
Well, here’s another project that shows love for the good ol’ independent record shop is stronger than ever – a rather lovely new book by Emma Pettit called Old Rare New: The Independent Record Store, published by Black Dog Publishing (who also published last year’s title Ace Records).
The book is, quite simply, a celebration of the independent record shop and everything that is special about it. Through anecdotes of rare recordings, peculiar characters and above all, an infectious enthusiasm for collecting music, Old Rare New journeys into these eclectic spaces of musical exchange, and interviews those people that make them tick: record shop owners, collectors, dealers, DJs and musicians - and in doing so provides a rich account of the independent record store.
To be perfectly honest I was initially disappointed on my first perusal of the book because I’m not sure that the quality of the photography or design is as stunning or inviting as it could be. However, these initial misgivings were soon forgotten as I started to explore the written content. The fact of the matter is that Old Rare New offers a great read, delving as it does into the minds and memories of various people whose lives are bound up in the world of record collecting – with essays by Sean Bidder (FACT magazine), Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne), and Byron Coley (Ecstatic Yod) and dozens of interviews with the likes of Will Oldham, Joe Boyd, Barry Seven, James Dean Bradfield, Devendra Banhart, Billy Childish, Chan Marshall, James Lavelle and Get Involved DJ and founder, Gavin Lucas.
There’s a launch party tonight (June 11) from 7.30pm-10.30pm at Phonica record store in Soho with DJ slots from various peeps - including the book’s author Emma Pettit, Nick Luscombe (Flo Motion), Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) and would-you-believe-it Gavin Lucas (Get Involved).
Old Rare New: The Independent Record Store,
RRP £19.95, has it’s own myspace page