Friction and Wax
This is my attempt to frame in writing my record collection. Something I have been recently passionate about
Manifesting friction….and wax
I have always collected music, although in CD and digital forms! I own a lot of music that goes back to 2012. I like to store them in files, drives, and USBs. But after 10 years of doing the same thing and becoming increasingly self aware about the music industry and its marriage to the internet, its ease of access was peaking for me. I began to think a lot about friction as a concept, and wax as a sound.
A radio host, Airbnb guest
My interest peaked in 2022, in Accra Ghana. An Airbnb guest stayed in the apartment next door. We shared the same terrace. He was a danish radio host who had come to interview Ebo Taylor and buy some records. We sat on the terrace one night and exchanged a good three hours of music talks. He had just bought 30 records in Ghana and we went through them. I was very much inspired and motivated.
Time, Space and Money
I also understand collecting records comes with privilege. Time, space and money. Being in the right space and the right time is true to digging. My privilege is that I spent a significant amount of time in Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Cairo, Egypt; and Nairobi, Kenya. Which allowed me to tap into record stores and build strong relations with collectors. This explains why I have a large section of old and rare African records.
The acceleration point
Moving to Berlin, I found myself again gravitating towards the collectors community. I wanted to share what I have. But I also wanted to know what people are listening to and where they dig.
A year later in 2024 I ran into Nico and Ele who run a music collective called Orbita. We met at a sounds metaphor party. In fact, my first Sounds Metaphor party. Nico was not only the first to tell me about Sound Metaphors but he himself was a collector himself and has an incredible music taste and records. Nico and Ele invited me to some of their parties and listening sessions. I was very inspired. I started to know the key record stores after that encounter and decided to buy turntables. The rest is history!
What it sounds like
My collection spans African records, a lot of US house, funk, soul, hiphop, jazz, reggae and dub.
A lot of my records are listening records. Something you can play, sit and listen to. My dance collection is growing, however, remains grounded in vibes, soul and groove.
Discogs list
Still doing my best to archive the rest of my records to Discogs, below is how far I have come: https://www.discogs.com/user/Mowrlds/collection