If you've seen any of my social media stories (you know, the posts that disappear after a day), you'll see me posting about sound systems, records and turntables. 'What I Think About When I Play Records' is my way of explaining this hobby of mine. It's a peek into the thought and emotional processes, and of course, my relationship with music. I began playing records at quite a young age, 16. It was a difficult time for me, because my parents separated that year. Music was always a go-to form of self expression, and with regards to the self - also a medium that I (or we) sometimes use to self sooth. I think everyone has a kindred relationship with music - when we break up, we listened to sad, sappy songs. When we fell in love, we listened to sappy love songs. When we needed a boost, we listened to high energy music. For me, music was always a way to look inwards. To connect. A kind of solace and an inner world. From a very young age, I experienced music on good sound systems, thanks to my dad. We'd listen to music together in his AV room, enjoying the dynamics and spatial soundscapes performed by brilliant artists and musicians like Gary Moore, Sade, Kenny G, Louis Armstrong et al. (It was after all, the 80s. Hah!). From these experiences, I connected to, and came to love music. These core memories informs the significance of music in my life. In my teens, I was part of dance groups and performed in a hiphop collective. My musical journey evolved by playing records on a Technics SL1200mk2 turntable set - borrowed from a good buddy, Jerry Francis aka Jungle Jerry (thank you for loaning me those excellent turntables, buddy). It was at 16 that I was first introduced to the art of DJing and turntables - which fit quite well with my quiet, artistic nature. I've always liked to draw pictures, and it was also around this time that I spray painted my room wall. It was done in a graffiti style. I can safely say now, that if you intend to spray paint a wall, you should get proper ventilation. You don't want to cough and choke for days after. I started playing gigs as a freelance DJ shortly thereafter. House parties back then, was a thing. The sign of a great house party would be beers in the hosts' fridge. Of course, this also informed my drinking habit and was my first introduction into the drinking culture. I stopped drinking in 2017. I began working as a DJ at the age of 19. We mainly spun records back then as there were no CDJs yet. MP3? Not for many years to come. At one of the clubs I worked at, The Backroom KL - we’d have a monthly stipend to buy records from Singapore. Why Singapore? Because they had Tower Records. And Valentine Music and record shops that would sell second hand dance music for fairly cheap. We'd pay around SGD8 for a single and perhaps SGD11 for a new album release. It was affordable back then. We'd test the records in vinyl listening booths. We’d head down to Singapore with some money, and return to Malaysia with a car full of new vinyl (Jungle Jerry was driving). Great times. Camaraderie. We’d play all the new records at the club that very same night. It was a great experience as a tribe. I attach my record collecting compulsions - to those days of my youth. A youth spent digging through crates of records. Finding ourselves in the music and genres that resonate and guide us as individuals. And in sharing the music we love with others. I think the communal aspect of buying, and subsequently playing records to the public became a part of my internal landscape. I buy music to firstly, satisfy an internal need. At the same time, it's also a social tool. Like coffee. We share music and playlists with others as a way to bond and connect.
I also love the physicality of handling the music. Each album (or track) has a physical form in the real world. As a black vinyl disc. I imagine the journey it took, for the record to appear in my hand and I think about record manufacturing factories; the sleeves designed by someone, printed somewhere, packaged and finally, shipped to the stores. All this comes with a cost. Being a physical object (like books or furniture), records have to be stored away from direct sunlight. Otherwise, they warp. I believe all this lends itself to the character and experience of the music. I don't think I'd give up listening to music like this. Once a record collector, always a record collector. Of course, we could always get into how good the record sounds. But that's subjective. If you really want to hear how it sounds on a good system, send me an email and I'll add you to an upcoming listening room session. If I get enough requests.
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