“When I started out as a young teenager experimenting with records, my cousin, at that time, lived in Miami and introduced me into the world of vinylism.“
I say vinylism, as for me, it has a religious feel to it. You walk into a vinyl shop with the high hopes of finding something you’ve been looking for and it’s almost like opening gifts on Christmas day—every vinyl you look at is a step closer to the one you been searching for. There are not many things in the world that can excite me more then that. There is still some vinyl out there that I’m searching for and I don’t just wanna go online and get them…it’s like cheating. You wanna find it yourself in a obscure indie record store after going through 12 stores and almost giving up hope. The chase is makes it what it is, I guess!
As a kid, my father had a vast record collection and I used to be able to sit for hours and look at the artworks. There is something magical about it, when the cover matches the music. For me, it’s an art form itself. Over the last years, its nice to see more and more artists understanding the visual concept of music. With the right artwork, you can explain what the record sounds like without even having to listen to it.
Over the last years, when I have started touring heavily myself, I’ve had the chance to go into record stores all over the world and I must say that the feeling when finding a gem is kinda like “faith in humanity restored.” Whether its in New York, San Francisco or Amsterdam, you always tend to find spots that have something you really want, and there is rarely a tour when I don’t come home with a bag full of new records.
There is also another perspective on the vinyl hunting hobby—you get to see places you never would’ve visited as a normal tourist, and you get to meet people with the same kind of mindset. I remember going on a hunt this summer in New York together with my girlfriend. It took us 2 days to go through all the record shops, but at the end of the 2 days, we’d seen more of New York than I have in my last 20 visits.
My 3 current favorite records:
I just recently moved and finally had the chance to set up a little vinyl station in my apartment. It’s a nice place to go and relax and get away from the music business.
Once you start the vinyl players, all your troubles seem to fade away…it’s beautiful.”
—Marcus Schossow
