Not through a devout allegiance with the format, but instead by way of chance and an opportunity to do something remotely more interesting than his string of ‘crappy jobs’; that’s how Man Hon Luk found himself to be Discogs’ biggest seller.
A Vinyl Pimp in every sense of the word, he has no time to get attached to records. A lack of sentiment that must only get easier when characters such as d-Bridge are dropping crates of records on your doorstep every so often.
The folk at The Daily Street trekked out to his physical store in Hackney Wick. Click the image above to read the full story.
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One for the Queen
You may have noticed that we’ve not hosted a show for a while.
A number of different circumstances have rendered it time to give our broadcasting arm a little break. Be it university commitments, new jobs and departures from Leeds.
For the time being, whilst we refocus on what will be the next musical endeavour for the Vic53 brand, we’ll be putting our energies into keeping the blog updated.
When we say updated, we don’t mean in a frantic bid to keep up with the pace of the internet, but instead selectively sharing features and articles that are genuinely worth a read.
Until we embark on our next phase, here’s a mix from myself which builds to finish on track that christened my arrival to Leeds in 2008.
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Sir Own - Hooked (Kons Nite Time remix) [Basic Fingers]
Solid jam on Basic Fingers.
Real Scenes: New York
So here’s the latest instalment of RA’s sterling series of mini documentaries.
New York’s a bit of a strange one. Having been the epicentre of hip-hop and disco culture and at certain points in time, it now occupies a position in contemporary electronic music that’s hard to define.
Watch any Boiler Room broadcast from New York and you’ll be presented with a smorgasbord of styles. What’s tough to understand is whether NY’s going through an identity crisis, or whether this is the time to start taking notice. As Francis Englehardt of Dope Jams points out, “usually, when something becomes cool, it’s over already”.
There’s some hallmark New York attitudes in here, as well as some in-depth views from the A1 Records boss, which XLR8R recently covered in their Record Store Day feature. Click below to watch the video:
27.04 - System presents Marcel Dettmann & tINI
While little needs to be said about Dettmann the hitman, tINI remains a relatively undernourished name on this side of the continent.
Part of the Desolat family, her sensitively parred-down approach to the dancefloor is sure to provide a nice compliment to the darkness that will engulf the room in the later portions of the evening.
Click the flyer for info and tickets…
XLR8R ‘Record Store Day’ Feature
What with the swarms of content generated from global music publications doing their bit to fuel the hype machine running up to last weekend’s 7th annual world Record Store Day, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
But from all of last week’s features, XLR8R’s series which honed in on their favourite stores from around the globe gets our recommended reading. Despite documenting only three outlets so far, the stories run deep. Hopefully the series will continue to expand into a Lonely Planet’esque guide to record shopping around the world, and the glitzy photos will serve to remind us that these places deserve the support of their respective scenes all year round, not just when the hubbub boils over once a year.
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STL - Jungle Sometimes (Something)
In the words of the top rated comment on YouTube…
“Forgot all that handbag disco style deep house. It’s all about the dirt.”
Dizzee Rascal x Slimzee - 2002 Studio Mix
A while ago we linked you to this collection of grime tapesthat had been revived by The Wire…but one more can’t hurt, hey?
Here is a seventeen-year-old Dizzee Rascal spraying the bars that made Boy In Da Corner the Mercury Prize-winning success it was, a whole year before its release. And who else but Sidewinder general Slimzee on the turntables.
We challenge you to listen to this without shocking out at your desk. Nostalgia is rife in dance music at the moment but you can guarantee that with all the will in the world things will never sound like this again.
“Back, front, inside, out, Dizzee got the flow to make a boy wile out”
Stoked to find that Mixcloud have chosen to include us in their list of the Top 30 podcasters Under 30.
Thanks to everyone that’s joined us for a session since we started. Your sets are hopefully spreading far and wide…
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Under the covers: Yusuf Etiman
Probably not a name you’re initially familiar with, but his work you most certainly will be.
Since 2004, Yusef Etiman has been the eyes behind the visual aesthetic of Berghain and Ostgut Ton. Think: the German version of what Peter Saville was to the Hacienda and Factory Records.
Read what he had to say when RA caught up with him HERE.
Friday 19th April: Hush House
Almost a year to the day since Hush House occupied The Garage for the first time, and having thrown some very special parties there since, Friday 19th April will see them bring Christopher Rau and October to the club as a warm up for their showcase at Echo Festival in Croatia this June.
Having released two albums on Smallville as well as a string of twelves on labels such as Pampa, Hypercolour and Aim, Christopher Rau’s brand of deep house really hits the spot. He is a bit of a wizard on the decks too and as far as we can tell, he hasn’t played in Leeds before. It is only half a year since October last played for Hush House, but with a couple more releases, a sterling RA podcast and a Panorama Bar debut now under his belt, we’re excited to see what records he will be packing this time around! To top it off, past Vic53 guests Fullbarr Records will be taking control of Waxwerks!
All the details and ticket information can be found here. Don’t sleep!
Telex - Raised By Snakes (Shake remix) [SSR]
Braiden has just put out his second mix of the ever-expanding FACT series. It got me flicking through my laptop archives to re-listen to the first one he did a couple of years back.
In this 2009 renaissance, I thought I’d give David Huisman’s (then 2562) contribution another look-in. Of a series which now stretches across 376 podcasts, Huisman’s compilation retains a nostalgia that I struggle to pin down in any other contribution. Here’s one of the highs…
Interview: FINA Records
A FINA Records showcase is something that we’ve had on our radar for quite some time, so we couldn’t be more excited for this evening. As a preview to tonight, we caught up with FINA’s Simon Morrell to give a background into the label.
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What were the reasons for starting FINA, had it always been an long-term ambition?
It just felt the right time for all of us. For me I’d just finished promoting my night DDD and was looking into doing something different other than running a night. Ralph was wanting to do a new label and Matt wanted to spread his wings other than promoting so we all got together and it kind of just went on from there.
For many start-up labels, ten releases in two years would sound pretty ambitious. Had you been sitting on quite a collection of material?
Before we set the label up we’d always envisaged releasing about 10 tracks a year but it’s not as easy as that and finding good music can sometimes take a little longer, especially for a new label. Now we are more established we are really concentrating on upping our output this year.
What common thread would you say ties FINA releases together?
Well myself and Matt both love all kinds of electronic music, anything from deeper disco vibes right the way through to tougher techno which is kind of reflected in our releases, but what ever style we release it’s got to have a groove.
What’s the process of deciding what’s right for the label? Do you ask artists to write a piece of music specifically for FINA?
Everything we’ve signed so far is from us hitting up artists we are totally into and asking them to do something for us, once they’ve sent us something myself and matt listen to everything and if we are both happy we sign them simple as that!!
We’ve always aimed provide an open platform for Leeds’ electronic music scene in all its forms. Given that our broadcasts act as a halfway house between a bedroom session and club set, it seems strange that it’s taken us so long to team up with the university’s BPM Society.
Last month, we invited their regulars to do a takeover show. If you’re interested, you can keep updated on their socials here.
Towards the end of last year, we showcased our friend Moleskin when Goon Club was in its infant stages.
Things are beginning to fall into place quite nicely, having provided a recent contribution to Hyponik’s mix series, as well as releasing their first dubplate (which you can get your paws on here). Both sides feature in the podcast. That Wiley refix is serious!
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