“I am a collector and selector first and foremost, based in Manchester. I run different types of events as well as having my own DJ residencies in the city.
I’ve been connected to music from a young age, through various people, collecting and making tapes as a kid and buying compilations, to later becoming obsessed with 45s. This evolved into LPs and 12 inch singles of many different types of music as I explored more genres and eras. My collection will never be finished but I enjoy being able to go into it and explore varied sections and sounds from all over the world.”
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Each week we will be taking a dip into the crates and minds of some of the digging scenes most prolific collectors.
🤔 Who should be on the next RPM feature?
Name one institution that changed your life musically… and why?
“The Hifi Club, Leeds (2001-05). I spent four years here, sometimes four nights a week. This club and the events around that time really opened up my musical world. I heard lots of rare soul music that changed my life and made me start digging for 45s. This experience led to me DJing and doing events. They opened in 2000 after running a successful weekly soul night since 1996. I continued to visit over the next 15 years and even ended up DJing at my favourite night there quite a few times.”
You’ve been sent on a mission to outer space, you’re allowed to take one record… what is it?
“That’s got to be ‘Space Is The Place’ by Sun Ra. With a title track that’s 21 minutes long, though it might take a little longer to get to space. The best cosmic avant-garde jazzy weirdness of the 70s.”
Strangest place you’ve found a record…
“I once found an original US import jazz record for 10p in an charity shop in Plymouth. The record was Sonny Stitt – Now! on Impulse Records from 1963. That find was a little bizarre and it made me wonder how and when this US OG from the 60s turned up in the UK and then also a charity shop. I was really excited and the track ‘Surfin’ is amazing.”
7, 10 or 12 inches?
“It’s got to be 7 inches. This is where I started and where the foundations of collecting begins with single tunes. It’s all about the individual song and just slapping it on the deck or in most cases flipping it over.”
It’s a slothy Sunday, what tune are you hanging out to?
“I actually have a Sunday afternoon residency where I play vinyl for seven hours every week in an amazing cosy setting. Last Sunday I was digging a track by Alex Malheiros of Azymuth titled Travelling Through Your Body (Viajando no seu corpo). Another recent find and I don’t think this album has ever been reissued since it’s release in 1985. The debut album from one Brazil’s most influential bassists and a Jazz Fusion gem!”
