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ANDERS JOHANSEN
@dj_festkjepp
His collection is very eclectic and Anders admitted to me that he doesn’t have a favourite genre of music that he spins often. His collection is full of wonderful records from years gone by but it’s evident to me that he has a soft spot for Heavy Metal and Psychedelic Rock and that was confirmed when he spoke of his love for a Norwegian band called Motorpyscho.
Anders collection currently sits at around 1,000 records and he assured me once shops are open again and he can travel around more freely after the countries lockdown is lifted, he will be adding many more records to his collection. I’m sure that won’t stop him making a few online purchases though until that time comes!
How long have you been a record collector?
With vinyl I’d say I started collecting around 2010 seriously. I used to work in a record store from 2001 to around 2007 and I used to buy the occasional release but back then of course, there wasn’t a huge amount being released on vinyl. It was certain bands that I was collecting records from (and buying the CD also) but these bands I just had to have their music on vinyl. When streaming became a “thing” I stopped buying CD’s all together because I could stream music but I still wanted something physical with regards to music so it was always going to be vinyl. I love the act of placing the record on a turntable and looking at the artwork. For me, it’s so much more than just the music.
And how many records do you own then?
According to Discogs its just over a 1,000.
What was the first record you ever bought?
It’s a tribute album to a Norwegian band called Motorpsycho and the album is called “Self Indulgent Mono-Minds”. The reason I bought it was that it was only ever released on vinyl and I bought it long before I ever owned a turntable. It was released in 1998 so when vinyl was getting more limited. It also never got a CD release which is strange.
Do you have a favourite genre you listen most to?
I would say I listen to a lot different things but if you were to narrow it down to a genre of what I own most of, then I’d say Post Rock would take that award. I listen to a wide range of music and it always depends on my mood on that day of what I will listen to. One day I might want to listen to a Jazz record or a Metal record or everything in between. Sometimes it’s just an “in the moment” decision and that’s the bonus of having a sizeable record collection.
Do you have a want list at all? If so, how big is it?
I wouldn’t say I have a want list as such but I do have a few records that I look for which are my “white whales” shall we say. I’ve never really got into the want list thing although I do have a couple of things on my Discogs list but they are usually too expensive to buy them. I’m not a purist who just wants to buy the original pressings, I’m just happy to have represses in my collection because they sound great usually. I don’t really need the original to be honest.
What does your partner think about your record collecting addiction?
We have merged our record collection actually. I met my wife on Instagram because we were both collecting records and she moved to Norway from the States. She loves music!
What do you think of Instagram and sharing our record collections on this platform?
I started my Instagram account as a personal one but I didn’t really post anything if I’m honest and when I started to buy records years ago I thought about giving it a go posting records and music related stuff on Instagram. Early on, I used to participate in the vinyl challenges and enjoyed doing them from time to time but really its all about discovering new music and more music for me. I’m never really in many of the photographs either which is my choice. Eventually on Instagram you start to build up followers and follow more people meaning you have access to more music and find new music that you’ve never really listened to before. I think it’s fun seeing people be creative with records and posting their photographs and put some effort into their posts. I love seeing different pressings and coloured variants of records but then on the flip side, I don’t like when people post photos of themselves and then have a throwaway album sleeve in the background to try get followers or likes, that’s not what the Vinyl Community should be about. However, there is something to be said about the Instagram algorithm and how that effects what you see from your followers and who you follow. Some of the people that I usually enjoy sometimes don’t even show up on my feed because they are not popular enough!
Could you choose a favourite ever record?
I think I would choose two records, one that I do own and one that I don’t. The one I don’t own and is a white whale for me is “Ænima” by Tool. If I was to try get an original copy I would need to sell something big to pay for a copy as they are really expensive. The record that I do own that is one of my favourites is by Motorpyscho and is called “Timothy’s Monster”. That's my answer as of today, tomorrow I might tell you something different!
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