Well-quoted underground purveyor and pursuer of house music since 1987. Aberdeen-born, Ibiza-living, resident of Pikes, Word of Mouth Radio Cafe, Paradise Lost and The Standard Ibiza. Former Pure resident Red Light Radio, Orbital tour DJ (90s) and author of Harry´s Kebabs and The Take Away. I chat with Russ about For The Record, with a few stories thrown in for good measure.
Vicky: Hi Russ, it’s me, Vicky!
Russ: Oh yeah, Hi how you doin’?
Vicky: I’m fine, thanks! We’re getting a blog together for the new record shop
Russ: Oh yeah, great idea, but you know, blogs are a lot of work
Vicky: Would you be up for writing, seeing as you’re a writer?
Russ: I mean blogs – they’re not just throw-away, you know? You don’t want it to be rubbish; it’s all there, usually for posterity.
Vicky: Yeah, but you’ve written two books, and they’re both for sale in For The Record, so, you know.
Russ: Well, OK when you put it like that. I’d be delighted to. Thanks for asking, but it’s a lot of work. It’s like a radio show; you’re all gung-ho at first and up for it .. ”Yeah, every week mate, yeah, I can do that. It’s what I want. I’ve got loads of records, buy em all the time … “ then six weeks later it’s one chore beyond. Guilt and anxiety are raging through your mind, your stress levels maxed, unable to think. One hour of music is all it ever was but now it’s so much more!
Same with a blog. You get your best stuff out pretty quick, naturally. Then it’s Season 6 of ‘Lost’ before you know it, and you’re talking bollocks and counting the words.
So yeah, I’ll do it, I have to do it. It’s Bekka and Fred’s shop. They ask me, and I do. It’s like that.
You stick together and support and contribute where you can.
It’s what a record store is. A contribution. It’s an extenuation of the scene. It’s keeping it alive.
Vicky: What are you going to write about?
Russ: I dunno, records, I suppose.
Vicky: (Laughs)
Russ: I guess I could write about how record stores can be the hub, the centre of information. The erstwhile information superhighway. If it wasn’t for the record stores there would be no scene. It’s a massive part of it. The heritage, the way it was. And they’re rightly back.
I could say that. Yeah, sounds legit.
I could say that there are stores around the world, such as Amsterdam, London, Tokyo, Paris, Rome, Glasgow, Lyon, and ones in rural provincial backwaters—all shapes and sizes, all gold mines, and I feel welcome in all of them… bar one or two.
Vicky: Yeah, sounds good so far
Russ: Communication hubs, hookup centres, and the vibe of the other DJs. I’ve bought records from David Mancuso in his shop.
At the peak of my travels, with residencies in four countries, I packed it all in and moved to New York for ten years after visiting Body and Soul and realising I had to go there if I was serious about house music.
“What ya looking for this week?” he would say to me on Saturday mornings in Dubspot on 12th St, deep in Alphabet City.
“Well, David, let’s start with what you’ve picked up!”
I took Danny Rampling in there.
We met at Body and Soul and then again on the Monday morning in, yep, the record shop – Satellite on the Bowery.
Do you know more record shops here? He asked me.
Charged about like children all day and then met again at Pikes a few months back and 20 years later. Instant recognition and, yes, memories of a day’s record shopping in NYC.
Memories, gifts with meaning, supporting the culture, and furthering the cause—record shops are run by passionate people, I could say.
Vicky: Yeah, you could..
Russ: I remember drinking beer in Blackmarket Vienna. That was a dope store, but the beer was a terrible distraction, and no doubt played a relatively active part in me blowing the Meirei sound system and clearing the floor at 4 am after Common Factor, who had changed the crossfader from X to Y as he had blown a channel.
I never played there again.
Vicky: That’s a shame
Russ: Yeah, but I was talking about it over a beer in the record shop and got on at Tribe immediately.
I remember turning round to Egyptian Lover and Prince Paul, looking over at what I had in LA.
I saw double copies cross the counter at Fat Cat on Monmouth Street. Going through the back for a quiet chill and hardly being able to squeeze in the door. Room packed with DJs and James Lavelle asking anyone how much it is in a cab to Tooting.
Stuff like that?
Vicky: Yeah, what about the shop in Ibiza though?
Russ: Oh yeah, I’ve seen dub from Chris Coco and George Solar. Real proper dub, modern. I love dub
Vicky: They have dub in For The Record?
Russ: Yes, and they have some incredible African compilations, too. They are great value. I sold one or two myself there.
Vicky: Yeah? Write about that.
Russ: Ok, yeah, I will. You know they sell food and art too in For The Record? You know they had Athens of the North doing an album launch, and they’ve left a box of unavailable, out of stock and rare as the hair on a billiard ball 7″ s in the shop.
Vicky: Yes, people should know about that. And the books they have.
Russ: Oh, of course, they have a near complete set of the Velocity Press output. They’re there most relevant book publisher in our scene today.
Yeah.
Fred’s been doing curries.
Vicky: I heard he does a good curry.
Russ: A big hit, apparently.
Vicky: I’m not surprised. Must get up there for one – or a cocktail and a hotdog.
Russ: Yeah, it’s a great stop-off point if you’re out in Dalt Vila or around the town at 9 p.m. and flagging.
Great location. If you’re visiting, you get the vibe of Ibiza. Otherwise, you might miss those fantastic and ancient little streets as a tourist.
Vicky: Yeah, say all that, sounds good. Need it by the 15th.
Russ: OK.
DJ Dribbler Dec 2024
Learning to be humble and share
For The Record Ibiza in Ibiza Town is still being renovated, but we will open again soon. In the meantime, you can stay in the loop by dropping your email here and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can fling our doors open again.
