RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.50 : TJ GORTON
@tjgorton
I have found that, as a record collector, the Instagram platform can be used as the perfect digital tool to discover new music and that’s even before you have listened to said new music itself! I discovered TJ’s collection by chance really, after scrolling Instagram one evening and as soon as I saw it, I was completely hooked. I had never seen so many records being shared that I knew nothing about. It was like an untapped resource of new music for myself. I knew I had to feature TJ for this project and thankfully he agreed!
TJ lives out in Berkeley, California and works for an organisation that champions the genre of Jazz which is one of his go-to genres that he obsessively collects! However, he also gravitates to genres including Disco, Funk, Soul and Electronic music. When we chatted, he explained that a lot of the records he is still chasing are from South America and he would love a visit there when restrictions allow to dig for records.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.49 : COURTNEE, HEATHER & AZOLA
@happinessinheadphones
Music is something in life that families can share together, which is most definitely the case for Courtnee & Heather. They live in Philadelphia, USA with their young son Azola and they strive to share as much music from their 2,300 strong record collection with Azola as they possibly can. Of course I’m talking about suitable music for a child of Azola’s age (strictly no Rap music)! Azola has also started up his own small record collection full of children’s related records.
Courtnee and Heather’s collection is primarily concentrated on a few key genres which are Funk, Soul, Hip Hop and Jazz however, that doesn’t rule out them buying records that don’t fall in those genres. They are both pretty open minded when it comes to their collection and what gets added to it and are always looking to add new music to their collection as well as older records.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.48 : RYAN
@midnite_ryan
Record collecting shouldn’t be a competition, you should be buying what you want and on your specific budget, but if it was, Ryan’s collection would really take some beating! Out of everyone I’ve interviewed for this project, his collection is by far the biggest on the Vinyl Community and Ryan has been showing his records on Instagram for a number of years. He was one of the first collectors that I followed when I started my account years ago.
Having used to own and run his own record store, you could immediately tell how passionate Ryan is about physical music as a whole, not just records. He has a vast collection of other formats including cassettes, reels and 8 tracks as well as around 8,000 records. Ryan also has numerous audio set up’s around his house and classes himself as an audio gear addict!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.47 : BOBBY MCDOWELL
@mulholland_drivethru
Out of all the record obsessives I’ve interviewed for The Record Collectors Club so far, Bobby is the newest collector to me as I’ve only recently discovered his Instagram account. One thing that instantly struck me when scrolling through his photos (apart from having a wonderful collection of records), Bobby loves a list! He is the king of lists! He enjoys compiling his records of the year, favourite records from a certain decade and so on and as with a lot of record collectors that I follow on Instagram, I’ve discovered some great new artists since finding his account.
Bobby lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and young daughter, both of whom are tolerant of his vinyl collecting habit. He’s been a record collector since the late ‘90s where he began picking up the classic albums for very little money. His collection is over 3,000 strong these days and extremely eclectic with records scratching almost every genre known to man!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.46 : ANDERS JOHANSEN
@dj_festkjepp
I wasn’t aware of Anders’ Instagram or his record collection until only a few weeks before I interviewed him for this project but I knew instantly when I began looking through his photos and discovering what music he had in his collection that he was someone I’d love to talk to about music, records and his life as a collector. After talking to him for an hour or so, all my thoughts were confirmed. This was one of my favourite interviews I’d done to date and could have probably spoke to Anders for much longer than I did.
Anders is a native of Norway, living in the North of the country in a town called Bodø. He explained to me that the town is quite small and didn’t have any physical record stores to go digging in so he does a lot of his record buying online or in shops across the world when he travels. If you follow Anders on Instagram, you will know about his two young sons that often appear in his photos holding records or digging through Anders’ collection for the next record to spin. He also lives with his wife, who is also a record fanatic, whom he met on Instagram and persuaded her to relocate to Norway from USA. The things we do for our love of records!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.45 : GERTJAN RUESINK
@inadutchhaze
Gertjan and I have quite a bit in common. We are a similar age, both work in the design profession and have a keen eye for all things design related (including of course, artwork for vinyl records) and we both have quite similar tastes in music that can be traced through our record collections. Our major difference? Gertjan is Dutch and I’m British! Out of all the collectors I’ve spoke to for this project, Gertjan is one of the ones I’ve felt a real connection with when we talked about music and records.
He is a passionate supporter of independent record shops and also independent bands and artists and he can often be found digging through the racks of his local record shop that is a handy ten minute walk from his home in Arnhem. He has been collecting physical music since he was a young child, starting with CD’s like most collectors his age before discovering vinyl records through an ex girlfriend’s father and his love for Hardcore and Punk bands.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.44 : BILLY P
@vinyl_whiskey_tshirts
Billy is a collector! He collects whiskey, he collects tshirts and of course, he collects vinyl records! One of the most surprising things for me when we discussed his collection was when he told me that nearly all of it has been amassed from buying from car boot sales or charity shops! He barely buys in record shops. That’s some going considering his collection is built up of over 4,000 records.
He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with his very understanding wife who lovingly supports his record addiction. If you follow Billy on Instagram (you should do that now if you don’t) you will see he is an active part of the Vinyl Community on that platform. He loves to take part in the vinyl challenges, show off his new vinyl finds and engage with the other collectors about music.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.43 : STEVE KOUTA
@stevekouta
Steve is arguably the most well known record collector posting on Instagram in recent times. He has featured in numerous magazines, interviews and online articles so I was incredibly overjoyed that he agreed to be part of this project. Being able to discover why other collectors are so attracted to vinyl is the main reason I began The Record Collectors Club and featuring collectors like Steve is such an honour.
Living in Sydney, Steve has access to some fantastic record shops and he is a big advocator of shopping in your local record store to keep them ticking over. His collection varies from Hip Hop to ‘70s Rock to Electronic music and throughout his 5,000 strong record collection I’m pretty sure there will be numerous gems and rarities hiding in those record shelves.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.42 : DOMINIK BARTMANSKI
@vinyldomain
When I approached Dominik to be part of The Record Collectors Club project, I knew it would be tricky to try pin him down for an interview, due to how busy he is with his own book projects and the time needed to look after that beautiful collection of records that graces one of the walls of his Berlin apartment. However, time was found for an interview and I’m so glad it was! Dominik has one of the most incredible record collections I’ve ever seen and from talking with him, it was instantly recognisable how special the collection is to him and how much time and effort he has put in curating and putting it together.
Dominik has been a record collector for eighteen years now and has been fortunate to live and travel across the world which has allowed him to amass such an amazing collection of records. Living and travelling has given Dominik the opportunity to dig for records in some amazing cities like New York, Seoul and many places in South America.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.41 : DILLON & BROOKLYN
@thegrapevinyl
There are a number of couples I’ve come across in the Vinyl Community that have a shared passion for collecting records and it really is a heartwarming thing to see when you scroll through Instagram and see two people with the a shared love and passion for those circular pieces of wax we all love and admire. However, I’m not sure I’ve discovered any couples on Instagram quite as passionate about vinyl than Dillon & Brooklyn, who’s love for records was incredibly evident when I interviewed them both for this project.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.40 : RAY BLEV
@raybelv
As a record collector, do you ever wonder what would it be like to be involved in the creation of those special twelve inch or seven inch discs that we crave, collect and desire so much? Well, Ray gets to do just that as he works for the Furnace Record Pressing Plant in Springfield, Virginia. What makes it even more special is that it’s also the same pressing plant where his fiancée (and record collecting partner) Jenn works!
Ray has been a record collector for pretty much all his life in some form or another. His musical journey started through his father’s love for old school Rock ‘N’ Roll and continued from there through many different genres including Funk, Motown, Soul, Doom, Stoner Rock and beyond. As you can tell, Ray has quite the eclectic tastes!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.39 : MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ
@man_of_da_records
Miguel is without doubt, one of my favourite members of the Vinyl Community on Instagram. His posts are so varied and the records he shows are always totally different across many genres. One day he might show a Jazz record, then Soul, then Pop and so on. Miguel always has a smile in his photos as well which is the epitome of the Vinyl Community for me, trying to spread joy and happiness across the Instagram platform.
A native of Lima, Peru, Miguel has been collecting records for most of his life after growing up in a family of record collectors. He told me that his family played records so loud, you could hear their music from up the street. His collection currently stands at around 800 records but he told me all of them have a special place in his collection.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.38 : NICK
@vein_melter
The genre of Jazz is an area of record collecting that I’m still getting to grips with, so when I was putting this project together, I wanted to feature an experienced Jazz collector who could provide reccommendations and information on how to collect Jazz records. As much as this project is about showcasing record collections from across the world, it is also about finding specialist collectors, like Nick, who can steer collectors in new directions and allow them to add new genres to their record collections.
Nick is a UK based Jazz collector, living in Oxfordshire with his wife and two young sons, both of whom are becoming more interested in Nick’s record collection by the day. He’s been collecting records for over fifteen years having started after studying medicine in London and being based near London’s record buying capital, Soho.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.37 : JENN D'EUGENIO
@jennn_erator
I know what you are thinking, How many different versions of “Master of Reality” by Black Sabbath are there? Well if you want that question answered then Jenn is the person to ask as she has the biggest collection of Black Sabbath records I’ve ever seen and numerous copies of that record. Jenn explained to me that Sabbath are her favourite band and she loves to discover new bands that have been influenced by them which obviously leads you down the Heavy Metal route.
Jenn lives in Virginia with her record collecting partner Ray (a collector I’ve also interviewed for this project) who together have a combined 4,000 records which take up an entire floor in her house. Now that is an impressive collection! She told me that she collects a number of other genres aside from Metal including New Wave, Goth and Alternative Rock from the ‘90s. She also has one of the most envious jobs a record collector could think of; she works at a record pressing plant!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.36 : STACEY AGECOUTAY
@groovegardenrecords
I wouldn’t trade my collection for any other collectors, but I’d seriously have to consider if Stacey ever wanted to shift his collection on! It’s an amazing collection that he has built up over decades of collecting with the current number sitting at around 6,000 records. It certainly didn’t hinder Stacy, being brought up in a record collecting family like he was as he told me when I interviewed him for The Record Collectors Club project. The collection spreads across many different genres, eras, artists and formats but his main concentration is on the LP format like many collectors.
Stacey lives in Penticton BC, Canada with his wife who actively helps him on his quest to build his collection by picking out records he might want. What a wonderful wife! His setup might only be modest and simple but his music room, where he stores and listens to his collection might just be the best I’ve seen in the Vinyl Community. It’s certainly all about the records for Stacey.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.35 : GARY OWENS
@garys_vinyl
As well as featuring experienced and established record collectors, I was keen to talk to collectors new to our Vinyl Community and find out how and why the vinyl bug has bit them? I’ve followed Gary for a little while now on Instagram and he reached out to me to ask if I would interview him about his collection, which was really refreshing having a collector approach me instead of the other way round.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.34 : STEVE CARR
@everyrecordtellsastory
I remember somebody recommending Steve’s blog to me a couple of years ago and being instantly engaged reading the enjoyable, and sometimes hilarious, stories and anecdotes about being a record collector or about buying records. From there, I found his Instagram page (with the same handle as his blog) and really enjoyed what he was showing, whether it be records he had picked up while out digging in his local shop or just stuff he had been pulling out of his collection.
Steve lives in a small town East of London called Leigh-on-Sea, a place that Steve claims has the best record shop in the world (but we will go into that later) where he buys a lot of the records that go into his collection, which is nearing 1,500 records.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.33 : MAURICIO CADENA
@lado_b_melomanos
Mauricio is another record collector with a striking and colourful set of record shelving. His bright red storage makes his Instagram profile one of the most recognisable on the platform along with his collection of collectable figures that stand a top of it, including, if you look carefully enough, some of the fab four!
He lives in Chicago, USA (but is a Mexico City native) with his wife and daughter who Mauricio is hoping to be heir to his collection one day. He has been collecting music since the late ‘80s but started the record collection after picking up some classic records from a garage sale in 2011.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.32 : SAM MOREDA
@fortyfive7inches
Sam is arguably one of the most well known collectors in the Instagram Vinyl Community, just take a look at the number of followers he has accumulated in the short space of time he has been posting photos of his collection. He’s also another collector that lives in the Spanish capital of Madrid and has become a proud Madrilenian since his move there.
Again, it’s a familiar story with Sam telling me he has collected vinyl all his adult life but when the CD format became popular, he got rid of some of his vinyl and carried on buying CD’s. Having said that, he’s built his collection up to over 3,000 records since he has returned to vinyl.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.31 : ZACK ACETI
@zacks.records
I remember the first time I discovered Zack’s record collection and began scrolling through all his photographs and thinking what a great collection it was. That was a quite a while ago and since then he has added to the quality he already had with even more. He has been collecting records since he was a child and his collection currently stands at around 2,700 pieces of vinyl. Zack lives just an hour outside one of Canada’s biggest cities, Toronto with his wife and two young boys. He told me that he does some of his record shopping in bricks and mortar shops in Toronto but mostly online.
Like with most collectors, Zack has an impressive audio set up and wall of vinyl in his attic room. However he does have to share that space with his two young sons and their growing LEGO collection. What a creative room that must be!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.30 : CELERAH HEWES
@celerah
There are a number of vinyl hashtags used by record collectors that post regularly on Instagram and one that I discovered just by chance really was #newwavewednesday. I started seeing this hashtag all the time and having a modest collection of New Wave records myself, I did a bit of digging and it was that which finally lead me to Celerah’s excellent profile. She is the women behind New Wave Wednesdays!
Celerah has been collecting vinyl records for a number of years now, dating back to when she was growing up and has built up an inspiring collection spanning across a number of different genres. She lives in New Mexico with her young daughter, who has just began building a small record collection of her own consisting of music her daughter likes.
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Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.29 : SUSANA MASS
@lady_mass_
I have a confession to make, I know very little about Heavy Metal or Thrash Metal or anything Metal really! So when Susana agreed to be part of this project, I knew I was going to be in for a lesson or two on those genres of music and I wasn’t wrong. I will certainly be endeavouring to start buying more Metal music for my record collection.
Susana lives in Madrid and has been collecting vinyl records seriously for five years, but has been a music lover all her life. Her musical tastes are particularly heavy, however that’s not to say she doesn’t listen to other genres, but Heavy Metal, Doom, Thrash and Goth music are Susana’s favourite choices.
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COLLECTOR NO.28 : BENJAMIN RIGGIN
@heavy__sounds
There are so many diverse record collections out there in people’s homes and when I discovered Benjamin’s Instagram page I just knew I wanted to feature him for this project and thankfully he agreed to be part of it! He lives in Ontario, Canada with a collection that currently stands at around 2,000 records and his girlfriend, Sarah who Benjamin states is very supportive of his record addiction.
Benjamin loves nothing better than digging for records in his local record shops in Ontario but he is also blessed to have friends that are collectors who sometimes offload some of their unwanted records to him for great prices.
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COLLECTOR NO.27 : TOBIAS KAUFFMAN
@plattentobse
You can argue really that Tobias started collecting records by accident after he found his father’s old record collection in his basement but since that day he has never looked back and has built a great collection. That was until his father rediscovered his love for vinyl and started to take some records back from him!
His musical tastes vary across a wide range of genres but it seems he returns back to the Rock genre mostly and to Punk Rock bands like Blink 182. However, after following his Instagram profile, I realise he enjoys Classic Rock also as much.
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COLLECTOR NO.26 : DAAN GRIMBERGEN
@vinylizedcollection
Daan has been collecting records for around six years now and like a lot of modern collectors, he listened to a lot of his music either on CD or via digital streaming but he was soon hooked on the vinyl format once he had began buying records. Since the recent vinyl revival there are probably a number of music fans, like Daan, who have followed the same path and converted from digital or CD to the beautiful vinyl record format that we all love.
Daan lives in Utrecht, Holland which is famously known within the vinyl collecting circles for the huge record fair that is hosted twice a year in the city. His collection is modest at the moment but very well curated with a number of different genres covered including Hip Hop, Classic Rock and Indie Pop amongst others.
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COLLECTOR NO.25 : MICHAEL
@youcollectvinylnow
Michael is a collector I’ve not been following on Instagram very long but one that I instantly knew I wanted to feature for this project. His collection is incredible and when he posts you never know what record he might pull out and show.
He lives in Melbourne, Australia which is one of the best cities to dig for records in the southern hemisphere and he told me digging for records to add to his 2,700 strong collection of records is one of his favourite activities.
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COLLECTOR NO.24 : AGASYAH KARIM
@mugidingdong
When I look at other record collectors living spaces and music rooms that they listen to their collections in, I’m often envious of their layout, their storage and even how much light their space receives compared to mine. Aga’s music room in Jakarta, Indonesia is one of my personal favourites on Instagram. It’s the plants and greenery that really completes his listening room in my opinion
Aga lives with another collector in his Jakarta apartment, his wife who is an avid collector of books which means their apartment is full of physical media. I’m sure that would be many people’s dream, I know it’s certainly mine! Also living with them is their young son who is starting to become more tuned into his fathers record collection.
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COLLECTOR NO.23 : ROB SAMPSON
@sammaz
Rob is another resident of the beautiful North East of England and lives five minutes drive from my house and I’d anticipate him being the closest collector geographically I will interview I’d have thought. The beauty is that I had no idea he lived so close to me and you really don’t know where record collections will be lurking behind the doors of our everyday lives and that’s the exciting thing about being a record enthusiast!
A collector since the early ‘90s, Rob started picking up records as an investment before he even owned a turntable as he had the foresight to know that certain records would be worth something in years to come. The problem he has now is that he would be loathed to get rid of his collection that has taken years of time and effort to get to where it is now, just over 1,000 records.
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COLLECTOR NO.22 : MELANIE SCHMIEDEL
@melvitli
Melanie and I have a couple of things in common. We of course collect vinyl records but we both adore an american songwriter by the name of Bruce Springsteen. A lot of music fans have a love for "The Boss", but some have a complete love affair with him and that is obvious with Melanie and her extensive collection of records by Bruce.
Melanie was born in Germany but has recently moved to Norway and live with her partner who she met through Instagram’s Vinyl Community which I think once again highlights how friendly record collectors usually are. They combined their record collections into one large collection of around 2,500 records.
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COLLECTOR NO.21 : AATU PYY
@vinylpyy
Aatu lives in Turku, a city in Finland in the South West region of the country and has been collecting records since he was around fifteen years old. Once he began buying in 2006 he has never looked back and his collection has been rapidly growing ever since.
Aatu’s Instagram profile is one that has incredible music being posted on a daily basis from his collection and is a page where I have discovered many a great record, most of which I have added to my own collection. His musical tastes spread across many genres but he told me that Americana & Folk music are probably his favourites right now.
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COLLECTOR NO.20 : SUZANNE VERWEIJ
@suuzvinyl
You can tell just by looking through Suzanne’s Instagram collection that it’s her pride and joy and it takes centre stage at her apartment in Breda in the Netherlands that she shares with her boyfriend Pieter, who is also a record fan, and two house rabbits, Eddie & Maggie.
She began her record collecting journey in 2006 but didn’t really become a serious record collector until later in her life when she met her boyfriend who was a big music fanatic like herself. They now have a collection of over 1,000 records that they share and listen to together.
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COLLECTOR NO.19 : IAN MOORHOUSE
@ians_vinyl_life
Ian has been a record collector for ten years and has lovingly put together a collection of nearly 2,000 records.
However, he is not the only vinyl fan in his household as his wife, Megan is also a fond collector of records in the house that where they live in London, Ontario in Canada with their two dogs.
Their music tastes differ slightly with Ian enjoying the Rock, Prog and Alternative music and Megan listening to music of Broadway and R&B. Their tastes do cross paths when it comes to Funk & Soul however.
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COLLECTOR NO.18 : MARK GROOM
@run_coffee_vinyl_repeat
Quite often you see record collectors combine their love of records with their love of something else and coffee is usually one of the popular choices, however running usually is not. Mark has a passion for all three.
Mark lives in Northampton, UK and has been collecting records for over twenty years although he started collecting CD’s to begin with until the urge to collect vinyl started to take over and since then he has never really looked back amassing a collection of nearly 2,000 records.
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COLLECTOR NO.17 : DUSTIN
@all.the.records
What a fabulous collection of records! That’s my first thoughts when I look through Dustin’s photographs on his Instagram profile. There’s everything a music fan would want from a record collection.
Dustin has been collecting records since high school, around twenty years, as well as also picking up CD’s and cassettes. Lots of different genres are represented in his collection varying from Jazz, Funk, Soul, Rock and many others making for a diverse and interesting set of shelves in his music room.
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COLLECTOR NO.16 : JONATHAN WALLACE
@dallasol
Jonathan has an Instagram profile that I seem to gravitate to on a daily basis. He’s one of the collector’s that I always look to see if he has posted another photo of his amazing record collection or a photo of a record that he has picked out to listen to.
He lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland and has quite the background in music including being in numerous bands in the past and present and also touring with artists as a sound engineer. He is currently working on a new music project with his writing partner and has written music whilst in lockdown.
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COLLECTOR NO.15 : ROBYN DONNELLY
@r0bynsrecords
One thing I love seeing when I’m out digging for records is collectors starting at a younger age and we certainly have this vinyl revival we are currently living in to thank for that. Robyn is in her early twenties and has been collecting since she was twelve which is incredibly impressive.
Within that time she has amassed a collection of just over 2,000 records which is no mean feat that’s for sure. Her collection is predominantly Alternative Rock, Indie and Rock with a sprinkle of Soul, Motown and Pop thrown in for good measure.
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COLLECTOR NO.14 : MARTYN BONE
@martyn.bone
When the roots of the idea for this project were starting to be formed, Martyn was one of the first collectors I’d contacted to be involved in talking about his record collection. Thankfully, he was kind enough to agree and I’m overjoyed that he was, as he has a fantastic and diverse collection of music.
Martyn lives in Copenhagen, Denmark but has done a lot of travelling with his career as a university lecturer in American Literature and also studying in the past. He’s originally from Cornwall in the South West of the UK but his travelling has taken him mainly across the pond to the United States, to both study and work, before settling in Denmark for a second time.
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COLLECTOR NO.13 : MATT KESSLER
@toomanyrecords
As record collectors, we all go through that period of thinking or asking ourselves, “Do I have too many records?” Well, this has kind of been a running joke with Matt and his friends, so much so his Instagram page and YouTube channel are both named “Too Many Records”! His collection is incredibly varied and his musical knowledge is insane!
Matt is a collector I had wanted to approach about this project from day one as I had been a fan of his YouTube channel from my early days as a vinyl fanatic and I was ecstatic when he agreed to be a part of this. We spoke for a couple of hours about everything vinyl and music related from record labels to vinyl variants of certain records. We also spoke at length about our favourite band; The National! His YouTube channel, that started out as “Damnit, Sandy!” now “Too Many Records” is fast becoming one of the go-to channels to watch about records and I’d highly recommend checking it out if you are a vinyl obsessive!
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COLLECTOR NO.12 : PAUL JOB
@jobe_76
Paul is another Instagram user who’s page I’ve followed from my own early Instagram days and in some way I suppose I feel like I’ve followed his musical tastes and what he has been listening to or what records he has been buying. It’s a very rewarding feeling seeing other record collectors collections grow.
He lives in a town ideally located halfway between Manchester and Liverpool in the UK meaning digging for records for Paul usually takes place in these two great cities. His music tastes are firmly located within the Indie and Alternative Rock genres with a little bit of Psychedelic and Electronic music thrown in as well.
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COLLECTOR NO.11 : CK
@myllck
CK has been collecting records for around twelve years. You’re probably thinking he is a relatively new col lector to the vinyl scene and then you see his collection. It’s jaw dropping! A totally one of a kind collection stored in hand crafted floor to ceiling bespoke shelving in an apartment in Singapore.
His vinyl addiction started back in 2012 when he went shopping for a turntable for a friend and ended up coming back with one for himself. From that moment of hearing the needle drop onto a record, he fell in love with vinyl.
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COLLECTOR NO.10 : RACHEL JACOB
@rachjacob_
When I joined Instagram around 2013, Rachel’s profile was one of the first I followed. She posts fabulous photos of her record collection which instantly shows off how eclectic her tastes in music is.
Rachel has collected vinyl records for around 10 years and during that time has picked up lots of classic albums to add to her collection from artists including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and The Smiths. But Rachel is also a champion of lots of new music and that is evident throughout her collection.
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COLLECTOR NO.9 : DAVE CALDWELL
@dcityexile
Dave is not just a record collector but a fully blown music collector! His knowledge of everything from independent record labels to obscure Psychedelic bands is amazing and talking him to for an hour or so really expanded my musical knowledge. To be honest, I think we could have talked about music all night!
He is from Northwich, a town near Manchester, UK, famous for being the home town of the popular ‘90s Indie band, The Charlatans who Dave has an extensive collection of their music. However, it’s evident that the Psychedelic genre is where his real musical passion lies.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.8: KEVIN & EDWIN
@nosey.records
Kevin has one of my favourite profiles on the whole of Instagram I think. His feed always seems full of life and colour and the records he shows are always exciting and his posts are informative. But Kevin has an additional advantage over most Instagram users, and that is he has a helper to show off his records, his son Edwin! Together they show off their excellent record collection from their home in Hampshire, UK where they have around 2800 LP’s that are carefully curated into a gorgeous collection.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.7 : PAM
@pamsrecordcollection
I've seen some exceptional record collections whilst putting this project together, and there is no doubting that Pam’s collection is worthy of that word; EXCEPTIONAL!
Pam has lovingly put this collection together over the majority of her lifetime starting out with records by The Beatles and exploring the vast genres of music she has in her collection there after.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.6 : PAOLO DI LIBERTO
@pao_lo_fidelity
I often find when I talk to people in the vinyl community about music and records that I feel like I’ve known them for most of my life. Maybe it’s because we like the same bands or have been to the same record shops, and that is certainly the vibe I felt talking to Paolo. We spent a couple of hours over a beer talking about a wide variety of music, records, festivals and even cities across the world that we had both dug for records in. I felt like he had been a friend for all my life!
Paolo is from the North West of the UK in a small city called Carlisle, about an hours drive from the city where I live. He’s collected physical music for most of his adult life, but started to collect records at a younger age when he was around 14 years old originally picking up house and trance records before broadening his musical tastes.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.5 : MATS LARSSON
@blooob_vinyl
Mats’ record collection can be described using these three adjectives; Incredible,Unbelievable & Amazing! Instantly you can tell he is hugely passionate about music across all genres and listening to him talk about records and how they ended up in his collection was really interesting to hear about.
Mats lives in Malmo, Sweden and has a collection of around 3500 records of that he has been amassing since he was a young boy starting with trips to the grocery shop with his parents where he would buy records. His collection is vast and eclectic spreading across a huge variety of genres of music and spanning across many decades.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.4 : RICH BRADFORD
@rbradford2204
Theres a lot of people on Instagram that have similar music tastes to myself and Rich Bradford is certainly no exception. Scrolling through his feed you instantly recognise that his musical interests are firmly fixed on one particular subject; 1990s’ indie music. Rich’s Instagram feed regularly features bands like Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and Stereophonics amongst other great 90s’ indie bands that highlights Rich’s passion for collecting records by bands from this era.
Born and still living in the Teeside area of the North East of England, Rich has a record collection that has been meticulously put together that showcases his love for 90’s music. His collection will by no means be the largest seen, but its carefully been curated so well that every record he pulls out is one that id either love to have in my collection or i already do.
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.3 : SAM ROAKE
@samcorecords
My initial impression of Sam Roake’s record collection is how much variety of music he owns. It spreads across a number of different genres and styles and many, many different bands and artists. Sam and I are a similar age and after video calling with him it soon becomes apparent we have a crossover of bands & artists we both have liked and followed from an early age. The early 2000’s indie circuit of bands sit prominent within his collection as they do in mine.
COLLECTOR NO.2 : DAVID POOLE
@vinyl_records_football
When I embarked on this journey of interviewing record collectors, there were a small number I knew that I wanted to contact after following what they had been posting on their Instagram feeds over the last few years. David Poole was one of the collectors that instantly came to mind!
David’s collection is incredibly unique and after speaking to him, there is a uniqueness to David himself. From an hours interview, there is an instant likeness I get to him. He’s that type of bloke you would enjoy spending an afternoon in a pub discussing records and music with, probably until closing time!
RECORD COLLECTIONS
Take a look at some of the best record collections in the world
COLLECTOR NO.1 : GRAHAM MOCKLER
@gingerzoso
When I've scrolled through my Instagram feed looking at all the fantastic record collections from collectors I follow across the globe, there aren't any as instantly recognisable as Graham Mockler’s. His impressive curated collection of records takes a trip through a variety of genres from rock to indie and soul to funk with a sprinkle of soundtracks thrown in for good measure. But as impressive as this collection is, its Graham’s storage that immediately stands out. Well, bright yellow cubes were always going to do that!
