diggin guide - Toulouse (France).

Toulouse, southern France, is probably one of the best spots in France for digging records. As a lot of record dealers claim rightfully, the ratio inhabitants/record stores is the most prominent on the French territory. Sure, Paris will provide more quantity and eclectism, but Toulouse ain't bad either.

Starting with the only one with a real "euro bin", Paul Emile Vinyls. A good shop, with a lot of variety. The world music section isn't the best you could imagine though. But across the store, you'll find a lot of discounted items and some interesting pieces in all genres, sometimes pricey ones though. And the shop owner is willing to give more discounts at the cash register. You'll have to go through a bit of negociation to listen to a few records. Expect long chats with the owner.

Anthology might well be the most underrated of the Toulouse record stores. The location is really convenient as it is right next to the Capitole square. The owner is a sweet old guy, who's devoted to his business. Old school rules here, as the owner doesn't seem to use a computer or to know new school tools like Discogs. Every time I went there, he gave discounts on all the items I bought, arguing that nobody would buy the records I was buying (mainly Mediterranean music). The most important crates are French variétés, rock music, with a bit of jazz and soul. The world music often provides good surprises, but is not the most interesting one.

Right next to Anthology, Croc Vinyl used to be a disappointed spot. I think I was blaming the store for being too young. Since then, it evolved in the right direction. When entering the shop, the vinyl section is what you get at first ; in the back, you'll find the CD section. The vinyls are well ordered and the variety is nice. A turntable is available to listen to records.

In the same street (rue des Lois), there's Bullitt, which is quite appreciated by casual diggers. The owner also has stands on local markets, especially on the Capitole market on Wednesday and Saturday, Place du Salin on Friday, Place St Aubin on Sunday, and Place Saint-Cyprien on Monday. This info could change without any notice, of course. I remember buying LP's of Ennio Morricone and Francis Lai on the market stand, then being redirected to the main store, where I found interesting pieces, especially in the discount area. 

In the area of Paul Emile Vinyls, stands the 10-year old or so Laboratoire. I saw it opening and evolving. It was widely about CD's before, now it's all about vinyls. Black music (soul, blues, jazz, reggae) is quite a religion here and the selection is fine. Prices are not always attractive, but the selection is quite wide. 

Not in the same area, there's Armadillo, which is also an old shop I used to go back in the days. As for the Laboratoire, Armadillo is mainly about American music. The guy is mainly about rock (all kinds of rock music) and soul music (ah, Curtis Mayfield was in the air when I entered). Don't forget to visit the jazz section, which is a bit hidden next to the counter in the back of the store. This store is often forgotten because it's not in the same area as the other ones, but it's still located downtown. Prices are ok, I bought a few English rock LP's there. Though I enjoyed digging there, I gotta link to Derek's page (bottom of the post), who didn't have a good experience with the owner. 

Vicious Circle is home of punk and hardcore, but there's also a bit of electro and avant-garde hip hop. One thing you should know about Vicious Circle is that they are true to the vinyl game ; they were already doing it at the peak of the vinyl crisis. 

OCB, Le Comptoir Du Rêve and Gibert Joseph have crates of used and new vinyl records. Don't neglect this option, as you could be struck by a good surprise once in a while. Like a Brazilian press of a Françoise Hardy record for example...

I think I've been exhaustive, but I could adjust this diggin guide in future posts, depending on the evolution of the diggin scene in Toulouse.

Baby Girl.

Remembering Aaliyah. 11 years ago, Aaliyah died in a plane crash in The Bahamas, on her way up to the total success. Backed by Timbaland and Missy Elliott, she was on the verge of replacing all the divas of her time. She was cute, she could sing, and she could perform. She acted like the girl next door. 

If you're too young to know about Aaliyah, The Fader made several past articles available online. One is from The Fader #8, another extensive one is from The Fader #54. 

Today, it's sad to hear about a Drake-led posthumous album of Aaliyah. Let her RIP. She already did her best stuff, thanks to R. Kelly, Missy and Timbo. Drake can't do better. 

Colony shutting doors.

This is odd. In a previous post about digging records in New York, the record store Colony was referred to. 

It appears now that this iconic shop of Times Square will shut doors really soon, because of the severe increase of rent (from $1 million to $5 million, monthly). 

The owner said that the remaining stock would be sold on the internet. While a lot of music customers would wait for that unique opportunity, I guess there will be a massive sale at the shop in the coming weeks. So if you're around NYC, you know what to do. 

Too bad I'm not in the area. 

Z-Trip.

Z-Trip may not be well-known in Europe. But on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, he's an accomplished DJ, certified "American Best DJ" in 2009. 

Well, beside this, he's a digger. True to the game. His ordering system is kinda specific, as he orders his records by... BPM. Among the rarities he owns, there are hip hop acetates and "show vinyls". 

Watch everything from Fuse's "Crate diggers" series. 

diggin guide - NYC (USA) #1.

Once again, not based on my own experience, here's another info sheet about diggin somewhere in the world, for instance New York City. I've had this page saved on my computer for days, so I just felt like sharing it. 

So, here's what Guest Of A Guest thinks of diggin records in the Big Apple, which appears to be a Mecca for a lot of diggers. This is really small info, as there are only 6 shops displayed in the slideshow, but it could be a start to dig deeper and search for your own record stores. 

J.Rocc + M.E.D.

When it comes to hip hop, DJing and realness, J.Rocc is the man to listen to. Associated with labelmate rapper M.E.D., he released a few tracks they're currently working on, under the title "Axel F.". 

It was compiled a few weeks ago as a Stones Throw podcast, but J.Rocc posted a selection of tracks on his Soundcloud. So you can either download the podcast, or stream the project on Soundcloud or download the J.Rocc-selected tracks. 

Either way, you can please yourself.

M.E.D.'s unique flow lands perfectly on the funky production and record cuts of the one and only J.Rocc. For your info, "Superman" samples "Hal Hal" by Anadolu pop megastar Baris Manco. Guests of the project include Oh No and LMNO.  

This is damn good rap music.

Shitao - "No Bridge Behind".

Reminding me of the glorious days of ASP, Shitao released a project he started somewhere around 2009. "No Bridge Behind" is that kind of instrumental albums that carries you to another place, like, into space for example. While some tracks bring a trip hop feeling to the table, others are closer to the boom bap vibe. The album will make you think of Tricky, Moby, Massive Attack... it's dark, gloomy, cloudy, spooky and brilliant. 

As usual with ASP releases, it's free. And it's quality. The cover and artwork were done by Elise Boularan, a cool talented photographer.

If you're the kind of guy to be cautious about what you download, stream the whole album on Last.fm or Soundcloud. 

Just listen. And download. 

Radio Vinyle.

It started with Archie Shepp, and I remember being stunned by the footage of the inside of the record collection of Radio France. In that video, Archie Shepp detailed in a perfect French his influences and tastes, musically speaking. 

What I ignored until Laid Back directed me towards the website of Radio Vinyle, is that Radio France kept doing on with the series, and now broadcasts online the 10th episode of Radio Vinyle, featuring Geoff Barrow, the mastermind behind Portishead.

Previous artists featured are Lulu Gainsbourg, Alain Chamfort, Ahmad Jamal, Cassius, Mathieu Malzieu, Thomas Dutronc, Daniele Gatti, Jean-Jacques Milteau...

Really, that concept is amazing and will please a lot of diggers out there. Plus, non-French speaking people can still watch the videos of non-French featured artists, as the videos are not dubbed but simply subtitled. 

Impressive.

diggin' Asian psych #1.

Psychedelic music is commonly divided into geographical areas. Following the discovery of rarities and major pieces, the different continents made it the collectors' shelves. From a Westerner's point of view, for obvious reasons, Western European and North American psychedelic music was the first (chronologically) priority.

Then, thanks to the efforts of various record labels, record lovers got easily introduced to music from Africa, Asia, South America, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Notice that beatmakers like Madlib, Oh No, Onra, the Side Men and many more followed (or sometimes initiated) those discoveries, contributing to the growing interest for these music sources.

Asian psychedelic music attracted me after I heard interesting music by Rahul Dev Burman, notably with "The Burning Train" soundtrack, which is a masterpiece and a nice introduction, even if it's not labeled as strictly "psych". But it definitely crossed genres. Afterwards, I searched the field and stumbled upon lots of awesome stuff. Here are a few you should definitely check out, if you haven't already.

Let's start with Japan. I suppose that Japanese youngsters got introduced to the psychedelic genre through the American soldiers stationed in Japan after the World War II and until very recently. Compared to musicians from other countries, Japanese psychedelic rockers didn't mix traditional local elements with rock music as much as their Asian counterparts. They have been largely influenced by US psych music and kinda sticked to the formula. But with a lot of crazyness and creativity. 

Among the stars of the genre, you can rely on Shinki Chen. Considered as the "Japanese Jimi Hendrix" (but still, you'll see that this nickname was given to the leader of the genre in each country), Shinki's destiny is truly rock'n'roll. He started playing guitar at a young age, acquired a strange look according to Japanese standards, tried drugs, lived like a bum and entered rock bands just for the fun of it. He left a first mark on wax with Food Brain (the record's price nowadays hit the rooftop). Early in his career, Shinki Chen chose to  use the English language to accompany his incredibleguitar game But, more than for his solo career or his temporary Food Brain membership, Shinki Chen gained fame as part of the revolutionary band Speed, Glue & Shinki, alongside Joey Smith and Masayoshi Kabe. There are two records of Speed, Glue & Shinki circulating : "Eve" and "Speed, Glue & Shinki".

Shadoks printed albums by Shinki Chen and Speed, Glue & Shinki, but they go for more than $400. The records also got the Phoenix Records treatment, and these issues are much more affordable.

There are great articles about Shinki on the web, and I can't outshine them, so go read Progressive Area (in French) and Japrock Sampler.

For more Japanese psych, check out Blues Creation, Far East Family Band... and head to this incredible blog that is Japanese Old Prog/Psych Rock (even if it seems to be abandoned now).

Now, Indonesia. You may not know but Indonesian rock is just off the hook. And it hasn't been a safe journey for the local musicians. Indeed, like many other countries, music has been treated like an enemy under a dictatorship. In that kind of circumstances, rockers can be seen as true heroes.

Benny Soebardja is the iconic psych leader in Indonesia. Recently, Strawberry Rain released three records by this man, including one in very small quantity (250 pieces, with 125 copies being reserved for the Indonesian market).

But Soebardja's career is not restricted to these three albums, as he created major bands.

For more Indonesia psych, the compulsory stop is Madrotter's blog, old and new version. Big names include Koes Plus, The Gembles, Panbers, Ariesta Birawa, AKA... Strawberry Rain (again) dropped a compilation album of AKA, called "Hard Beat" (announced as sold out, but it might be available at some retailers), which showcases the rawness of their style. Try buying original issues of AKA's albums if you have the dough, but be ready to cash out a lot, sometimes for damaged pieces...

Closer to the Japanese spirit (even though they historically don't stick together), as Korea hosted batallions of American soldiers following the Korean war, the Koreans created some creative rock, especially thanks to one man : Shin Jung Hyun. Considered the "Korean Jimi Hendrix", this man made Korean psych known across Asia first, then across the world. His skills go way beyond guitar playing, as he revealed himself as an excellent songwriter and producer. 

He launched the career of a then young girl called Kim Jung Mi (nicknamed the "Korean Françoise Hardy"... yeah, I know this name-dropping is quite a thing), crafting the album "Now", which is at the time one of my all time favorites. The original issue is an ultimate rarity, but fortunately Lion made a reissue available.

Other works of Shin Jung Hyun include participation to bands like Add 4, Superstar, etc., and countless solo works. His career covers a five decade-span.

Nowadays, Shin Jung Hyun's original albums and collaborations sell for crazy prices and are believed to have been massively purchased by... Japanese collectors, who caught on Korean psych album much earlier than the Koreans themselves. Who can't stop biting their fingers since then... Fortunately, Light In The Attic released a quality compilation album for us poor folks of the Western world, which even attracted the attention of the Guardian newspaper.

Egon, of Now-Again Records, wrote an article about Shin Jung Hyun for NPR. The man gave an interview to a French journalist in 2009.

San Ul Lim is another major name of the Korean psych scene. A trio of brothers with a classic formula guitar-bass-drums, they recorded a demo as college students, and acquired a cult status with it. They kept releasing albums after their demo got turned into a real album, and were critically acclaimed with their three first efforts. Afterwards, the brothers kinda lost their appeal but remained legends of Korean rock music. Originals of their albums are now pricey. But they're worth it. 

That's it for now, but this series is only starting. 

Matthew Glass.

For those who like record covers, the LP Cover Lover website is a must seen : it's full of weird, excentric, astonishing cover art. The main guy behind all that is named Matthew Glass. A record collector, he welcomed Mr. Paz from Dust & Grooves to his apartment in NYC for an extensive interview. 

As usual with Dust & Grooves, it's full of infos, gentle humour, and classic photography. 

diggin guide - NY's Capital District (USA).

Not mine once again, but in an attempt to list the most interesting diggin spots in the world, here are record stores in the Capital Region, next to NYC, as listed by All Over Albany.

press review.

First, there's the common statement : vinyl is getting bigger and bigger worldwide. In India, for instance, a country with a strong tradition of music, particularly printed on vinyl. But like everywhere else, vinyl records were replaced by cassettes (much respect for tapes) and CD's. 

Today, it goes much further than the usual audience of purists, DJ's and audiophiles. It is simply replacing the other formats for a portion of consumers. 

Then, you have the flaws of this phenomenon : people taking advantage of that resurgence. Sadly, you can now see new releases on vinyl with crazy price tags, as well as second hand records going for exagerated prices. 

Blogger Britanny Todd explored the reasons of the increase or decrease of the value of vinyl records. Pretty interesting articles, as Todd mentions online sales, popularity gain (especially through the lens of hip hop crate digging and producing), reissuing, file-sharing etc.

I guess the offer/demand economic law applies everywhere, especially when you play on the field of passion. 

Passion is a word which sticks to a guy like Elijah Wood. The actor who played Frodo Baggins is a true record collector, both on CD and vinyl. His eclectism is now legendary and could be a true inspiration for a lot of diggers. Of course, his financial means may not be a real problem, but still... Wood even released a compilation of obscure records. 

Passion also applies to those music retailers who went through bad years only to be rediscovered now by young and less young people. Nick Barovsky's testimony is pretty clear : vinyl sounds better. 

Others sell their collection, to make room, to make money, or simply because they lost the passion. No disrespect, it could happen to anybody. 

diggin guide - London (England) #1.

I wanted to do my own diggin guide, based on a summer diggin experience, but just found a short article about record stores in London on the website of the Telegraph. 

So, head to the page and get some info. My own diggin guide would have referenced (almost) the same spots.  

un poquito de house music.

Summer is dancefloor season. So while it's still hot outside, a few DJ's are dropping efficient mixes on Soundcloud. Among them, get a taste of summer vibes with Boombass (Initials BB mix), Busy P (Musica Para Tu Autoradio mix), A-Trak (Fool's Gold Radio August mix).

Somehow someway, the best of electro for your mobile device.

FlyLo.

Fans of Flying Lotus, the man announced his come-back for October, 1st, with a new album called "Until The Quiet Comes", out on Warp.

This album will include 18 tracks and a few selected featurings, like Erykah Badu, Thom Yorke, Thundercat, etc.

Flying Lotus will support the release with a tour in the US and Europe, through September, October and November.

To coincide with this announcement, FlyLo posted a new "Lovers Melt" mix, the 3rd one in his summertime series.

And if it wasn't enough, a track produced by Flying Lotus got launched by Adult Swim. The vocals were provided by Earl Sweatshirt and Captain Murphy. The instrumental is just a delight. See by yourself. And there's more on his Soundcloud page. 

Pharaway Sounds.

There's a new actor in the record label landscape : Pharaway Sounds.

I think the name says it all, it's supposed to be about global grooves. I couldn't find a dedicated website, so all we know comes from the Light In The Attic website. Although the website talks about two releases ("Zendooni", an Iranian pop compilation, and a Bunalim compilation), it seems a third one ("Khana Khana", another Iranian pop compilation) is already scheduled for September.  

I haven't laid my ears on these records yet, but I inted to, as I'm always interested in music from Middle East and the Persian Gulf. For those who don't know, Bunalim is a Turkish psych rock band, which, like other members of the Turkish psych scene of the 70's, perfectly melted traditional influences with rock music, thus crafting a unique sound. Original records are simply impossible to find, so all you can get is reissues by Shadoks, and now by Pharaway. Don't miss that one, Bunalim will blow your mind. 

"Zendooni" is a promising release, as it goes beyond the usual Iranian pop stars we know, such as Googoosh and Kourosh Yaghmaei. Don't get me wrong, I love both of them, but they have been the main features on quite a few compilations. So it's nice to hear something new, new names, new flavors. And "Zendooni" seems to provide.

supportin' Cody.

As I really want to "contribute" to Cody ChesnuTT's next album seeing the light of day, I'm linking again towards his Kickstarter page, so that anyone could put his dollar on this promising project. The album is co-produced by the talented Patrice (remember this ?).   

For those who need their memory refreshed, here are the highlights of Cody ChesnuTT's career so far : "Look Good In Leather", "The Seed" (and its cover by The Roots)...

Damn, I'm refering to an album that was released 10 years ago... I remember being it after reading about it in a magazine. "The Headphone Masterpiece" blew my mind instantly (with my personal fav track), maybe because it breathes geniune passion, having been made with so minimal gear. 

Alright, whatever, support Cody.

still diggin'.

Ever since I started this blog, I've been trying to link all videos I could find of crate diggers presenting their own collection. 

Here are two famous record collectors (and recording artists, as DJ's) : King Britt, via the excellent Dust&Grooves, and Peanut Butter Wolf, from the "Crate diggers" series of Fuse. 

Ya dig ?

get down, get down.

It's summertime, music is everywhere (or should be) and so is vinyl today (or should be). If you thought the vinyl come-back is an isolated phenomenon, think again. It's global. And recent newspapers articles prove it. 

Here's what's happening in Korea right now : gadget-fatigued Koreans return to vinyl. And love it, as much as Japanese do. Now, if you planned a trip to Korea to satisfy your greed for rare vinyl, prepare your bank account and wallet. This in-depth article explains the reasons of such high prices. 

Same thing in India, with local people recently rediscovering their old records and the artists who are so much wanted in Western countries. 

And more surprisingly, the highly superficial Dubai is discovering vinyl, through expats and reissues of course, as the city has no history of record printing. 

So, one of the characteristics of this come-back seems to be the focus on vintage music. People would get introduced to previously released music through the music. It makes sense. It is much more compliant to the original artist's idea than CD reissues... and gives the feeling of connecting to a previous era. Actually, numbers prove that old records are now outselling new ones. 

But still, record stores are closing here and there. And people gather just to listen to vinyl records. 

Oh, and by the way, "Purple Rain" was choosen by Rolling Stone as the coolest summer album of all time. I thought you should just know. 

Def Jam, still delivering the heat.

Very recently, the legendary rap label Def Jam released two major albums, both for their authors and for the evolution of Black music.
After taking the web by storm with non-music related matters, Frank Ocean, member of the Odd Future posse, launched his real debut (let's do like Def Jam and consider "Nostalgia, Ultra" not to be an album, even if I think its quality could earn it the title), "Channel Orange". Filled with modern pop and really interesting instrumentations and experimentations, Ocean's album instantly placed him as a new heavyweight in nowadays r&b. 

When you mention in the same sentence "modern pop" and "experimentations", it is quite obvious to think about Pharrell Williams and the Neptunes. By taking a look at the credits, it is a confirmation that Pharrell might be responsible for a big part of the atmosphere of this well-crafted album. 

All in all, "Channel Orange" is the album of a newly revealed musician, who is good at songwriting and setting a mood. 

The other essential album is "Life Is Good" by Nas. Needless to say, the rap giant can never escape from the reference to "Illmatic", arguably the best rap album of all time. He sometimes came close to the quality displayed in "Illmatic" but also disappointed a lot of people with other efforts. But his abilities stayed untouched. With the help of Salaam Remi, Nas crafted good songs and albums. "Life Is Good" saw Chicago-based (and Kanye West's mentor) No I.D. helping Remi to give Nas a cohesive album. That's what "Life Is Good" is : a cohesive effort, made to stay. 

With this album, Nas tried to adapt to the evolution of the music market, by releasing songs way before the official release of the album. "Nasty" dropped first, followed by "The Don", "Daughters", "Loco-motive" etc. Easily one third of the album was known before the release. Still, these tracks blew a lot of fans' mind, and created enough buzz to make this album a must-have on the day of its release. 

After 20 years of career, Nas looks back and gives interesting interviews, like he did for NPR. His status also earns him the headlines of major publications, like the NY Times.

Spin Clean.

I'm considering buying one. Anyone tried ? 

Beat Junkies.

As a vinyl lover, maybe you're into turntablism. Maybe not. 

Well, whatever, the world famous Beat Junkies, one of the main DJs crew, celebrate this year the 20th anniversary of the crew, which was founded in 1992. 

If you don't know much about them, you're welcome to watch the documentary (it's quite short, around 14mn long) they did under the patronage of LRG Clothing. And if you do know about them, you're entitled to watch it, as you could learn a thing or two about the crew. 

J.Rocc, D-Styles, Rhettmatic, Shorkut, Babu and the other members, as well as friends, opened their box of memories...

Dusty Groove America.

If you're a record addict, there might be chances that you're a regular customer of Dusty Groove, or at least a casual visitor of their website. 

Well, in the upcoming weeks, you might find that their stock has increased dramatically. That would be caused by the recent massive purchase the Dusty Groove company made : the record collection of the Chicago-based radio WGN. 

To give you an idea of what we're talking about here, the collection dates from the 1950s and counts around 45000 records, in various formats : LPs, 45s, 78s and even CDs. 

I guess that soon enough, they'll be available on sale. Expect surprises and rarities. 

London calling.

There's no denying that the United Kingdom birthed some of the most influential musicians and artistic movements of the 20th century. 

As a celebration of this statement, German-French TV channel Arte broadcoasted a 4-episode series about pop culture in the UK, mostly through other art forms like photography, design, graphism, fashion etc. There's even an episode dedicated to the making of this culture : this is music marketing as explained by pioneers of rock music.  

Jimmy.

No, it's not about Jimi Hendrix. It's about Jim Morrison. Maybe you missed the date. 41 years ago, Jim passed away in obscure circumstances in Paris. 

nu-soul news.

Alright, maybe not strictly nu-soul, much more r&b news, but D'Angelo sure is nu-soul, as he almost invented the genre. 

Following his incredible come-back earlier this year, D'Angelo keeps providing people with his off the hook liver performing abilities. The last one was given at the BET Awards, and is downloadable here. 

Another friend of The Roots and Okayplayer, the unique Cody ChesnuTT, is planning on releaseing his new album really soon. To do so, the author of "The Seed", needs money. 

This being said, I take profit of the occasion to elaborate a little bit on this old-new phenomenon : patronage (or sponsorship). For centuries, it has been a way of living for artists, which, most of the time, has ensured them with freedom of creativity. I'm not far from thinking that this is the best system for artists to make a living out of their art. 

With the new platforms of patronage for artists, such as Kickstarter or My Major Company, it's actually this old system that is coming back. The principle is simple and healthy : if you like an artist enough, you can pledge and participate in the financing of his projects. And considering you sometimes get to have special items from the artist in return, it's a good deal. 

So, back on Cody's next album, it sounds promising from the first track we heard, "Everybody's Brother", performed live both in a recording studio and on stage in Paris yesterday. To fund his "Landing On A Hundred" album, Cody ChesnuTT needs $20,000 and you can contribute on Kickstarter. 44 days to go.

Considering the creativity displayed on "The Headphone Masterpiece", "Landing On A Hundred" will be great for sure. 

And last but not least, as announced a few weeks ago, Frank Ocean will release his debut proper album "Channel Orange" soon. Among the featurings, you will hear Earl Sweatshirt, John Mayer and André 3000. 

Again, this sounds promising.

Muggs.

When speaking about West Coast hip hop sound, one name comes to everyone's mouth : Andre Young aka Dr. Dre. But Dre only represents one kind of sound. 

From California, Muggs started a whole different sound, with bands like Cypress Hill, Soul Assassins and House Of Pain. It was darker, more New York-like. More rock and latino influenced. 

Remember "Insane In The Brain" ? "How I Could Just Kill A Man" ? "Boom Biddy Bye Bye" ? "Jump Around" ?

In the latest "Crate Diggers" episode, Muggs goes through all his influences. The good thing is he's really talkative. As always, very interesting.

in the news.

Here are a few articles about vinyl that have been published on the web recently. 

First, one bad example of how to turn our passion for vinyl into a soulless topic : "SoundStage direct connects audiophiles to hard-to-find vinyl LPs using site seartch from SLI Systems". This was issued by the Wall Street Journal.

Then, something about a guy who tells people to reconsider selling their records in such events as garage sales. Why ? Because sometimes they don't know the value of their records and sell them for much less than their actual value. 

Now, I don't know what to think of this... It feels like the guy spits in his own plate, as he confessed having benefited from that on many occasions and indeed found some true rarities.

Gizmodo chose to explain what's up with the John Peel's project, which must be one of the most interesting initiative of the vinyl world lately. 

diggin guide - Paris (France) #1.

Here's the long overdue diggin guide for Paris, France. Part one. 

For diggers in Paris, the compulsory stop is Saint-Michel, aka the Latin quarter, where the Sorbonne University is located. In this quarter, there are a few record stores which are worth a stop, and sometimes a purchase. 

First of all, the messy Boulinier. Not really a record store, but it's a second-hand shop that sells books, records etc. But, when diggin at Boulinier, you need two things : time and luck. Time, because nothing is in order, it's kinda crowdy, and most of all, and still, it's not a record store. Which means there is no selection. They put everything they buy from needy sellers in crates, without any further care. So, you could say there is no soul at Boulinier. Anyway, once in a while, you'll find a cool piece, sometimes for a cheap rate. How's that ? I guess they're ignorant and they hurry too much, as they don't really evaluate the value of a record. But once again, a soulless place. 

Then, a few buildings beside Boulinier, there is Démocratie. Which is not a record store. Either. On ground floor, it's like a hype shop, selling a bunch of fashion stuff. But underground, there is a record store. Obviously run by a cool dude who loves it, it's a bit disappointing. Prices are a bit high. And the selection is quite poor. I don't know, maybe I'm too picky, but in my opinion, the main function of a record shop is to present a selection. That's what gives a soul to a store. But, in too many occasions, second-hand record stores don't dig, they only buy what comes to the counter, and then sell it with a margin. And I'm not dissing the margin. I'm dissing the lack of selection. Anyway, back to Démocratie. If you're into electro music, you could find your happiness there. Same thing for diggers of 45's, especially in French music. 

When you go up the Boulevard Saint-Michel, you can't miss Gibert Jeune. Originally a second-hand bookstore, the shop expanded to selling records in a dedicated store. To be frank, this must be one of my favorite places, even if it's not a "real" record store. First of all, back in the days, I started buying my rarest CD's at Gibert, because they had the coolest and most uncommon CD's you could find. The Japanese edition of the the "Ghost Dog" soundtrack ? Got it there (for a awful sum but still, I got it !). That was a long time ago. Since then, I switched to LP's, and I'm still pretty satisfied with their services. They have both new and used LP's. They sleeve in everything they sell, and they don't sell damaged stuff. So you can be confident when you buy used stuff from Gibert. But the main thing about Gibert is that they are much cheaper than "real" record stores. The "WITCH" box from Now-Again ? 10 euros cheaper (or more) than from your local record dealer. To me, that's a deal. A real and fair deal. It may be a good thing to support and feed your local dealer, but the crisis affects everyone and I obviously need to fill my need of record-buying when my dealer doesn't (clearly, they sometimes speak of records without any passion ; don't get upset, I said "sometimes"). You would think Gibert sell the more obvious stuff, but once again, you would be wrong. I found the Ethiopian "Wedding Songs" there, a few Asian cuts also... That's the closest deal you'll get to the best eBay bids. And if you are still into CD's, you can get a whole lot over there as well. 

In the same area, there is the reference store Crocodisc-Crocojazz. The two stores are separated by a wall, but it's the same spirit. The guys are pretty nice and chatty, you can get good advices and they really know their stock and crates, even if they are numerous. This is a place for reggae diggers as the section is quite big compared to the total space. I recall the soundtrack section is pretty interesting, as well as the soul space. Like most French record stores, they're also deep into pop and rock. This is one of the only stores that has a real "dollar bin". It may not be the American kind of "dollar bin" (by "American" I mean that only in the US you could find really interesting thing with a "1 dollar" tag, in Europe it's mainly damaged LP's and corny stuff), but it's still good to know they have one. Being a quite old store, it's always worth a visit. They also sell CD's. I don't remember seeing new LP's so there must only be used ones there. Good place.  

Closer to the Chatelet-Les Halles area, you have Monster Melodies. A really messy place, so I guess that's what you could call a "real" record store. The ground floor is dedicated to gear, so you can replace your old turntable with another old turntable. The first floor is filled with tons of LP's. Tons. You litterally have to walk over and on boxes of records to get access to the furthest crates. It's an impressive place. But you will need a loooooot of time to get into all the boxes. Or you know precisely what you're looking for. Monster Melodies is about rock. All kinds of rock music. There's a jazz section also, a French section, a teeny-tiny hip hop section, a fair reggae/dub section, a cool afro section. I didn't see other kinds of global groove, but it could be my mistake. Anyway, true diggers will be happy in this place. Rock diggers. But be ready to spend a few more bucks than usual on some pieces. I saw a "Histoire de Melody Nelson" by Serge Gainsbourg sporting a "60€" label, which freaked me out. Same with other Gainsbourg album, marked "30€", which is kind of unusual as well. In a world where eBay and Discogs have become the first tools of a record digger, it's embarassing to see such price tags. But Monster Melodies is the place to find rarities, so pay them a visit, and be careful of where you put your feet and hands, it's a dangerous place. And pay the guys a smile, as it seems they've lived in the dark so long that they sport sad faces. Once again, passion, guys, passion. Stop talking business, talk passion. I didn't notice the presence of a "dollar bin", but I could be wrong. 

I also had a chance to shop at Superfly Records, which is located in a whole different area. Advertised as a shopping place for Gilles Peterson and DJ Spinna, it's a very decent place. Once again, smiling seems to be a forgotten thing, but I guess it's a thing among record dealers. Is it getting a "serious" job or something ? Frowning ain't better. Anyway, I guess they know their stuff and that's the most important thing. The selection is tight. Their new arrival bin is impressive, with lots of afro stuff. Expensive, but not so much compared to the rarity of some of the LP's you can find there. One thing I didn't get is why pretend you have a "dollar bin" (or a discount bin to be more accurate) when the discount stuff is actually labelled "5€" or "10€". I guess the "dollar bin" spirit is definitely dead. RIP. Superfly Records is nonetheless worth the publicity it gets from a lot of diggers (they have ads - yes I know they pay for it, but still - in Wax Poetics and such) and the store has an accurate newsletter. 

Last advice for this part one : don't expect to dig before 1 or 2pm. That's usually the time the record store open. That's another reason why I go to Gibert so much as they have normal business hours. 

biZdar.

This man is one of the most underrated actors of the music industry, and one of its busiest element. His name : Zdar. Philippe Zdar. 

One half of La Funk Mob, Cassius and Motorbass, Zdar also works as a solo act, mixing, remixing, producing, supervising other people's work and spreading ideas all over the world.  

The Fader had the good idea to write a whole paper about him. It's a pretty extensive field study of the guy, which browses most of his career. 

Zdar definitely deserves more recognition for what he brought to the table over the years.