northern comfort

picture courtesy Wondermonkey2k.

So with Utrecht coming up I’ve been thinking a bit more about digging for records. I’m not talking about researching through hundreds of blogs/radio shows/whatever really, more about what happens when you walk into a record store with crates galore, and don’t know where to start.

1. Read the sleeve notes
Damn right. You pick up a record and you’re wondering whether it’s worth a check. Read the artists, the producer, the date produced, etc, and make sure you do the same at home, and the same with those hiphop records you’ve got with the great sample. It’s competely obvious, I know, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve played an original tune that’s been sample, and had someone come up to me and say “Shit, this is the original? I had no idea it was a sample, and I love that record”. Check the backs of those records, see what’s sampled, check out the original.

It’s the simple stuff that works. For example, knowing that Paul Humphrey was the drummer sampled on ‘What’ by Tribe called Quest meant that when I came across his LP ‘America Wake up’ in King Bee records, I picked it up double-quick. Remember that ‘Keepintime’ documentary a while ago that Paul Humphrey was in? Remember the rest of those drummers? Check their records.

Also – compilations. The ‘Dusty Fingers’ compilations are a great source for diggers, for example. Find the tracks you love from the compilations, then track down the original LP. Then track down others that the artist has done. Guaranteed in some of these situations they’ll have made just ONE good track, that’s already on the compilation. But also guaranteed is that you’ll find other tracks that are amazing.

Nothing beats revision for digging. Learning about the musicians that made those records – you’ll be amazed at how much you pick up subconsciously that will come back to you when you’re sat in a cellar staring at an LP sleeve.

2. Check your dates
Now this entirely depends on what you’re looking for of course; as a general rule the later 60s and early 70s are best for funk, but for boogie/soul stuff maybe you’re looking at early 80s. Best approach I think is look at what genre the record is, (an 80’s soul track for example) and then check the date and see how it corresponds to other great 80s soul tracks you’ve got; later is generally cheesier as bigger groups/labels got in on the act and made commercial, watered down versions. If it’s miles away from the ones you like, it’s probably not worth a look.

3. Take a portable deck
And make sure you ask before you use it. I’ve never had anyone say no, but then you always ask before you try on clothes in a shop, right?

4. Cover art
Obviously. If a record sleeve has a massive picture of 8 black dudes with afros looking crazy I’m going to check it, regardless of the dates or artist’s names. If it’s a homebade cover, check it out. And if anywhere on the record there’s a picture of a drum, probably a good idea too.

5. Scribbles on the back
Circles/strokes/crosses, etc. Those little hieroglyphs next to album tracks on the back cover mean ‘check these out first, digger’ in case you didn’t know. May mean that this album is rubbish, apart from that one track that’s been conveniently marked up for you. Go check.

6. Go for a punt
Damn right. £ bins are the ones where any knowledge can go out of the window, and you can go on feeling. The cover looks boring, it’s the wrong date, I’ve not heard of any of the artists, but I’m sure I’ve seen this somewhere and it was rated. That intangible memory of seeing a cover just like this one in Wax Po, or at a mates, or…gotta have it. Picking up 10 LPs that you’ve never heard of for a quid each is a great way of finding a load of unlistenable rubbish, with one shining, gleaming gem of a track in the middle.

7. The originals are the best
Ultimate Breaks and Beats series – you could dj a night just with these records, and keep the floor going crazy. Why? These tracks have been round for 30+ years in some cases, shouldn’t we all be bored of them by now?

They’re still popular, and that’s because they’re good. Don’t skip over records with these classic breaks on just because they’re known – not only is the original track still going to work, there’s going to be other stuff on those records that isn’t as well known.

8. Don’t buy samples, buy tunes
You’re listening through to a record on your portable, and a little loop hits you. Shit that sounds amazing, I’ll hook that up with a loop and I’m ready to go. Hmm. Or if you’re like me, you’ll buy the record, take it home, come back to it in a week, not be able to find the loop, and realise the rest of the record is unlistenable. Ace, well done Rob.

I’ve stopped doing this now – now I buy a record because I can listen to the whole thing. Unless you’re a dedicated beatmaker, and I mean live-sleep-breathe you should be buying tracks cos they’re strong, not for that 3-second loop somewhere. When I buy records I want to playing them in 10 years’ time.

9. Buy it if someone says it’s good
Do. Sort of. What I’m saying is, if you’re out digging with a mate, and he picks up a record saying “You should get this, it’s ace” it’s really easy to not buy the record. Why? Because he’s already got it, that’s why! You want the things he doesn’t have, don’t you? No – you want good records, so at least check it out.

10. All killer – no filler.
What’s better – £80 on 10 new 12″s, or £80 on one LP with one killer track on? There’s no real answer, but if those 10 12″s are tracks you’ll play once, maybe twice, then stick on the shelf, and the LP has a track that makes you warm and goosepimply at the same time and you can see yourself playing it again 10 years later, then buy the LP. Damn right. The amount of stuff I’ve got because I liked the loop, or the guy in the shop said it was great, or it was an unusual bootleg mashup…I could go on. You find the record again a year later and have no idea what it sounds like, and no idea why you bought it.

So that’s my 10. I think. Any suggestions/arguments?

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