever. He's a former member of the legendary Walias band, and played with fellow legend Mulatu Astatke. And he plays the legendary synthetizer Yamaha DX7, which I addressed in a previous post on this blog.  

The recent release got a nice review from Pitchfork. Nice treat, I want it.

Mulatu's come-back.

Good news fellas : the great Mulatu Astatke is scheduled to release a new album in September 2013, titled "Sketches Of Ethiopia". A "live presentation" has been dropped on the internet, courtesy of Jazz Village Music. 

Expect more interpretations of "Yegelle Tezeta" and other classics from the Horn of Africa.

For more Mulatu in 2013, here's an interview he gave to The Quietus.  

want records ?

Do you want records ? Do you have space (I mean, a loooooot of room available) ? Do you have $10,000 (without shipping) ? 

Those 70,000 records could then be yours.

some stuff.

A lot of things emerged on the web that I need/want to show using this blog, sometimes a bit late, sometimes not, but in any case, I don't really care about the freshness of an info, since this blog is not about giving a constant flow of "news". 

So, here are a few things you should/could be interested in. 

As a long-time fan of the Masters At Work, I feel obliged to direct you towards the post of XLR8R, which includes a podcast. When you know the skills of both Louie Vega and Kenny Dope on the 1&2's, you know you'd better listen. You can even download it for further audio pleasure. 

A few newspapers published articles about the resurgence of vinyl records. This is becoming a trendy topic, and to say the truth, I'm kinda fed up with it. So, when you come across an article which addresses the subject in an original manner, it's a bit refreshing. Here's an article by TimesDaily, to which I can relate to, somehow. 

I also had an article of The New York Times in stock, but it turned out to be no longer available for free... fuck. 

Are you a webdigger ? Are you fed up with paying twice the price of your purchased record (yeah you're proud of ripping off the seller who doesn't know what he sells... and you're right to feel so) in postage fees ? Here's an idea, relayed by Flea Market Funk. Still needs to be worked on in my opinion, as it includes few labels, but the fact that the issue is addressed by somehow is a good start. 

Gaslamp Killer is a member of the Brainfeeder family, and also has a close relationship with the Stones Throw/Now-Again camp. He did a mix of tracks by The Heliocentrics, posted on Rappcats. If you don't know GLK, he's a very good DJ, and crazy about it also. That results in a crazy mix. 

WhoSampled had the great honor to sit down with Steve Arrington, one of those heavily-sampled artists from the 70's. So, of course, the interview focuses a bit on sampling, but not only. Arrington also gives news about his projects, including an album with Stones Throw signee Dam-Funk. Now this is good news. 

Lately, the Mississippi Records got so many reissues out that I can't follow anymore. These guys used to release obscure (to say the least) tapes, but now it seems they're reissuing on vinyl the who Buda Musique ethio-jazz catalog. So, who knows what's next ? Maybe you'll know better by subscribing. Yeah, record susbscriptions are back in fashion. Light In The Attic do it, Numero Group do it also. And now Mississippi Records is next in line. But they still need to improve their visibility on the web, because you won't go far with a website like this one : although they announce good news, with more releases, there's no date of posting... who knows when this news got published. Anyway, good to know they're still alive and working. 

Like it or not, Urban Outfitters is also a record retailer. So, the question is asked : is it OK to buy records there ? I remember seeing good editions of classic records there, and for cheap. So, who cares what's "authentic" or not ? 

And oh, the most serious stuff I could come with related to records : is record collecting a new market of collectible items ? Not really a novelty, but today it's a relevant question.      

Inner Space, Solar Flares, My Thing etc.

Sven Libaek, anyone ?

Let's put it this way : an absolute legend of library and soundtrack music composing. Born and raised in Norway, professionally trained in Australia, Libaek is responsible for putting out iconic records like "Solar Flares", "My Thing" or "Inner Space", among others such as instrumental cover records. If you own an original copy of one of his records, you're sitting on gold. Almost.

Somehow, someway, It's Psychedelic Baby managed to get an interview of Sven Libaek. An essential read, in which Libaek breaks down his resume, and gets an overview of his career, from childhood to his current semi-retirement. 

Egon.

The latest episode of Fuse's "Crate Diggers" series features one of the ultimate maniacs of them all, Egon, the guy behind Now-Again Records, but also one of the spirits backing Madlib as a producer, and Peanut Butter Wolf as a label manager. 

For those who don't know, Egon has a passion for digging places you wouldn't imagine going to. Well, these days, it's most likely to be virtual or mail digging, as he almost never travels to the places he buys his records from. Those absolute rarities (espcially because Egon manages to put his hands on records in very good condition, which is a miracle for African records for example) come to him in the mailbox, providing huge amount of money sent through Western Union. Modern digging... a costly but efficient one, obviously. 

A good episode, even if Egon doesn't display a lot of unknown. Most of the records he shows have already of will pretty soon be reissued (watch out for the Heitkotter's record). 

with a little bit of Finesse.

As a digger, you gotta love and respect Lord Finesse. This man, already responsible for producing monster rap hits within the past decades, is true to the game. I mean, he DIGS. Almost on a daily basis. And he does it obviously because he's addicted. 

He told Wax Poetics a little about his addiction, and gave more insight about some of his favourites records (by Miles, Axelrod, Quincy, Dizzie...)... at the moment. Because this kind of list constantly changes, you know.

Anyway, true vinyl talk in there.

Earl.

Earl Sweatshirt was a wonderkid when he dropped the video of "Earl". Disgusting, brilliant, shocking. After an exile in the Pacific Ocean, he came back apparently more mature (while still having the lifestyle of a teenager), but kept his lyrical genius, that could be qualified as hereditary, considering who his father is.

Now, Earl is ready to shock the world again. He released a few teasers of his next album, "Doris". Needless to say, "Chum" and "Whoa" met the expectations. 

One remark though : a newbie as a producer under the moniker of RandomBlackDude, it might be tempting to place several beats on your own album. Let's hope Earl doesn't do this mistake. Let's hope he'll let elite guys handle the producing. 

The Fader tried to outrace all the media by writing an article about the kid. 

Françoise.

Lady Françoise Hardy talks about her vinyl memories and a bit of her life.

Not the best episode of Radio Vinyle, but what the hell... Françoise is a goddess.

Jeff Jank.

More coverage for cover art. 

Jeff Jank is a rare man. You won't easily find a picture of him, but if you're into hip-hop (or even jazz), you certainly know his artwork for the Stones Throw label. 

Nothing Major got an interview with the cover art designer who once shared an apartment with Madlib, Peanut Butter Wolf and Egon. Might have been a record digger's dream.  

cassette tapes.

I may have mentionned it earlier on this blog, vinyl is not the only analogic (some would say "old") format that is gaining back success these days. Cassettes are also getting back. Actually, the little plastic boxes never left in some countries ; they lead the show in the third world, mainly in Africa and Asia.   

Bandcamp recently posted an article about the come-back of tapes, stating for example that the sales in UK alone tripled last year. 

In the world of diggers, there is of course the unique Awesome Tapes From Africa, always on the run to unveil marvelous African sounds. The blog indeed announced the next release, a tape by Hailu Mergia, an Ethiopian musician who once in a while gets the internet mad with his one and only vinyl album. The guy behind the blog, Brian Shimkovitz, can even drop mixes made of tapes, and tours around the globe.

All in all, tapes are a solid format, that is here to stay. 

Abdul Mati Klarwein.

For those who wonder about the beautiful cover of Onra and Buddy Sativa's last album as Yatha Butha Jazz Combo, you should know it's a detail from a painting called "Conceptual Tree" by artist Abdul Mati Klarwein, king of visionary psychedelia, who died in 2002. 

Recently, Frank151 took the opportunity of this release to sit down with Klarwein's son, Balthazar, to talk about Mati's art.

The story of Klarwein is a one-of-a-kind : born in Germany when the Nazis seized power, raised Jew in Palestine, he fled to Paris when it became Israel. He then lived all around the world, meeting great artists who influenced his style and whom he influenced in exchange. It's easy, for example, to link his style to Salvador Dali. 

Among his work, there are a lot of album covers, such as the mythical "Bitches Brew" by Miles Davis, and "Live-Evil" by the same Miles Davis. Other clients include Buddy Miles, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eric Dolphy, Leonard Bernstein, The Chambers Brothers, Santana, The Last Poets, Osibisa, Joe Beck, and even Malcolm X. 

The bound between Mati's art and music was immortalized in a book, titled "Mati and The Music: 52 Record Covers 1955/2005", a limited edition of 500 numbered copies including a double album by the great Miles. It seems that it's still available online. 

More of Klarwein's work is displayed on his website.

Rasa.

You can find this record, "Everything You See is Me" by Rasa, at every record store. You've probably seen it a hundred times, smiling at the overestimated pricetag as you got it for peanuts. 

But do you know the story behind this record ? Wax Poetics tells you about it. 

no accident.

There's no coincidence. Remember when I was writing about Giorgio Moroder a few posts ago ? Well, it appears that, not only the man is featured on the new Daft Punk album, but he also has some new music out on his own.

And this is what it sounds like :

Benny Soebardja.

This interview by It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine should already be a piece of history. This awesome blog managed to get an interview from the most seminal rock musician who emerged from Indonesia. And, once again, you have to think about what it was to play rock music under a dictatorship... 

Soebardja founded many groups (The Peels, Shark Move, Giant Step, Lizard), even played solo, and is recognized as one of the best psychedelic artists of Asia. His sound is raw, fuzzy, almost violent sometimes... jubilatoire.

The label Strawberry Rain reissued in 2011 and 2012 several albums of Benny, in very limited editions. It was preceeded by Shadoks which reissued the Shark Move album, "Ghede Chokra's", in 2007. Also a limited edition, as usual with Shadoks. 

So, go read that interview, you'll learn a thing or two about the man and his passion for music. 

Ray.

I don't update this blog as much as I would like to. But I try to make it relevant. So, while Banco's album is in the air, I wanted to share another loss, one that touches me particularly as I have been living with his music as a huge influence for most of my life. We lost Ray Manzarek, the guy who gave The Doors this incredible vibe, playing both keys and bass (actually, bass on keyboards). 

I don't want to turn this blog into a graveyard, only talking about dead people... but, well, most of the musicians I admire are dead. I'm quite satisfied with the treatment Manzarek's death is having over the web right now, as every newspaper is paying its tribute. 

To remember the genius of this man, here's a playlist made by Rolling Stone. And the statement published by Wax Poetics. Among countless tributes.