Ode To Vinyl . SFS .
[ New York . 2022-25 ]
Searching For Sound. The hunt for the sound will occur where only an hour break would be allotted (If you work retail then you know) where searching for sound plus eating a meal would definitely exceed an hour. On this day it was either eating Milu or finding some familiar and or unfamiliar jazz records …
Info
A Series by Christina Holmes. Featuring and writing by David Andrew in-collaboration with Ode To Vinyl. Click here for full series.
Project
01-The Jazz Record Center
02-Academy Records & CD’s
03-Rock & Soul
04-A-1 Record Shop
05-Academy Records LES
06-Human Head Records
07-Superior Elevation Records
08-Brooklyn Record Exchange
The hunt for the sound will occur where only an hour break would be allotted (If you work retail then you know) where searching for sound plus eating a meal would definitely exceed an hour. On this day it was either eating Milu or finding some familiar and or unfamiliar jazz records.
Working in the Flat Iron District in NYC for over the past few months, I have been given more reason to dig in person. There are at least 6 record shops within walking distance from the Todd Snyder shop, so I chose one for the mood of the day. Accompanied by my good friend and photographer Christina Holmes, I mapped out my lunch break and marched to the Jazz Record Center located at 236 W. 26th st. Suite #804 with an hour to spare.
There is something about the earlier record shops in comparison to the newer shops that give a more holistic approach to its service. The duplicity of mediums being showcased in each isle. For example most of the new record shops usually just offer merchandise, DJ equipment and vinyl as opposed to the veteran shops that display selections of CDs, Equipment, VHS, Cassettes and Books that are all for sale. There is no preference of one over the other but when you stumble across a shop that still holds on to these mediums for sale it is something to note. Also, I never really search for anything other than vinyl and books but please due note that the additional selections tell a story. It brings you into the full experience as to what kind of shop the Record Shop you are entering. Jazz Record Center has been in business for over 30 years and it shows that it has major stake in the game…
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – The Jazz Record Center 236 W 26th Street #804, New York, NY 10001. +1-212-675-4480.
Academy Record & CD’s, not to be confused with Academy Records on E.12th is located at 12 W.18th st. is a clutch record shop that has been serving the community since 1995 (1977 as a book shop). As of late, I have been incorporating more Disco and Salsa into my sets. I took the liberty on a rainy day to skip on lunch and run to Academy for search of some Disco heat.
Already scoring a House Record from Discogs earlier in the day, I tapped Christina who is always down to capture me on my excursions to roll with me for an hour to Academy. With no hesitation we booked it over to W. 18th st. in 12 minutes allowing me 48 minutes to find something worth wild. Record Labels like Sal Soul, SAM, Buddah, De-Lite and West-End all have the heat.
I mean yes of course you have RCA and Polydor but when digging I can almost blindly pick any record from SAM and West-End and know it will be straight fire!!! Trust me! There have been moments where I would pick a record for the night not knowing what It would sound like until the Ortofon hits the record when cuing. Luckily enough I was able to score my 2 records within the first two piles at Academy. Both records were from one of my favorite Disco Funk Bands, Skyy (The Self titled record and the Skyyport Record) under the Sal Soul record label …
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – Academy Records & CD’s. 12 W 18th Street, New York, NY 10011. +1-212-242-3000.
It is such an honor to feature in my opinion, one of the best record shops in NYC. I won’t lie and say that I knew of this place for decades ; because I didn’t. Honestly, I only found out about Rock and Soul 7 months ago. If it wasn’t for Tre (My brother from another and Ode to Vinyl counterpart) returning from one of his vinyl excursions with a rare Kanye Yeezus LP on wax, I may have never known of Rock and Soul.
I would hassle Tre for the majority of the day, asking him how much or where can I obtain the Yeezy record. It wasn’t until the end of the day where he couldn’t bare another question that he let me in on the secret, “bro, they may have it at Rock and Soul”. Rock and Soul? “what and where is that?” his response was like any one who didn’t want to give away such a classic gem ; he told me to “Google it!”. Which I did and to my surprise Rock and Soul was only 15 minutes away from the shop (Todd Snyder Madison Square Park).
I called in advance to make sure they had a copy of the Yeezus album (which they happily put the last one on hold for me) and booked it (the New York way of saying to run really fast) with no time to spare. Located in the heart of NYC on 37th St., Rock and Soul has been serving records and equipment to NYC from since 1975. Legends have walked through the doors of Rock and Soul from all over the globe. But the legends that I’m referring to strictly are from New York, e.g. Kook Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Tony Touch, Dj Red Alert etc …
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – Rock & Soul DJ Equipment and Records. 10 W 37th Street, New York, NY 10018. +1-212-273-9630.
When visiting one of the most coveted record shops in NYC and for many the world, you have to make a day out of it, or an evening. I would normally do these kind of record excursions during my lunch break but when visiting A-1 records, you have to commit to the process of digging. A-1 Record Shop located at 439 E. 6th St. Ny, Ny is coined “the best record shop in the world” by many, has opened its doors for business since 1996 by the legendary record dealer Isaac Kosman who gave up his life as a flea market merchant to showcase and sell his 1960’s – 1990’s collection of records. Located in the Lower East Side, many legends have made their mark at A-1.
For me, the LES is foundation for everything Street Art (Skate, Clothing, Graffiti, Music and Film). Being from Brooklyn and going to school in the LES from Elementary School all the way to High School, I had the opportunity to see the counter culture become popularized. Being able to go to the Hamilton Fish Pool or play basket ball and summer youth programs in Henry St. Park to later hanging out by the “Blue Courts” to play basketball or hanging out in Smith Project’s community gym during or after school now looking back at it, was a blessing. The L.E.S. is a melting pot of culture and because of it has left me thinking without fewer boundaries. For a sneaker head also, the L.E.S. has always had gems (Alife, Bobbito’s Work Shop, Daves Quality Meats, Jimmy Jazz on Delancey etc.). For me, it wasn’t a surprise that years later my good friend Matteo of Stay The Course Records would take me on one of my first record excursion outside of Fat Beats to dig for some records.
9 years ago, I was new to record digging and had no idea of where to go for anything vinyl. But, I knew Matteo had the heat because he himself was a record dealer and collector who had an acute ear for sound (I mean he produced some of the best beats I’ve been blessed to write and sketch vocals over). His response to my request of looking for a legit record shop was “ah man that’s easy, A-1 since Day One”. We trekked all the way from Brooklyn one cold morning at 9am to be the first ones at the shop only to find out that day they were closed. I made it a mission after that simple miss in scheduling to always check out if A-1 was open when in the area …
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – A-1 Record Shop. 439 E 6th Street, New York, NY 10009. +1-212-483-2780.
The Academy Record Shop in the L.E.S. not to be mistaken with the larger Green Point location has been my go-to spot for years. It was the same day I went with Matteo from Stay The Course Records to check out A-1 to find out it was closed that I would find myself spending $150 on records for the first time at Academy. I knew immediately what Academy possessed; Gold.
As a Jazz Junky during my earlier stages of digging, running to Academy for new sounds was like finding pieces of gold nuggets. I remember the feeling of wanting to spend every penny I earned in that place, but I had to refrain. The place is so well curated, and the staff is so helpful and knowledgable that you are pressured to buy something. Let me clarify, the staff isn’t pressuring you to buy but it’s rather an internal battle of need and want. A dilemma that I usually find myself in when deciding to buy anything.
For example, the Academy tote bag in its own right is a silent flex. It was something I wanted and wouldn’t justify getting only if it was offered for free. I mean I spend so much on records already, that to pay an extra dollar on a bag, I would rather purchase another record; right? I at times see an individual walking through the streets with that tote bag and know they have great musical taste; hopefully …
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – Academy Records.. 415 E 12th Street, New York, NY 10009. +1-212-780-9166.
Human Head founded in 2013 by Travis Klein as a second-hand record shop located at 168 Johnson St. in Brooklyn, NY has been my go to spot for Jazz, Reggae and Hip-Hop records for years. In my opinion, Human Head has one of the densest record offerings in Brooklyn other than The Thing, which, to be honest, is a place I get anxious just thinking about. My love for vinyl led me to Human Head seven years ago. Chicago-born DJ/Producer Sonny Daze asked me to roll with him to meet up with the incredible Shawn Dub at the previous 168 Johnson location to talk about putting together a soul-filled event at the Good Room. I remember this day like it was yesterday.
It was after store hours, and Shawn was processing the new records that just came in. Sonny was super inspired to talk about this unique event and how it would be executed from the ground up. I was in conversation, but my body and four other senses were engaged in the record selections. I previously heard of Human Head and knew they had a crazy choice of Jazz and Hip-Hop, Shout out to the good brothers at Stay The Course Records.
I was looking for hip-hop samples, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, etc., for my sample parties at Ode to Babel. Shawn Dub seeing that I was excited to uncover some gems from the dollar section, blessed me with the “Back to the World” Curtis Mayfield record (one that I still play consistently to this day).
In the last seven years, with a multitude of visits, purchases from Human Head’s Discogs, and an address change during the pandemic, I pulled up to Human Head’s new 289 Meserole Location to “Search For Sound” with the incomparable Christina Holmes. The new location has way more space, and being the first one there, left me the freedom to explore the aisles at my own pace. Of course, I had to run through the reggae selections that they had to offer. Human Head’s Discogs account held me down with all my reggae and ska needs during the pandemic. Beautifully curated, I would later check out some of their disco and funk selections…
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – Human Head Records. 289 Meserole St, Brooklyn, New York 11206. +1-347-987-3362
WB www.humanheadnyc.com IG @humanheadnyc
Once at 100 White St., Superior Elevation has found a new home at 616 Grand St., right across from one of my favorite bike shops in Brooklyn, King Cog. Hurricane Ida in 2021 destroyed many record collections held in basements. A few of my friends were greatly devastated when they saw their valuables destroyed at the hands of mother nature. Some things that they may never see again. Some things that took a lifetime to attain. In the face of defeat, you seek a higher elevation, literally.
I remember a few days after the hurricane seeing a post on social media showing the damage that Ida dealt to Superior Elevation. In the back of my mind, I thought it was inevitable. I remember a few weeks prior, dropping by to pick up a few reggae 45’s that I placed for local pick-up during the heart of the pandemic and seeing a few buckets out behind the cash register. I asked one of the staff members, are the buckets there because there was a leak? The staff member responded by saying, yes, there was a leak a week prior, and a few records were damaged, but the situation is being tended to.
Superior Elevation has always been one of those gems where you can find a rare hip-hop record from the 2000s (e.g., Q-tip Amplify in mint condition). But, I always thought they should be in a space where it was elevated and easily accessible. As the vinyl trend becomes more popularized, record stores are beginning to curate their spaces by grouping specific labels and capturing contemporary genres.
Before, I would’ve never gone to Superior Elevation for House records. If I went to Superior Elevation in the past, I was going there for Hip-Hop, R&B, Funk, Soul, Reggae, and maybe some Disco. But now, things have changed; for the better…
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – Superior Elevation. 616 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11211. +1-415-624-6905.
It’s been months—honestly, maybe two years—since I last stepped into a record shop with the intent to dig. Since moving, most of my discoveries have come through digital digging and online orders. Convenient, yes, but never the same. The feel of the sleeve, the dust on your fingers, the chance encounter with something you weren’t even looking for—that’s the part the internet can’t replicate.
So when a sliver of time in New York City opened up, I knew I had to make it count. With only a few hours on the clock, I linked up with Christina, keeping the Searching for Sounds tradition alive. Record City in Flatbush was on my list—a shop that’s held me down for years—but time and traffic had other plans. Christina mentioned she was near “a cute little record shop that has some vinyl I think you’d like.” After going back and forth in my head, I trusted her word, pulled over, and walked inside.
From the moment I stepped in, I knew she wasn’t wrong. The place was small but beautifully curated, warm in a way that made you feel welcome, and alive with sound. A guitar strum floated through the room, and for a second I braced myself—shops with that much ambiance usually come with a markup. But still, I was ready to see what the bins held.
After a quick lap, I ran back to the car to offload a few things, swapped into my Puma Suedes, and returned with fresh focus. Within minutes, I spotted it: Sons of Kemet’s Your Queen Is a Reptile. A must-have, though I was sure it would be overpriced. I kept flipping, knowing I had to budget. A few gems appeared—Super Cat’s Boops Deh, Roy Ayers’ No Stranger to Love—and then the space started to feel eerily familiar…
[ Full texts & episode live at Ode To Vinyl … Link Here ]
Photographs by Christina Holmes. Writing by David Andrew.
Featuring – Brooklyn Record Exchange. 87 Guernsey St, Brooklyn, NY 11222. +1-347-294-4449.
WB www.brooklynrecordexchange.com IG @brooklynrecordexchange
