Current mood:	content
Entry tags:	music, vacation

dug the crates
before i continue to give some general impressions about my, now finished, visit to cambridge uk i shall use the innate structure that comes with record purchases to comment on my findings.
first and foremost i want to thank radiotik for her virtually infinite patience. much appreciated.
unlike germany, the uk has a culture of charity shops. be it the quite renowned oxfam, british cancer research or some more or less unknown foundations that care for animals or whatnot.
they all have shops full of donated stuff. most of them have records too, none had a record player.
it was not unexpected that 95% were either classical or popular music from the 60s to 80s.
but occasionally i found some gems. gems to a guy that deejayed uk hardcore and tekkno from home-recorded tapes as a 12-year-old that is.
and some other stuff was too hard to resist too.
i can't really remember where i bought them individually. i have been to round about 9 charity shops in cambridge, and 3 or so in ely.
the price tags reveal that i eventually only bought at oxfam or british cancer research shops.

utah saints - something good 7"
    that's what i was after! the stuff i was looking for.
the klf - 3 a.m. eternal (live at the s.s.l.) 7"
    ditto... i even wore a klf button on my jacket that day.
gurmat sangeet sabha (uk) - shabad gurbani 12"
    turbans and sunglasses. killer combination! front cover passport photographs
    of the sikh band members were the main reason to instantly buy this one
    the painting of guru tegh bahadur sitting there, awaiting his chosen beheading for the sake
    of religious freedom, was a bonus. the music is really good. i am happy i bought it.
the shamen - jesus loves amerika 12"
    sounds just as i expected. even though i had no knowledge about the shamen's sound
    prior to 'move any mountain' etc. early sampling-galore (us t.v. preachers etc...) techno
    with an attitude.
osso exotico - I (live for nato asi on advances in rockfill structures, lisbon, june 1990) 12"
    this was the first mystery i came across. a cover full of stones.
    center-fold with laboratory pictures. interesting instruments credited
    in the liner notes. it felt exciting.
    an experimental release, turns out the debut of a group which later
    released on labels such as staalplaat and namskeio.
    dark and abstract.
the torero band - lennon & mccartney tijuana style 12"
    this sounded too tempting not to buy it.
    make every afternoon tequilla-worthy.
the muppet show 12"
    who could resist a cover with kermit, a center fold with lots of muppet pictures, and the prospect of owning mahna, mahna on vinyl? not me.

i also went into regular music shops, chain stores even, not exactly crate digging i reckon, except for that one resale shop, where i browsed through tons of
old records. virtually the last of all was the single one i bought.
shut up and dance feat. peter bouncer - raving, i'm raving 7"
based on marc cohn's "walking in memphis", this was the last suad record ever
 has been covered by scooter.

as for the chain stores, most of them were boring and had no vinyl. hmv however, oh, hmv.
their vinyl section featured a special crate for simply 12. i had never heard of them, apparently they operate in the uk only (?).
they re-issue hard to find records, nearly always with the original tracklists, but in a corporate design.
best of all, they only cost 3,99 each, or, as a special hmv campaign, 10 pounds for every 3 items.
i picked up
human resource - dominator
bizarre inc - playing with knives
fpi project - rich in paradise
    again, all of these are subject of my constant admiration
    and fond memories about how i made my fellow 12-year-old school mates dance :)
    and then there was a special sl-2 12" ...
on a ragga tip/djs take control/way in my brain

on one record!
all of those loud, new, dj friendly 45 rpm pressings. i am not the collector type, who ignores represses to find some scratched, 2nd hand 1st issues by all means.
i was very very happy. my excitement was completed by the friendly girl at the counter who forgot to charge me for the 4th 12", probably because they all
looked the same and she was busy with manageing the 3 for 10 discount. i intended to come back on my last day and pick up three more, guru josh - infinity,
nomad - devotion and 808 state - pacific state maybe... but by then i was way over budget ;)

that completes my cambridge purchase list.
last saturday we went to london. on the markets and/or in shops on the streets of camden town i bought

boom bip - mannequin hand - trapdoor i Reminder 12"
lyric feat. general levy - perm 12"
    this record is crap. bought it because of the good stand mr. levy has, or had.
    uk garage, aimed at a charts-audience, with really stupid female vocals.
    might well be part of the reason why original garage wore out after one summer.
malcolm mclaren - buffalo gals 7"
    we had listened to this track like the day before. and here it was. a must purchase.
edelweiss - bring me edelweiss 12"
    so if you really love me you should bring me edelweiss.
    colportedly the most successful attempt ever, scooter set aside, to follow the manual.
    i have always loved it.
various production - sir / in this 7"
    the newest record i had bought until then.
    2 pounds for a near mint copy of this record. beautiful sleeve, as always. hell yeah.
capitol k / jega [planet µ ziq015] 7"
    ooooooooooooooooooh. the first µ 7". limited to 200 copies.
    100 of which may or may not have a  cover.
    the additional 100 were sold in one shop only.
    i payed 3 pounds for my near mint copy.
    thank you! what more could i possibly have asked for?

final purchasements were made at bmsoho, former blackmarket. i was deliberately looking for dubstep that was out of stock, or unknown white labels.
i must say their pricing is not very attractive for a german customer, especially since their shop prices are way above the mailorder pendants.
so i tried to avoid buying records that i could surely pick up in germany. i was a bit surprised by the concept of the stores (both bmsoho and uptown).
there is virtually no backstock. no crates to dig. every record is presented on the wall. my hopes to pick up older big apple or dmz stuff had quickly been crushed.
not much to say on the ones i bought. proper dubstep that i can now delete from my hard disk.

dj distance - fallen/taipan 12"
applebim/shakleton -  mystical warrior/i am animal 12"
search and destroy - espionage/killamanjaro 12"
dj kudos - the city ep 12"
    now we're talking! some ultra fresh white label that might never reach germany.
    heavyweight bass, sparks of acid. some patois toasting on one of 3 tracks.
    right down my alley.

believe it or not, we're through.
it took me 2 hrs to write this.... damn.