There’s a new pop-up record store launching this August. We chat with the lads behind it and hear some of the tracks on offer…
You might have seen the internet memes taking the mick out of vinyl enthusiasts but the fact is, your lot bleddy love it. Notts is packed to the rafters with tune addicts and in particular, those who love to spend their spare time digging crates for new wax to spin. There’s a rich history of record shops coming and going in city, with names like Selectadisc, Funky Monkey and Music Exchange making their mark over the years. This month, two local lads are joining the likes of Where-Wax, and the current wave of new crews that are keeping our wandering fingers busy, bringing the best selection of records to browse, presented in their own personal way.
We caught up with long-time mates Elliot and Rohan who are behind Select Sounds. After meeting at school here in Notts and becoming close through their love of music, they will be hosting a pop-up record shop at Mimm with an afterparty planned at the I Club to continue the fun. They’ve also picked out five top tracks from their collection, to show you the type of tunes they have in store at the sale.
What made you decide to start the project?
As keen collectors of vinyl, we’re always diggin’ for the sounds that might go unheard - we felt that something’s been missing in our hometown’s scene, so the desire to create something new was born.
As two 20 year olds, we’ve always been aware of Mimm’s presence in Notts. We rate their DIY philosophy, constantly supporting homegrown independents – not to mention the tendency to drop sick events themselves. After a couple of unplanned visits with ideas being thrown around, the event was in the diary with a tick. We can’t thank them enough for backing us.
The vinyl scene in Notts isn't huge but it's also not non existent. What are your experiences of it and what will you be bringing that's different?
Yeah we do love a lot of the vinyl scene here. We’ve bought many records from Rough Trade, Plates, Rob’s, and the Mansfield Road stores (Underground/Anarchy Records) as well as the My Site charity shop. We just struggle to constantly find new, interesting music without spending hours sifting through the dead ones. We felt we could develop a way to filter records to provide a high-quality selection while maintaining reasonable prices.
Over the past few months we’ve invested in a large range of exciting records, all of which have been cleaned and stored to ensure the highest quality. From listening to each record we’ve categorised each into genre-based crates, including chilled mediums like soul, reggae and hip-hop as well as the more upbeat selections like house, jungle, disco and techno.
We feel we are unique because of the whole diggin’ experience we’re looking to provide, from the tailored reviews on a large portion of our wax to the exclusively-picked records themselves, which are all gold in their own right – we just wanna share it.
Can you remember your first ever record?
Rohan: On my 14th Birthday my Dad gave me a Joy Divison album and I never looked back, my collection is getting bigger by the day.
Elliot: For me, Plastic Beach by Gorillaz was a standout – they were one of the main groups I first got in to properly.
What type of music will be available? Is it new or second hand, or both?
We’ll be selling exclusively used; buying a used record comes with a unique feeling, which can’t be matched... it’s got a deeper story, and some history in the grooves. On top of that, with cheaper prices involved, diggers can afford to gamble on the sounds of a wavy looking sleeve. Hidden gems will be scattered, trust us.
At Mimm, will there be anything else in store other than browsing?
Yeah we’ve got our friends from Department For Dance on the decks for the day. They’ll be the selectors creating the ambience needed and we’ll be live streaming the whole day so you’ll be able to stay tuned. We hope the Nottingham crews will show their face and get involved with what we’re doing. We’re always happy to chat if you’re done searching.
Tell us more about the after party too...
We wanted to continue the vibes of the daytime sale by creating a party. We both love the underground events, attending them constantly, and knew we had to try and organise one ourselves. We went on a bar crawl around Notts just asking any pubs, club or event space where a good party could be hosted. We wandered into the I Club after enough pints and we got chatting to Tony, he rated our vision and just like that, the venue was booked
After attending Wigflex’s City Festival in May, we knew Lukas was the man to invite to play. He is a Nottingham figurehead, we respect what he’s done for the City and how he loves supporting independents. We’ve worked hard and invested plenty into this project - with the venue and line-up combo, tickets are shifting fast.
What else does Select Sounds have up their sleeve?
Starting with a pop-up event and our first party, we want to fit into Nottingham’s growing cultural and musical scene to help it flourish. If the event goes well, we’ll continue putting on more parties and collecting records to sell over the next year.
If you’re thinking of popping along but aren’t sure if their selection is fer you, take a listen to Elliot and Rohan’s five picks that showcase their sounds, accompanied by a few words from the fellas.
Strange Fruit Project - Good times
Coming from a hip-hop compilation featuring a couple of the best names from the Golden Era, this track demonstrates impeccable lyrical flow and a beat that makes you hungry for more.
David Shepherd - It's Hard For A Woman
An 80s reggae single, taking inspiration from the roots of the genre by using a soulful voice on top of a dubby beat creating sounds like the original 60s ska.
Nubreed - Neptune Beach
A home-produced white label like no other, combining unbelievable ambient breaks with jungle beats that delivers a unique electro-feel to a fantastic electronic record.
Ronnie Laws - Solid Ground
Ronnie Laws sounds are as smooth they look, a lovely saxophone driven jazz-funk album which will cheer any man up. Keep your eye on this one, the cover art should sell it alone...
Nuyorican Soul - The Nervous Track
This track’s straight off the key New York house label, Nervous Records, in a compilation from 1991 to 2003. Produced by the legendary Louie Vega, it provides steel drum breaks and warm summery vibes to construct a beautiful groovy house tune.
Select Sounds launches its first pop-up record sale at Mimm on Saturday 24 August from 11am, with sounds provided by Department for Dance. An after party at I Club will follow from 10pm, with Lukas Wigflex and Bite Back DJs.
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