Sunday 15 September 2013

Jubt On: Digging In NZ











An excerpt from issue #2 of the Soultearoa Shakedown:

JUBT ON: DIGGING IN NZ

As every NZ record digger knows, finding funky record pre-internet in the land of the wrong white crowd was 97% perspiration, 1% inspiration, 2% unaccounted for.

I don't know how our uncles, grandparents and mates partied, but as the collections in junk stores, op shops, and the few remaining regional and suburban record nooks attest, for every one James Brown, Pleasure, or Gwen McCrae record, there are hundreds of South Pacific and Pal Joey soundtracks, Mrs Mills, Foster And Allen et al.

I liked to think I had put in work digging out nuggets in suburban oases such as Jim's Record Spot in Panmure, Revenge Records in Hunters Corner, and many fly-by-nighters over Auckland and beyond. My best ever funky haul was from the pre-TradeMe-era's essential, the Trade And Exchange.

An elderly English gent answered the phone and explained he was divesting himself of his collection, due to its size. After an excited drive to darkest suburban Henderson, I was lead into a small room with every surface covered in the records collected in thirty years of collecting soul and jazz LPs. The gent's name as been lost in the alcohol addled recesses of my memory, but he was clearing the decks of everything "for her", and I walked out that day with an armful of prime sixties and seventies soul, including my first taste of Young Holt Trio, some heavyweight jazz LPs - and pocketed change from thirty dollars.

This would have been 1995 or so, and the old fella had recorded his favourites onto tape. His loss was my gain, and the funky nuggets are still in circulation Thursday nights from 8-10pm on Base FM's 'The Boil Up'.

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A small selection of notable NZ digging spots that we frequented circa the mid-'90s:

~ Jim's Record Spot, Panmure (they used to have one in henderson too, apparently)
~ Revival Records, Victoria Street, then up to K' Rd
~ Record Exchange, St. Kevin's Arcade and K' Rd
~ Revenge Records, Hunters Corner
~ Truetone Records (seven stores Auckland-wide - Remuera Rd recalled most fondly)
~ Marbecks and Real Groovy Records (of course)
~ Slowboat Records, Wellington
~ Galaxy Records, Christchurch; Echo Christchurch and Dunedin
~ Ima Hitt and Missing Link, New Plymouth
~ Corner Records (Queen St. and Lorne Sts), Auckland

That's just the record stores. Many small towns could be depended upon to have generous record bins, such as the plentiful Wellsford Second Hand Traders, and second hand book shops in Whangamata and Thames.

We'd love to hear some of your memories of crate digging and record buying in NZ, particularly from the '70s or earlier! Please get in touch: nzsoulalldayer@gmail.com

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Recommended reading: www.audioculture.co.nz and www.opdiner.com 

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Issue #2 of the Soultearoa Shakedown was published the coincide with the NZ Soul All Dayer held at the Britomart Country Club on Saturday 17 August 2013.


Tuesday 10 September 2013

Reading: Soultearoa Shakedown Issue #1 now online



Issue #1 of the Soultearoa Shakedown fanzine is now online!

Just click here to check out the NZ Soul All Dayer homepage on Issuu.com, and read the debut edition of the 'zine lovingly assembled to coincide with the NZ Soul All Dayer events.

In this issue:
~ Top 5 Lists from all the DJs who played at the re-launch event in May, plus the likes of Gilles Peterson, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Vanessa Freeman, Dante Carfagna, Lance Ferguson and plenty more.
~ Album reviews by Kris Holmes (Charles Bradley, Nicole Willis and Eccentric Soul: The Dynamic Label).
~ Soultearoa recommends: Tyra Hammond, The Side Steps Quintet and more.

Sit back, imbibe and enjoy.