The Art of Diggin

I read that the infamous Frank Wilson “Do I love you" 7" is up for Auction. Expected to fetch between £25-75 000 it still hails as one of the holy grails, all-time, all genres. Present owner, Scottish Northern Soul Dj Kenny Burell, certainly made a good investment back in the day. It has probably given him lots of gigs, and an investment that has increased in value. He bought it for £15 000.

It indicates that the need for originality is still relevant within the Dj-community. Although this particular record, and the soul scene is the most extreme, and you can’t always make comparisons with other records/genres. Though, the collecting- and dj’ing art has always been hard to separate (If you’re over, say 25-ish, dj, and genuinely like music). In these cases there are certain paradoxes, which I’m personally part of as well, that clashes between the interest of the music and the need of the original pressing. Hypothetically you could do well with a re-pressing, or even an mp3. But like a friend of mine once said - “An mp3 is as interesting as an anonymous piece of sugar in a sugar bowl”. And I certainly think he’s right, even though I’m not the most hardcore collector I still aim for the original pressing. And most definitely on vinyl. That way these collectors/dj's become purveyors of the culture (and good music) which is getting more and more expendable in these times.
Personally I’m more of a bargain hunter, and that’s where the collecting habits come in. It’s a bit like a competition, and getting a bargain indeed gives the feel of winning a prize. Having the rarest record is could also be considered as a winning formula which gives you “capital”(social and economic) within the scene.

Anyway, I don’t want to make these posts too long. I briefly want to tell you about one of the finest bargains I’ve found – the Nancy Holloway “Hello Dolly” Lp, with the fantastic "Hurts so bad". I think it was 5 or 10 sek, ($1) and in very very nice condition possibly just played a very few times. That’s certainly a good buzz, and makes all this worthwhile.

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